Dear Friends,
In today’s devotional Spurgeon refers to the work of George Muller of Bristol. A marvelous biography of him by A. T. Pierson is available at a very reasonable price from Hendrickson Publishers. It is great reading. Lord bless.you.

Because of Calvary,
John Janney

• I John 5:14-15 (ESV)

  14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

“It was my privilege, some two years ago, when at Bristol, to visit the Orphan house of Mr. Muller, and I never saw a more striking or startling exhibition of the power of faith than I did there. Mr. Muller supports three hundred orphan children on no resources but his own faith and prayer. When he needs anything, he calls them together, offers supplication to God, and asks that necessaries may be supplied; and, although there are three hundred to be fed, to be clothed, and to be housed, and though they have often been brought so low that there has not been a farthing in their coffers, nor a handful of meal in their barrel, when mealtime has come, there has always been abundance of bread in the house in answer to prayer. I shall never forget my interview with that holy man of God. Some gentleman said to me, ‘I wish you would ask Mr. Muller a question or two, if you see him, as to the foundation of a new Orphan House which he proposes to build to hold seven hundred more children.. Now, I feel that three hundred is quite enough for one man to care for; I think it is very absurd for him to have seven hundred more; he will never be able to support a thousand. As to the present Institution, I believe that generous persons hear about it, and send him subscriptions for it maintenance; but as to his supporting seven hundred more orphans, that is impossible.’ I replied, ‘I think there is something in what you say. I will ask him when I see him.’ But when I saw him, I could not, and dare not, ask him any such questions; and when I saw what a great work he had done by his faith, and began to remark upon it, he said, ‘Oh! it is only a little thing that I have done; faith could do far more than that. If it were God’s will that I should feed the universe on prayer and faith, I could do it. If I had more faith, it could be accomplished.’ I was just going to say that, possibly, a thousand orphans would be more than he could support, when he said, ‘When I got three hundred children, I began to pray God to send me money to build an Orphan House to hold seven hundred more; and I have already £17,000 sent in for it, although I have never solicited a contribution from anybody but the Lord. I believe God has made me to be here, to be to the world, a proof that he hears and answers prayer.’ I thought so, too, when I saw that huge building, and the many dear children rising up to praise their God, and singing so sweetly in honor of the good Shepherd, who had gathered them like lambs to his bosom, and had gently folded them there.” [Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLVI, (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1900), p. 100-101]