Pray Without Ceasing
I was intrigued this week with the readings of Evangelicalism in Modern Britain [1] and Evangelicalism and Capitalism [2]. The readings cover a broad span of material that could potentially be written about in this post including the Bebbington Quadrilateral which is mentioned in both writings. The first book, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain had a section on Keswick and the holiness movement of Evangelicalism in the 1800’s. I have a particular interest in this period because of its connection to missions and the incredible missionaries that it produced. I wrote last week of Amy Carmichael. She was closely connected to Keswick and attended its conventions. In Bebbington’s chapter on this topic, he mentioned George Muller and the Plymouth Brethren. It’s this topic that I would like to write about this week, coupled with unceasing prayer.
George Muller
George Muller was born in Germany in 1805. [3] He was an evangelist and a missionary. His work was primarily with orphans. He began this work in 1836 when he was just 31 years old. At that time he had 130 orphans under his care. [4] In 1845, his ministry had doubled to 300 children and so he began building new home for them that was completed in 1849. [5]
By 1870, when he was 65 years old, he had 1722 orphans living with him! Just a year later, it would grow to nearly 1850. [6] The most fascinating fact about his life is that in all of his years of ministry, and serving these children, George Muller never once made a request for financial support. [7] Nor did he ever go into debt, even when building homes for them to live in. It’s astounding! He frequently received donations of money, food, or other items needed right at the moment of need. He was a man of constant prayer. He took the scripture “pray without ceasing” [8] to heart.
Once when the children in the orphanage had no food to eat, George Muller began praying about the situation. While he was praying, the local baker stopped by with bread, enough to feed all of the orphans. While they were at the door speaking, a milk cart broke down in front of the orphanage. The driver gave all of the milk to George otherwise it would go bad. All of the children were well fed right on time. [9]
George Muller credits his position on praying and his spiritual life in general to his mid 20s when he “came to prize the bible alone as his standard of judgment”. [10] It is this attitude of prayer and the word I would like to focus on next.
Praying without Ceasing
John Piper is a famous author. He was interviewed on the Desiring God blog about this idea of praying without ceasing. He suggested three ways that we too can pray without ceasing.
- We need to have a spirit of dependence on God. [11] This means that even when we are not kneeling in prayer, we should have a deep, abiding dependence on God to meet our needs. It ought to be the essence of our faith in Him. [12]
- Our praying should be repeated and frequent. [13] We should pray repeatedly and we should pray often. It doesn’t have to be verbally, always, every second or on our knees. But it does need to be often and over and over.
- We must stay steadfast. [14] This means we cannot give up on praying. It also means, sometimes the answer isn’t what we want it to be, yet we must press on praying. We need to remember that no is also an answer at times.
In conclusion, lean on God all the time. Call on him repeatedly and often. Never give up on looking to him for help.
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[1] Bebbington, David. 2005. Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s. Transferred to digital printing. London: Routledge.
[2] Jason Paul Clark, “Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship” (2018). Faculty Publications – Portland Seminary. 132. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes.
[3] Steer, Roger. 1981. George Müller, Delighted in God! Rev. ed. Wheaton, Ill.: H. Shaw.
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8] Crossway Bibles, ed. 2007. ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. ESV text ed. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 1027.
[9] Steer, Roger. 1981. George Müller, Delighted in God! Rev. ed. Wheaton, Ill.: H. Shaw.
[10] Ibid
[11] John Piper, “How Do I Pray Without Ceasing?” September 2016. February 2023. Link
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid
[14] Ibid
About the Author
Tonette Kellett
Missionary, teacher, Bible student, traveler ... Having lived in Kenya and Korea, I now live in Mississippi and work with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.8 responses to “Pray Without Ceasing”
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Tonette
Thank you for recounting for us the story of George Mueller. Prayer was central in his life and it is central to every believers life. It is wonderful to have hero’s in the faith who demonstrate what it is to live by faith!
Thank you Kristy. Prayer is definitely the key. I admit I do not pray as often, or probably as powerfully as George Muller – but I desire to!
Hey Tonnett,
I knew nothing about George Mueller beyond just hearing his name. So this was fascinating! The emphasis on prayer as displayed in his life is profound and inspiring. Thank you for sharing this!
David,
Thank you – George Muller was an inspiration for sure. His life was filled with story after story of God answering prayers just at the right time. He was an extraordinary follower of Jesus!
Tonette, in readings filled with historical happenings and the greater implications they have had on Evangelical movements, I appreciate that you’ve chosen to focus on prayer. I admit that I get so focused and riled up with the things on my heart and mind that I lose sight of the powerful and fundamental practice of prayer. Thank you for this wonderful and timely reminder. I imagine through all the ups and downs of Evangelicalism, God continued to work in no small part through the prayers of faithful people.
Tonette,
Thanks for sharing the miracle of prayer. George Muller’s story is fascinating. I have heard several stories like his and pray God will continue manifesting his goodness to many in the same way.
How can we collectively cultivate an attitude and practice of continual prayer as a group that draws us into deeper reliance on God and his provision with us within this program?
Amazing post! You always blow me away!
Tonette,
I enjoyed reading this post again!!
Reviewing blogs for syntopical essay :)!