“Nobody?” Mary looked up at him as if she was going to cry. She sat on the parlor floor, surrounded by bolts of flannel and calico. He saw at a glance that she had been cutting out dresses for the little girls to wear.
She looked like a forlorn child herself, asking him again, “Nobody at all, George? Are you sure?”
“Nobody came near 6 Wilson Street. Not a child. Not a grandmother. Not a city official. Nobody.”
“Nobody applied?” She repeated dully, rolling the bolt of flannel back and forth on the rug. “Where were they?” The drabness of the parlor, the pitifulness of her evenings spent over the cheap flannel, all that they had sacrificed – it was overwhelming.
“Maybe we had better ask ourselves – where was God?” He retorted. Mary’s eyes widened in horror. “Alright, where was He?” George persisted, flogging himself as well as Mary with the tortuous thought. Then suddenly, he wanted to throw himself down beside the chair and beat it with his fists until the stuffing wheezed out, crying to God. “Mary, Mary!”
“Oh, George!” She pushed the flannel away and got to her feet.
“All the way home from Wilson Street, I’ve been praying. God, where did I fail? ‘ Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ That’s what He said, that’s what Psalms eighty-one says, I believed He would.”
“He did. George, He did, Until…”
“Yes. I prayed for money.” There were both bitterness and sadness in his voice. “He sent gifts larger than I dreamed about. From people I didn’t know.”
“I prayed for kitchen things.”
“And a strange man came to the door with his arms full. I know, Mary. We prayed for cooks and teachers.”
“And they came. You prayed for clothes and got them. You prayed for…” She stopped suddenly, her eyes widening. “Oh, George!”
He was too preoccupied with his tragedy to see that her eyes were sparkling. “I believed He would go on giving me what I prayed for. I believed that, Mary. Until today.”
“George, George, that’s it!”
What ailed the woman? There was a joyous lilt to her words that made no sense at all.
“That’s it, ” she said again. “Everything you prayed for.”
“Don’t you understand what’s happened, Mary? He gave me everything I prayed for alright. Except the children.”
She looked as if she wanted to laugh. “That’s it, you didn’t ask for children.”
“Didn’t ask for…” What was she saying?
“Well, did you? I didn’t. We never prayed together for them. Did you, George?”
He felt suddenly weak, as if he had awakened from a terrifying dream. She was right. They had prayed for everything – everything from plates to underwear. But they hadn’t asked God to send the orphans.
“Don’t you see, George? You thought…”
“There’d be too many.”
“So you didn’t”
“I didn’t. Mary, I didn’t.” Now he wanted to laugh and take his wife in his arms and kiss her and praise God all at the same time.
“George, aren’t we stupid?”
“Terribly stupid.”
“And isn’t He an incredible God!” What they did next was the only logical thing to do in George’s mind. There in the parlor, they bowed their heads and in a few simple sentences made the request they had forgotten.”
In Need
When George and Mary Mueller set out to start an orphanage, they had nothing. No dishes, clothes, or people waiting in line to help them. No money with which to purchase a building and no one to turn to except God Himself.
God said, “ask”
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew vii.7-8)
So they did. They asked for money, dishes, clothes and staff. Every time God answered their prayers, until they forgot to ask.
Matthew vi.8 tells us God knows our needs even before we make requests, still He instructs us to ask.
Why? Why doesn’t He just give us the things we need? Why do we have to ask?
A Lesson From My Childhood
One summer day, my family stopped at a garage sale. My siblings and I eagerly rummaged through the kid’s things while my mom looked around. In the midst of a shelf of books, was one story. One story I really liked. I can’t remember what the book was about, but I remember the lesson it taught me.
My mom was talking with the hostess when I touched her leg, waited for her attention, and then showed her the newly discovered treasure. The lady, who was watching, generously offered to give it to me for nothing!
“Say thank-you.” Mom said. That’s when the problem arose – I generally wasn’t shy but I decided to be just then. “If you don’t say thank-you, you can’t have the book.” Mom said. I would not say “thank -you”, so we left the garage sale without that book.
My mom wasn’t out to ruin my day or to keep me from enjoying a nice story, she was trying to teach me a lesson. A lesson far more valuable than the book was. There is a proper way to receive a gift and I needed to learn to use that method.
In the same way, there is more to be gained by asking God for something than just the thing itself. There’s a purpose in this command. Lessons to be found in the asking itself!
Lesson 1: Remember the Giver
As we go about our daily lives, we all too often forget to give credit where credit is due. God gives us many gifts without us asking for them, often these go unnoticed. Millions of snowflakes melt away before anyone can admire their unique design, flowers bloom even when no one stops to admire them, and twice each day God paints the sky. He is not deterred if we forget to praise His work.
But when we have the opportunity to ask Him for something, His answer reminds us who is the source of our provision. Every answered prayer should prove to us the generosity of our God.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James i.17)
God says, “Ask.” Ask and be reminded who it is that answers.
Lesson 2: Trust
God doesn’t just tell us to ask, He tells us how to ask.
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” (James i.6)
What is doubt?
It is a lack of faith. A lack of trust in God.
When we ask, God says we need to trust Him. Trust is built as we see faithfulness. So, to grow in trusting God — to grow in faith, to learn not to doubt — we need to see God proven faithful. Faithful to keep his promises, faithful in the lives of others, faithful in our lives.
Ask so you can see that God will answer.
Lesson 3: Persist
God tells us to ask with faith and also with persistence. He does not want us to give up easily. Jesus often taught about persistence in parables:
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke xviii. 1-8)
God’s answers don’t always come as quickly as we would like them to. Men like Noah, Abraham, and Jacob waited years to see God’s promises fulfilled. But He did fulfill them.
Ask and keep asking.
Lesson 4: What to Ask For
God doesn’t just tell us to ask, He doesn’t just tell us how to ask, He also tells us what to ask for.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James iv. 3)
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He began by asking that God’s name would be hallowed, which means “honoured as holy”. He asked that God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done one earth in the same way that it is in heaven. He went on to ask for things such as bread, forgiveness, and deliverance but His greatest desire, the first priority of His prayers, was that God’s will would be done and His purposes accomplished.
God knows us and He delights to meet our needs. He tells us to bring our cares to Him because He cares for us. Yet it is God’s will that needs to be accomplished not ours.
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm xxxvii. 4)
Ask for your heart’s desires to come into alignment with His.
In Conclusion
The Mueller’s prayer for children was answered. Orphans came to the Mueller’s orphanage and with them, the constant reminder to ask.
“It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer; and further we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing.” — George Müller
In Christ
Quiana
*Excerpt was taken from George Mueller, by Faith Coxe Bailey.
*Scripture references in NKJV unless otherwise noted.
If you want to learn more about George and Mary Mueller, I can help!
Search George Mueller to find related posts.