“Beware in your prayers, above everything, of limiting God. Expect the unexpected, above all that we can ask or think.”           Andrew Murray

August 1877 – S.S. Sardinia – North Atlantic Ocean: It was Wednesday afternoon, and the fog was as thick as Captain Joseph Dutton had ever seen it. Off the coast of Newfoundland, he slowed his ship due to weather conditions. Dutton had been on the ship’s bridge for 22 straight hours when a passenger tapped him on the shoulder. “Captain, I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon. I have never broken a preaching engagement in 47 years.”

The captain responded, “Sir, with this fog, it is impossible. You will miss your meeting.” When the 70-year-old preacher suggested to the captain that they go down to the chartroom and pray, Dutton wondered what kind of lunatic had boarded his ship. But he followed the preacher to the chart room.

“Captain, my eyes are not on the dense fog,” the preacher informed him, “but on God who controls every circumstance of my life.” Then he knelt and prayed a simple prayer. When he had finished praying, the captain offered to pray, but the preacher shook his head no, “Captain, you don’t need to pray. One, you don’t believe God will do it, and two, the fog will lift in five minutes.”

When Dutton returned to the bridge, as the preacher had predicted, the fog had lifted, and he arrived at his meeting on time. Joseph Dutton’s life was never the same after meeting George Müller.

Born and raised in Germany, drinking, gambling, and stealing were the order of the day for young George Müller. At age 14, he was out drinking the night his mother died. He spent most of the next day drunk, unaware of his mother’s death. Two years later, Müller spent five weeks in jail for failing to pay hotel bills. He continued to raise hell until a Saturday night prayer meeting in 1825 radically changed the 20-year-old’s life.

Müller decided to become a missionary and enrolled at Halle University in Wittenberg, Germany, to study theology. His disappointed father cut off his college money, so Müller prayed about his tuition. To his surprise, the following day a professor asked him to teach German to four Americans, which more than covered the cost of college. That day, a seed was sown in Müller’s heart about the power of prayer.

In 1829, after earning a seminary degree, Müller moved to England and became the minister at Ebenezer Chapel in Devon. Two years later, he married Mary Groves and became the pastor at Bethesda Chapel in Bristol. At both churches, he declined to take a salary. God would provide.

Moved by the hundreds of children in England who were left homeless after a cholera epidemic in 1848-49, Müller started the Ashley Down Orphanage. As was his practice, he never approached anyone for money or help. He simply prayed. God always provided the necessary funds at the right time, and He sent the right people to manage the facility.

One early morning, while Müller knelt in prayer, Mary informed him that there was not enough food for the 300 children at the orphanage. “God will provide,” he confidently responded. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “I couldn’t sleep. I knew you would need bread,” the baker said, “I baked three batches.” Soon, there was another knock. A milkman’s wagon had broken down in front of the orphanage. He asked Müller if he could use some free milk rather than have it spoil.

Within a decade, without ever seeking funding, Müller completed three more orphanages. Still, the applications came. He acquired more land, and by 1861, four large dormitories could accommodate 2,000 children at a time. The boys stayed until age 14 and became apprentices, and the girls stayed until age 17. Over the years, more than 10,000 children were raised in Müller’s orphanages.

At age 70, George Müller devoted his time to a worldwide preaching ministry. In his final two decades, he logged more than 200,000 miles visiting 42 countries, including America, China, and Japan. During his lifetime, his prayers raised more than $175 million for various projects, and he documented more than 50,000 answered prayers in his journals.

More than 125 years after his death, George Müller’s ministry is still headquartered in Bristol, England, and supports missionaries and projects in 52 countries. Captain Joseph Dutton’s life was forever changed after his meeting with the preacher in the summer of 1877. Until his death in 1884, he shared his testimony with everyone he met, earning the nickname “Holy Joe” from his crew.