Editing George Müller (section)

===Youth===
Müller was born in Kroppenstädt (now [[Kroppenstedt]]), a village near [[Halberstadt]] in the [[Kingdom of Prussia]].<ref>{{cite news
 |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1868/12/22/79378653.pdf
 |title=George Muller; The New Orphan Houses of Bristol|work=The New York Times|date=22 December 1868 |last=Our Own Correspondent
 |location=New York
 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> In 1810, the Müller family moved to nearby Heimersleben, where Müller's father was appointed a collector of taxes.<ref name="Müller 1984, p. 31">Müller (1984), p. 31</ref> He had an older brother, Friedrich Johann Wilhelm (1803 – 7 Oct 1838) and, after his widowed father remarried, a half-brother, Franz (b 1822).

His early life was not marked by righteousness – on the contrary, he was a thief, a liar and a gambler. By the age of 10, Müller was stealing government money from his father.<ref name="Müller 1984, p. 31"/> While his mother was dying, he, at fourteen years of age, was playing cards with friends and drinking.<ref>Müller (2004), p. 2</ref><ref>Müller (2003), p. 10</ref> While in seminary at the [[Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg|University of Halle]] in [[Germany]], Müller described his status as one of

<blockquote>
"wicked behaviour and unrepentant spirit ... Despite my sinful lifestyle and cold heart, [[God]] had mercy on me. I was as careless as ever. I had no [[Bible]] and had not read any Scripture for years. I seldom went to church; and, out of custom only, I took the [[Holy Communion|Lord's Supper]] twice a year. I never heard the gospel preached. Nobody told me that [[Jesus]] meant for [[Christianity|Christians]], by the help of God, to live according to the Holy Scriptures." ...<ref>''The Autobiography of George Müller,'' pp. 14-15.</ref></blockquote>

Then Müller attended a [[prayer]] meeting in a private home in 1825 which so moved him that a swift transformation began in his behaviour. "I have no doubt ... that He began a work of grace in me. Even though I scarcely had any knowledge of who God truly was, that evening was the turning point in my life."<ref>''The Autobiography of George Müller,'' p. 16.</ref>

Müller's father hoped to provide him with a religious education that would allow him to take a lucrative position as a clergyman in the state church. He studied [[divinity]] at Halle and there met a fellow student, Beta, who invited him to the Christian prayer meeting which changed Müller's perspective. He was welcomed and began regularly reading the Bible and discussing Christianity with the others in attendance. After seeing a man on his knees praying to God, he was convinced of his need for [[salvation]]. He went to his bed, knelt and prayed, and asked God to help him in his life and to bless him wherever he went and to forgive him of his sins. He immediately stopped drinking, stealing and lying, and developed hope of becoming a [[missionary]], rather than the comfortable clergyman that his father had envisioned for him. He began preaching regularly in nearby churches.<ref>Müller (2003), pp. 23-24.</ref>