There are certain people that every follower of Christ should know. These are people who have made a difference and influenced our faith.

I hope to publish a whole series about people who lived after the close of the canon of Scripture who have made a profound difference for Christ.

Over the next few months, I hope you will read and consider these significant people. Let us also thank God for those who have been faithful in the past.

Today I want to write about George Mueller. Mueller was a pastor in England in the 1800s. During those years England was not what we would think of it today. Among others social ills, Great Britain suffered from the practice of capturing and trading slaves as well as the lack of care for orphaned children.

When George Mueller began a ministry for orphans, Great Britain had a huge number of orphans and only 3600 spots for orphaned children.There were twice that number of children under age eight in prison.

As a young man, George Mueller did something about orphans. He and and his church opened five orphanages beginning in 1834, caring for over 10,000 children. By the time of Mueller’s death in 1897 at the age of 92, Great Britain had 100,000 places for orphans.

Mueller’s life and ministry shows what one person dedicated to God can do.

Mueller served as a pastor in Bristol, England, for 66 years. He died in his sleep at age 92 after having led his church in a prayer service.

George Mueller was a man of deep prayer. He affected the whole nation. He brought about tremendous social change because of his deep love for Christ and His Word.

Late in his life Mueller traveled to 42 countries preaching an average of once each day for the last 17 years of his life. When he died 10,000 people lined the streets to pay their respects to this great man.

One of the great stories about George Mueller has to do with his prayer for lost friends. At age 40 he began praying for five personal friends who did not know Christ. For the next 52 years he prayed for those five friends.

The first friend came to know Christ after Mueller had prayed for five years. Two others came to know Christ 10 years later. Twenty-five years later the fourth friend came to Christ. George Mueller had been praying for 40 years when this occurred.

When Mueller died, he had been praying for lost friends for 52 years. Four of his friends had come to know Christ. A few months after his death, Mueller’s fifth friend received Christ.

Mueller was a man of devotion and faith. His zeal for the Lord helped change the nation for the better. May you and I use George Mueller as an example for our own faith and practice.