When I was homeschooling my kids during their elementary school years, a key part of our day was our read-aloud time. I read so many great books to them, including biographies of inspirational people. For a time we read about several missionaries, and there was one that really stuck with me–George Mueller. He was born in Germany in 1805. In his youth, he was foolish and sinful, stealing from his family and friends and ending up in prison for a time. Everything changed when a friend invited him to a Bible study while he was in college. Of that night, George wrote, “I have not the least doubt, that on that evening, [God] began a work of grace in me. . .That evening was the turning point in my life.” He went on to spend the rest of his life in service to God and others. He was a preacher and a missionary across the globe, but is best known for his work with orphans in Bristol, England, where he started and operated several orphanages.
There are two things that have always greatly inspired me about George Mueller–his extraordinary faith, and his dedication to reading the Bible.
George never asked anyone but God for money to operate the orphanage, and he refused to take a salary for his preaching. He truly believed that God would provide. In fact, the primary goal of the orphanages was to display the faithfulness of God. Over and over he stated, “The orphan houses exist to display that God can be trusted and to encourage believers to take him at his word.” There are many examples of how God never failed to meet their needs, but the most well-known story is about a time that George was told there was no food for the orphans for breakfast. He still assembled the children for breakfast, and he led them in praying that God would provide their meal. Almost immediately the local baker and milk man arrived at the orphanage, each one having been impressed upon by the Holy Spirit to bring bread and milk to the children that very morning.
George’s confidence in the sovereignty of God never waivered. When faced with a crisis in having the means to pay a bill he would say, “How the means are to come, I know not; but I know that God is almighty, that the hearts of all are in His hands, and that, if He pleaseth to influence persons, they will send help.” That is the root of his confidence: God is almighty, the hearts of all men are in his hands, and when God chooses to influence their hearts they will give. During his lifetime in answer to prayer he raised the equivalent of $129,000,000 which he gave away, and when he died he had only a little money left.
It is reported that he read his Bible cover to cover over 200 times. And yet, when asked what he would like to do before he died, he said, “To read more of the Bible because I know too little about the excellence of Christ”.
The Bible was George’s fuel for everything he did in life. “As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so it is with the inner man. What is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God – not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe. No, we must consider what we read, ponder over it, and apply it to our hearts.”
George Mueller was a human just like me and you; he wasn’t a superhero. So why does his life seem so radically different than most? I believe it’s because he read his Bible so often. The more he read the Bible, the more he knew of God and His character. George often advised young believers to read the Bible straight through from cover to cover, in order of its arrangement and not in a pick-and-choose manner. I believe this too helped solidify his confidence in God’s sovereignty, as he saw God’s promises fulfilled and the plan of salvation unfold with the turn of every page.
This common sense approach to reading the Bible and knowing God is what sustained George and propelled him to good works. It comforted him during times of despair–losing both his wives and several children. It drove him to travel the world and preach the good news of the gospel.
Not surprisingly, regular Bible reading has benefits that extend far beyond the spiritual. Researchers have discovered what they called “the power of 4.” People who read their Bibles at least 4 times a week experience better mental health. Specifically, they were found to have 30% less chance of struggling with loneliness, and 32% less chance of experiencing anger issues. Destructive thoughts were also noticeably less likely for those with good Bible reading habits. Reading the Bible four times a week was also linked to improvement in marriages and behaviors like drunkenness, divorce, and viewing pornography.
I don’t know about you, but I think the only New Year’s resolution we need this year is to read our Bibles more and more. If George Mueller read his Bible 200 times, he had to have spent a good portion of his day in the Word. And before you protest that life was simpler then and we’re much busier today, remember that George was running multiple orphan houses, raising children, preparing and preaching sermons, and forming the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad. This organization was established with the goal of aiding Christian schools and missionaries; distributing the Bible and Christian tracts; and providing day schools, Sunday schools and adult schools, all upon a Scriptural foundation. By the end of February 1835, there were five day schools – two for boys and three for girls. In other words, George was a busy man. I daresay he was busier than you and me.
Read and be encouraged by these words of George:
“My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you.”

Resources I used for this post:
https://www.georgemuller.org/
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/george-muellers-strategy-for-showing-god#83