Winston Churchill called him “the greatest Englishman ever.” He was one of only two English kings awarded the designation “The Great” for extraordinary leadership. He’s remembered as the monarch who saved England from Viking invasion, uniting Saxony (forerunner to modern England) and preserving English as a written language.
Alfred (ca. 848-899) was a king who lived by the principle, “I embrace the purpose of God.” He carried around with him a notebook of Psalms and written prayers, which he prayed often. He prefaced his edition of English law code with a list of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 and various civil laws from Exodus 21-23 to reinforce the commands. Next, he cited Jesus’ teaching on the Ten Commandments in his Sermon on the Mount and concluded by referencing their importance to the apostles at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). No other law book at that time gave so much credence to biblical teaching. Alfred also translated major portions of the Latin Bible into English as well as major theological works by Augustine and Gregory the Great.
Quick! Forward this post to our elected leaders! We need more politicians like Alfred.
How did he manage to lead his country while caring for his peoples’ spiritual welfare? He lived a highly disciplined life, allocating eight hours each day for rest and food, eight hours for prayer, reading and writing and eight hours for his job as king. He placed twenty-four candles in a chapel, each of which burned for one hour. A sexton would alert Alfred to the passage of time at the end of every hour.
King Alfred leads us into prayer: