Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– John F. Walvoord
George Mueller
George Mueller was one amazing man of God, and God used him mightily for His glory. When Mr. Mueller founded Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, his orphanage would end up caring for 10,024 orphans by the time he passed away. What is even more amazing is that he never once asked for money. All he did was pray to God. And God showed up big time. Mr. Mueller thought that he would pray for God to sustain his orphanage and not tell anyone else about it, therefore he would know it was God. And it was God! Many lives were changed for eternity by George Mueller (also an evangelist) as he led thousands to saving faith in Christ because he prayed some big time prayers. He thought there was no limit to what God could do.
Elijah
When Elijah challenged the 450 false prophets of Baal, he said, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it” (1st Kings 18:25), and after hours of silence from their “god,” “Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened” (1st Kings 18:27). Elijah prayed one little short prayer, “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back” (1st Kings 18:37), and immediately, “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench” (1st Kings 18:38). It was God’s will for Him to display His glory, and as a result, all the false prophets were killed, and the people “fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God” (1st Kings 18:39). They got that right!
Jesus
Jesus always prayed in the will of the Father because He had a perfect, intimate relationship with Him. There was no guessing if it was the Father’s will because Jesus knew what the Father’s will was, so He prayed big prayers, and more than once He raised people from the dead, healed the lepers, made the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the lost be saved. When Jesus prayed before raising Lazarus from the dead and being four days dead at that (John 11), He sought God’s glory, and so any time you’re praying for big things, make sure those things are for the glory of God and nothing else, because nothing else matters but the glory of God.
Conclusion
George Mueller thought, there was no limit to what God could do, so his prayers were huge, and people showed up in a big way and the children never went hungry and always had shelter from the weather and a place to sleep. He knew it was God. Elijah knew God would answer his prayer and it would glorify Him…and it did! And Jesus has all glory since He is God Himself. Today, He sits at the right hand of the Father in all glory, splendor, majesty, and holiness. I pray that I glorify God today in my thoughts, words, and actions.
