You were taught correctly, Dee: one should not only not pray for the dead, but to do so is pointless & against biblical teaching. Many religions do pray for the dead in the hope that that will assist those souls towards comfort & peace in the after-life. And Roman Catholics particularly believe in this as they also have the teaching of purgatory, where souls reside for a period of time for purification & made acceptability for Heaven. So while souls are being in that state, prayer is offered to God on their behalf.
They cite several Scriptures, and from the apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus, chapter 7:33 we read, "A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; and for the dead detain it not." And this means, as man gives to the poor (v 32) & weeps & visits the sick (vv 34,35), so to he should give a gift of grace to both the living & the dead (v 33). We can do so while he is alive, but it is wrong to think that a gift of grace (prayer) will be of any use when he is dead.
Rather, Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement". Once departing this Earth, there remains no other sacrifice for sins or place of repentance for the unbeliever, only waiting for God's Judgement. That is a sobering thought, but emphasizes the pressing need for man to give full consideration for the condition & destiny of his soul while he is still alive. The teaching that another place of repentance & purification exists, gives man licence to do & live how he wants in this life: and this then dilutes the meaning of the Cross & the urgency of its message.
The prayer of faith can save people , God does it his way of course. George Muller prayed with many dying people in his time because of a deadly plague that left 1000 s of orphans in his time . He believed it was very helpful and risked his life doing it .
I prayed for both my parents before they died and I'm sure it helped , The Lord gave me amazing assurance after their death , I had no grievance what so ever but was happy for them . They knew little truth but they did show evidence The Lord was working . It talks about it end of book of James . The prayer of faith ...
Never underestimate the prayer of faith . God is more than able ..
They cite several Scriptures, and from the apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus, chapter 7:33 we read, "A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living; and for the dead detain it not." And this means, as man gives to the poor (v 32) & weeps & visits the sick (vv 34,35), so to he should give a gift of grace to both the living & the dead (v 33). We can do so while he is alive, but it is wrong to think that a gift of grace (prayer) will be of any use when he is dead.
Rather, Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement". Once departing this Earth, there remains no other sacrifice for sins or place of repentance for the unbeliever, only waiting for God's Judgement. That is a sobering thought, but emphasizes the pressing need for man to give full consideration for the condition & destiny of his soul while he is still alive. The teaching that another place of repentance & purification exists, gives man licence to do & live how he wants in this life: and this then dilutes the meaning of the Cross & the urgency of its message.
I prayed for both my parents before they died and I'm sure it helped , The Lord gave me amazing assurance after their death , I had no grievance what so ever but was happy for them . They knew little truth but they did show evidence The Lord was working . It talks about it end of book of James . The prayer of faith ...
Never underestimate the prayer of faith . God is more than able ..
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