Partnering with God in prayer
“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” Max Lucado
As we saw in our last issue (Summer 2026), George Müller was a mighty man of faith and prayer as he took care of 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. Not only was his personal prayer life strong, but he led others to pray to our loving heavenly Father. We can learn a lot from him, particularly when it comes to asking God to partner with us in our daily lives. In his autobiography, Müller shares several times when he was drawn to pray specifically and ardently that God would meet needs. In one place, he describes a prayer meeting that ran longer because thirty attendees felt “a desire to wait longer upon the Lord”2 (p. 77). He explained he felt unusually close to the Lord that night, able to pray deeply and without doubt. The next day, Müller recorded that God answered all their requests regarding the daily needs of the orphans.
God answers prayer—specific prayers—and Müller saw multiple answers to his prayers as he provided for the young children in his care, an act of great courage as he was often in dire financial straits. The next month, he wrote: “We have only received as much as needed to provide for the orphans each day, and there is again great need” (p. 77). He specifically noted that at twelve o’clock, they had no way of paying the day’s expenses, but even though he admitted he did not know what to do, he turned to the Lord, using the words of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:12 “Neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee” (KJV). By evening, he returned to record that they were able to sell some things to supply what was needed.
On another occasion when the money was completely spent and there was not even the “least human likelihood” (p. 79) for obtaining what they needed that day, Müller received a letter with one shilling in it, something he took as evidence that the Lord not only remembered their need, but would supply what they required. Not long after, they received the money they could not have done without that day. It happened again and again. God met all their needs.
Frequently, Müller was in a position where there seemed to be no earthly way for them to continue to provide for the children. Their supplies often ran low or ran out. But when inevitably a few shillings appeared, a letter arrived, or other providence intervened, Müller saw the hand of God at work. These experiences led him to be able to say, “Truly, it is worth being poor and greatly tried in faith for the sake of having such precious, daily proof of the loving interest which our kind Father takes in everything that concerns us” (p. 80). He was convinced that these daily proofs would be a powerful witness that Christianity is grounded in the reality and struggles of daily living because God cares for us in the smallest ways. Müller asks, “How could our Father do otherwise? He gave us the greatest possible proof of His love when He gave us His own Son. Surely He will also freely give us all things” (p. 80, see Rom. 8:32).
Müller continuously looked to everyday life to see evidence that God is willing and able to partner with us so that we might enjoy “the inexhaustible fullness of God” (p. 81). He uses the example of a businessman making poor decisions. If the living God is his partner, he need not despair even if he does not have wisdom, for the Lord will guide him. Through prayer and faith, the businessman can expect help and go about his work confidently because he is in partnership with God.
He goes on to state that whatever we need in our service for God is available through this partnership, or fellowship, with God, whether it is more grace or the ability to withstand temptation. Müller had experience after experience to ground his belief that God would supply everything that was needed in answer to prayer. Lest anyone feel they might be excluded from this kind of partnership, he offered this encouragement: “Do not let the consciousness of your unworthiness keep you from believing what God has said concerning you. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, then this precious privilege of being in partnership with the Father and the Son is yours” (p. 81).
How about you? Do you see God as your partner? That should change how we pray, how often we pray and when we pray. May He do a work in you to bring you to that point. Only He is worthy!
1 Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment: Inspiration for Each Day of the Year – Morning and evening edition (Thomas Nelson, 2007), 114.
2 From this point all the quotes are from Chapter 15 of this book: George Muller, The Autobiography of George Muller (Condensed Version), https://georgemuller.org/uploads/4/8/6/5/48652749/the-autobiography-of-george-muller.pdf, 77-81.