Andrew Murray (1828–1917) went from being a discouraged young minister to becoming one of the best-loved writers on the deeper Christian life. One of four children born to a Dutch Re-formed minister, Murray was raised in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. At the age of nine, he was sent with his older brother to Aberdeen, Scotland, to receive a formal education. In 1845 both received their master’s degrees from Aberdeen University and went on to Utrecht University in Holland to pursue theological training, where in 1848 they were ordained. After three years of study in Holland, Andrew returned to South Africa as a minister and missionary. His first appointment was to Bloemfontein, and in 1860 he accepted a call to Cape Colony and began writing numerous devotional books, many of which continue to transform lives today. Murray laid great emphasis on a theme to which many of his books are devoted—the “deeper Christian life.” He defined this simply as God’s desire and commit-ment to reveal Himself more fully to those who would seek Him. The last twelve years of his life were devoted to speaking at conventions and evangelistic meetings in the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland and South Africa.
