How to Ascertain
the Will of God
George Mueller was born in Germany in 1805 and lived to 1898
– almost the entire 19th Century. As a young man, he was a bit of a
rabble-rouser. At age 10, he regularly stole money from his father. At age 14,
he was gambling and drinking with his friends while his mother lay dying. At
age 16, he spent a short time in jail for theft.
George’s
father hoped he would take a lucrative position in the clergy, in the
state-sponsored church. He studied Divinity, where a fellow student invited him
to a prayer meeting. Seeing people on their knees in prayer had a profound
impact on him, and he received Christ shortly after. George resolved to live a life of prayer and
complete dependence upon God. God led
him to begin a ministry to orphans in England – a ministry he entirely relied
on God to make provision for, never once voicing a need for the orphanages or
for himself to anyone except God. Over
the course of his life, this remarkable man of faith became the foster father
for over 10,000 orphans. By way of
comparison, when he began his ministry the total number of spaces for orphans
in all of England totaled around 3,600 – much of that substandard.
At age 70, George began traveling the world as a missionary,
a task he kept up with for 17 years, continuing to live every step of his life
on faith. He died at age 92, fittingly,
after leading a prayer meeting at his church.
Late in his life, George Mueller was asked to write about how
a Christian could determine the will of God in his or her life. After reflection and prayer, the below is
what he wrote:
1. I SEEK AT THE BEGINNING to get my heart into
such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.
Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is just here. Nine-tenths of
the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will,
whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a
little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
2. HAVING DONE THIS, I do not leave the result to feeling of simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
3. I SEEK THE WILL of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
4. NEXT I TAKE into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
5. I ASK GOD in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.
6. THUS, THROUGH PRAYER to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly.
In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.
2. HAVING DONE THIS, I do not leave the result to feeling of simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
3. I SEEK THE WILL of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
4. NEXT I TAKE into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
5. I ASK GOD in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.
6. THUS, THROUGH PRAYER to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly.
In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.
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