PRAYER FOR THE UNWORTHY (5 OF 7)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Genesis 18:17-38
This content is part of a series.
Prayer for the Unworthy (5 of 7)
Series: The Father Figure
Jeff Strite
Genesis 18:17-33
OPEN: In Europe in the Middle Ages, people had a strong belief in the power of prayer. They also believed that the purer and simpler the life you led, the more God would listen to you. And since Monks were supposed to live purer and simpler lives than anyone else their prayers were seen as a hotline to God. So, rich people and warriors began to pay the monks to do all the praying they were too busy to do for themselves.
The Middle Ages were times of great conflict. Lots of wars, lots of soldiers killed on the fields of battle. And at the time, the Catholic church was conflicted about the command ''Thou shalt not kill.'' They felt that that commandment also applied to killing in war as well (it didn't), so after the Battle of Hastings (for example) the Catholic church demanded that each soldier do 120 days of penance for every person they killed.
William the Conqueror (in his lifetime) was responsible for the death of about 10,000 people. That meant he was required to do 1,200,000 days of penance (meaning he'd have to pray for about 3300 years to cleanse his soul). His penance would have lasted to the year 4366 - meaning he wouldn't have been finished yet. So he figured if the work was split up amongst a couple hundred monks he could have his soul cleansed in less the 18 years. So he founded a string of Abbeys - where monks could pray specifically for his soul. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqYYPUOJQls)
Now, not only was that practice not Biblical... it was just plain silly! God doesn't work like that. But, people have had odd opinions about prayer for centuries. And that's what happens when you don't pay attention to Scripture... you create all kinds of weird theologies.
That's why the prayers we find in Scripture - like the one Abraham prayed here - are so important. God was showcasing Abraham's prayer (like He did other prayers in the Bible) so we could see ...
Series: The Father Figure
Jeff Strite
Genesis 18:17-33
OPEN: In Europe in the Middle Ages, people had a strong belief in the power of prayer. They also believed that the purer and simpler the life you led, the more God would listen to you. And since Monks were supposed to live purer and simpler lives than anyone else their prayers were seen as a hotline to God. So, rich people and warriors began to pay the monks to do all the praying they were too busy to do for themselves.
The Middle Ages were times of great conflict. Lots of wars, lots of soldiers killed on the fields of battle. And at the time, the Catholic church was conflicted about the command ''Thou shalt not kill.'' They felt that that commandment also applied to killing in war as well (it didn't), so after the Battle of Hastings (for example) the Catholic church demanded that each soldier do 120 days of penance for every person they killed.
William the Conqueror (in his lifetime) was responsible for the death of about 10,000 people. That meant he was required to do 1,200,000 days of penance (meaning he'd have to pray for about 3300 years to cleanse his soul). His penance would have lasted to the year 4366 - meaning he wouldn't have been finished yet. So he figured if the work was split up amongst a couple hundred monks he could have his soul cleansed in less the 18 years. So he founded a string of Abbeys - where monks could pray specifically for his soul. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqYYPUOJQls)
Now, not only was that practice not Biblical... it was just plain silly! God doesn't work like that. But, people have had odd opinions about prayer for centuries. And that's what happens when you don't pay attention to Scripture... you create all kinds of weird theologies.
That's why the prayers we find in Scripture - like the one Abraham prayed here - are so important. God was showcasing Abraham's prayer (like He did other prayers in the Bible) so we could see ...
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