“I have frequently, for a long time, thought of laboring in a similar way, though it might be on a much smaller scale not to imitate Franke, but in reliance upon the Lord. That evening and in the days to follow Muller wrote in his personal journal: On November 20, 1835, Muller came across a biography on Franke. Franke who over a century earlier had established large orphan houses in Germany. Muller was acquainted with the work of German Professor A. At that time in the whole of England there were only a dozen small orphanages-eight of those in London and none nearby Bristol. He became greatly concerned for the spiritual and material needs of the many orphans he saw on the streets of Bristol. As part of his ministry, Muller taught Bible classes for destitute children and older people. There he co-pastored two congregations with his good friend and fellow minister Henry Craik. Muller moved to Bristol, England, in 1832 at age twenty-six. Perhaps the rehearsal of those wonderful developments in Muller’s life will help provide you with some encouragement and guidance for those times when you find yourself seeking God’s direction about ministry-related matters or other important decisions in life.

Recently while seeking God’s direction about quite a significant ministry decision in my own life, I was encouraged by going back and reviewing some of the specific details of how the Lord led George Muller into his great orphan ministry.

George Muller by Roger Steer