George Muller on Distributing Tracts
If any of the Christian readers are in
the habit of circulating tracts and yet have never seen fruit, may I
suggest to them the following hints for their prayerful
consideration:
1 Seek for such a state of heart,
through prayer and meditation on the Holy Scriptures, as that you are
willing to let God have all the honor, if any good is accomplished by
your service. If you desire for yourself the honor, yea, though it
were in part only, you oblige the Lord, so to speak, to put you as
yet aside as a vessel not meet for the Master's use. One of the
greatest qualifications for usefulness in the service of the Lord is
a heart truly desirous of getting honor for him.
2 Precede all your labors with
earnest, diligent prayer; go to them in a prayerful spirit; and
follow them by prayer. Do not rest on the number of tracts you have
given. A million of tracts may not be the means of converting one
single soul; and yet how great, beyond calculation, may be the
blessing which results from one single tract. Thus it is also with
regard to the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, and the ministry of
the word itself. Expect, then, everything from the blessing of the
Lord, and nothing at all from your own exertions.
3 And yet at the same time labor,
press into every open door, be instant in season and out of season,
as if everything depended upon your labors. This, as has been stated
before, is one of the great secrets in connection with successful
service for the Lord: to work, as if everything depended upon our
diligence, and yet not to rest in the least upon our exertions, but
upon the blessing of the Lord.
4 This blessing of the Lord, however,
should not merely be sought in prayer, but it should also be
expected, looked for, continually looked for; and the result will be
that we shall surely have it.
5 But suppose that, for the trial of
our faith, this blessing were for a long time withheld from our
sight; or suppose, even, that we should have to fall asleep before we
see much good resulting from our labors, yet will our labors, if
carried on in such a way and spirit as has been stated, be at last
abundantly owned, and we shall have a rich harvest in the day of
Christ.
