From chapter 1 (“Encouraging Words for Discouraging Times”) from Michael Youssef’s new book, Never Give Up
George Müller was a nineteenth-century Christian evangelist and the administrator of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He provided a home for more than ten thousand orphans over his lifetime and founded more than a hundred Christian schools. He was known as a man of prayer who always expected God to answer his prayers.
In November 1844 Müller made a commitment to pray for five friends, asking God to bring them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He prayed every day, whether he was at home or traveling, whether he was well or sick, no matter how busy his schedule. After a year and a half of daily prayer for these five friends, one of them gave his life to Christ. Müller thanked God for answering his prayer, and he continued praying daily for the remaining four.
After five more years of praying, a second man came to Christ. Müller thanked God for the second answer to prayer and continued praying for the remaining three.
Six more years passed—and a third man came to Christ. By this time, Müller had been praying more than a dozen years without missing a single day—and two of the five men he had prayed for remained unconverted. In 1880, he wrote in his diary, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.”
Müller died on March 10, 1898, at the age of ninety-two. He had been praying for the salvation of these men for fifty-four years. At the time of his death, the last two holdouts—two sons of one of Mueller’s friends—remained unsaved. Even so, Müller’s prayers were answered, because they both committed their lives to Christ after his death.
George Müller patterned his prayer life after Jesus the Master, who taught His disciples to “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Müller never gave up—and neither should we.
Never give up on prayer.
Never give up on biblical truth.
Never give up on the infallibility of the Word of God.
Never give up on the faith that was once delivered.
Never give up on sound doctrine.
Press on, persevere, and don’t ever give up.
One of the great examples of spiritual perseverance is the apostle Paul. Imprisoned in a cold Roman dungeon, Paul knew he was nearing the end of his life. Eager to leave a legacy, he wrote his final letter, addressing it to Timothy, a young church leader he had mentored in the faith. We know this letter today as 2 Timothy.
Paul was not writing to Timothy alone. He knew that these inspired words would endure and be read by future generations. So this letter is truly an exhortation not only to Timothy, but to church leaders and church members today, including you and me.
The central theme of 2 Timothy is never give up. In every generation, there are temptations to compromise God’s truth. Falsehood and error creep into the church, tainting the purity of the Lord’s gospel. The tendency to stray from God’s truth was a major problem in the first century church—and it has reached a crisis level in the twenty-first century church.
For more information on Never Give Up, check out DrYoussefBooks.com. {eoa}
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