A review by sonofwilliam_reads
George Müller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer

4.0

Quite naturally, having grown up in the church, Müller was commonly referred to in sermons. The examples of God’s provision were always deeply moving. As such, contemplating his life through Roger Steer’s careful account only brought to life even further these episodes of God’s provision and the remarkable life of faith that Müller exemplified. Taking the life of Müller as a whole, I couldn’t help but feel severely, and rightly, challenged. Any and every account of the day-to-day dealings of movements in Bristol and beyond stir one’s heart for God, to attempt and do wonderful things for his name. Simultaneously I was made to think of how little I move into the realm of tangibly trusting God with my daily provisions, how concerned I am that I have resources and securities behind my name in case any thing should go wrong. However, it’s not just the financial provision as much as it is also the concrete manner in which Müller’s life displayed a life of prayer and devotion with Christ. Hearing how he spoke of God’s nearness, the surety that Müller felt in God hearing his prayers, the trust he manifested year after year—these are qualities and examples that evoked envy in my heart, these are matters and experiences that I wish I could speak of. Which of course raises the question as to why there is a world of difference between Müller’s experience and my own. No doubt, my lack of prayer, my lack of meaningful time in the Word, my infatuation with the things of this world are stumbling blocks to the kind of life Müller lived. This was a deeply humbling read. And I am thankful for it. I pray that this life would move me to action, that my prayers would be enlarged, that my faith would be encouraged, that Christ would be further exalted in and through my life. One final thought, though, is the question of the prescriptive nature of Müllers life. I must say that I was puzzled again and again as to how one should respond to Müller’s life. Of course, I do not doubt God’s hand in providing just as much as he needed. But some of Müller’s approaches and practices seemed to go against even some common sense and biblical examples: even the Apostle Paul asked for money! I was also concerned about some of Müller’s approach to ministry, lingering only as long as he felt called to a certain place (at least earlier on in his ministry). Perhaps my full thoughts on this cannot be developed here but certainly some of what happened didn’t sit so comfortably with me.

Steer's biography was a breeze to read, slightly jump-y at times but really easy to take in and progress. One thing I would like to read more about was Müller's conversion. Steer was brief and ambiguous. Another study I'd love to enquire into is the epistemology of Müller and the ministers during this time period: I heard a lot of emphasis on feeling and sensing the "will of God", almost to the detriment of clear biblical commands of faithfulness (at least in my mind). There's certainly been some development (backwards or forwards? I am not sure) in how Christians discern the will of God and act on it since the 1800's compared with today. If you know of any studies looking into this let me know!