Faith and
the Word: Advice from George Müller
By Pastor
Charlie
George Müller is well known
as a man of faith and prayer, but did you know that he read the Bible nearly
two-hundred times! The reason his faith was strong and his prayers were
effective was because his mind was filled with the Word of God and his prayers
were shaped by the wisdom of God. For Müller, there’s no way to be a person of
faith and fruitfulness without a robust commitment to the Bible, and therefore
he offered his readers five pieces of advice for Bible reading (Autobiography
of George Müller, Westminster Literature, 21-22).
First, above all, we should
settle in our minds that only God can give insight and help us profit from our
time in the Word. Therefore, we should seek him before we read, while we read,
and after we read. Since Bible reading is a relational exercise, it should be
shot through with prayer.
Second, we should realize
that while the Holy Spirit is our teacher, he teaches us in his time and way.
Therefore, we may not get the insight or application we seek immediately or
easily. Indeed, we may have to repeatedly ask for his help and work toward
understanding until he’s ready to open our eyes to his wisdom. So, Müller says,
we must seek “for light prayerfully, patiently, and with a view to the glory of
God.”
Third, Müller feels that
it’s best to read the Bible one book at a time, from the beginning to the end.
Reading a small portion from this or that book may seem profitable, but in the
end, it is not. God has revealed his will in his way, and therefore we should
receive his Word as he delivered it. Müller suggests, then, that we read a
little from the Old Testament and a little from the New Testament each day,
always starting where we left off the day before.
Fourth, in addition to
reading, Müller suggests that meditation is of utmost importance. We must learn
to ponder some portion of what we’ve read, or the whole if we’re able. Reading
without meditation is like smelling food without eating it—it may be
superficially pleasurable but it profits nothing. So we must learn to meditate
on something each day so that the Word will inform our minds, inflame our
hearts, and give shape to our way of life.
Finally, Müller urges us
again to pray, for he suggests that prayer is the most important means of grace
after the Word of God itself. He confesses that although he prayed much in his
later years, he would have made more progress if he would have prayed with more
regularity, fervor, and length in his earlier years.
O Beloved, let us have ears
to hear the simple but sage advice of this great man of God! He bore much fruit
well into his 90s, not in the least because his mind was filled with the Word
of God and his prayers were shaped by the wisdom of God.
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