The Man Who Fed Ten Thousand Without Asking

In 1836, George Müller opened an orphanage on Wilson Street in Bristol, England, with exactly one shilling in his pocket and no wealthy donors on his list. He had made a single, audacious decision: he would never ask anyone for money. He would only pray.

Over the next six decades, Müller housed and fed over ten thousand orphans. Morning after morning, children sat before empty plates while Müller bowed his head and gave thanks for food that had not yet arrived. And morning after morning, a baker would knock with surplus bread, or a milk cart would break down directly outside the orphanage door.

Müller kept meticulous records — every penny received, every prayer answered — not to glorify himself, but so that no one could miss what God was doing. He wanted his life to be evidence. When visitors toured his five large orphan houses on Ashley Down, they were not seeing a charity. They were seeing a sermon.

Jesus told His disciples that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Müller understood this. He did not hide his faith behind closed doors or reduce righteousness to private devotion. He built it on a hillside where all of Bristol could watch. His obedience was not a dim, cautious flicker. It was a bonfire that made the goodness of the Almighty impossible to ignore — and it still gives light today.