Featured Story: George Müller and the Captain
(This true story was shared by Mr. Inglis, who received it directly from the ship captain involved. It took place in August 1877.)
The fog surrounding us was practically a solid mass. A thick, smothering wall of gray pressed in from every direction. It felt as though we’d hardly moved in days. Visibility was near zero, and I had no choice but to slow the steamer to a crawl.
Our crossing from Newfoundland to Quebec should have taken just a few days—but at this pace, it would take another week. The sea lapped lazily at the hull, the ship producing little wake. I'd been on the bridge for twenty-two hours straight, eyes straining for any sign of change. There was none.
“I Must Be in Quebec on Saturday”
I was startled by a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a calm, older gentleman—George Müller, the man of God from Bristol. I could see the stress of dangerous conditions and our own glacial pace on every one else's face, but he looked as peaceful as if the fog didn’t exist.
“Captain,” he said simply, “I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.”
I stared at him. “Impossible,” I said. “With this fog, we’ll never make it in time.”
“Very well,” Müller replied gently. “If your ship cannot take me, God will find another way. I have never missed an engagement in fifty-seven years.”
“What would you have me do?” I asked, baffled and frustrated. Couldn't the man see the fog for himself?
“Let us go to the chart-room and pray,” he said.
I looked at that man of God, and I thought to myself, what lunatic asylum could that man have come from? I had never heard of such a thing.
"Mr. Müller," I said, "do you know how dense the fog is?"
"No," he replied, "my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life."
I gaped at him, then turned and led the way to the chart room.
Childlike Faith, Bold Prayer
We knelt together. He prayed the simplest prayer I had ever heard:
“O Lord, if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement You have made for me in Quebec on Saturday. I believe it is Your will.”
I muttered to myself, "That would suit a children's class where the children are not more than eight or nine years old."
I was about to pray too, but he placed a hand on my shoulder and said gently, “Captain, do not pray. First, because you do not believe He will. And second, because I believe He has already done it. There is no need for you to pray about it.”
Then he stood, looked me in the eye, and said, “I have known my Lord for forty-seven years. There has never been a single day that I failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door. You’ll find the fog is gone.”
The Fog Was Gone
Wordlessly I did as he suggested and opened the door. The fog—it had vanished. Not drifted, not thinned. Gone.
Sunlight broke across the deck. The sea sparkled. And on Saturday afternoon, George Müller stepped ashore in Quebec—right on time.
Beyond Natural Laws
Some say this violates natural law. They’re right—it does. But it aligns with spiritual law . The God we serve is omnipotent. He hears. He acts. He still moves mountains—and fog—when His children ask in faith.
That moment changed me. I had known of God before, but now I had seen Him move. I left that ship a different man. From then on, people began calling me "Holy Joe" —a name I wore with joy, because I knew the One it pointed to.
Hold On to God's Power
Never underestimate what God will do for the one who believes. As the Word says:
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” —Matthew 21:22 (KJV)
George Müller lived it. So can we.
Scripture References
- Matthew 21:22 — “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
- James 5:16 — “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
- Mark 11:24 — “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
