What George Mueller Teaches Us About Praying Scripture

This is an edited excerpt from the book On the Same Page with God: Embracing the Power of Praying Scripture.

George Mueller was a Christian evangelist and director of several orphanages in England in the 1800s. He cared for thousands of orphans in his lifetime, never asking the community to meet the needs of his orphanages or his ministry, but instead taking all of his needs to God. He would spend hours in prayer and often felt like he hadn’t connected with God during that time.

George Mueller’s Practice of Praying Scripture

Then Mueller discovered the life-changing practice of praying Scripture. He wrote, “For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experiential fellowship with God, I speak to my Father and my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word. It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this point.”

“George Mueller never prayed for a thing just because he wanted it, or even just because he felt it was greatly needed for God’s work. When it was laid upon George Mueller’s heart to pray for anything, he would search the Scriptures to find if there was some promise that covered the case … And then when he found the promise, with his open Bible before him, and his finger upon that promise, he would plead that promise, and so he received what he asked. He always prayed with an open Bible before him.” —R.A. Torrey

Mueller recorded over 50,000 prayer requests in his prayer journals and would indicate the date each prayer was answered. Over 30,000 of his prayer requests were answered within twenty-four hours of his initial prayer request. Mueller’s ministry was maintained and fueled by his prayer practice. Powerful indeed!

Praying Scripture Helped Him Keep the Faith When Life Was Hard

While George Mueller prayed Scripture often and saw God provide in miraculous ways for his ministries and orphanages, he also experienced the heartbreaking loss of two of his sons born stillborn, and another son who died shortly after his first birthday. His only daughter survived to adulthood, but died before she was able to have any children. After about forty years of marriage and ministry together, his wife Mary experienced a devastating illness and died. A few years later, Mueller remarried, and twenty years later his second wife also died.

I don’t know the Scriptures and prayers that Mueller pleaded for his family, though I’m sure he did pray for his family often. Despite loss after painful loss, he still clung to his faith, to his God, and to his daily practice of praying for the needs of his ministries, and he did indeed experience many mountains moved.

While George Mueller grieved the loss of his loved ones, he also delighted in God’s character, His presence, His provisions, and his own transformation.

Mueller was able to care for and educate over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime, travel on numerous missionary trips to five different continents, and deliver many sermons. He has become an incredible example to many Christians, bearing much fruit for God’s kingdom. He may have lost his whole family and his biological legacy, but God gave him an incredible spiritual family and legacy.

Life will have its hard moments and challenges that our human flesh will fight against. Mueller shows us that praying Scripture will help us not only to align our hearts with God’s most glory-filled plan, but also to grow in satisfaction and delight with God and all that He has done for us.

How does Mueller’s faith and prayer life encourage you in your own?