Please explain the basis for Catholics believing that the saints in heaven can hear our prayers

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Tommy999

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Background:
I am a Protestant Christian who has warmed up to the idea of asking the saints in heaven to pray for us as our “heavenly prayer partners”. While I almost always pray to God in the name of Jesus, also, I believe it is biblical for other Christians we know to pray for us, especially those we know who are righteous (James 5:16). Obviously, the saints were righteous while on earth, and are now more so than ever (I presume) in heaven.

I always assumed through my faith tradition that once a Christian goes to be with the Lord after physical death, he or she is blocked off from the world as we know unless God temporarily allows it because humans are not omniscient or omnipresent like God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.

Question:
What biblical or other evidence is there to prove or disprove that the saints who have died on earth but are very alive in heaven can hear our prayers when we avail ourselves of them as our “heavenly prayer partners”? I would like to believe in this but fear the Bible is relatively quiet on the issue of whether the saints can see beyond the veil, so to speak.

Any insights would be appreciated. I am open to Catholicism but am often met by “Where is that taught in the Bible”? by skeptical Protestant brethren when I mention Catholic beliefs in a positive light.
 
It is God’s will that we pray for one another. The inspired Word of God says this repeatedly.

The prayer of the righteous avails much. Who is more righteous than those who are alive in heaven with Christ?

If it is God’s will that we pray for one another, and the righteous pray for one another because it is the will of God, why would they stop doing the will of God once they got to heaven?

If it is God’s will that we pray for one another and intercede for one another in this life, and if those who do his will in this life and thus receive their heavenly reward continue to pray for and intercede in heaven, why would God not make it possible for them to do this? That is, why wouldn’t he allow them to hear the prayers of those who invoke their intercession?

Where one member suffers, all suffer; where one is glorified, all are glorified. We are all one Body in Christ, whether in heaven or on earth. So God is glorified in his saints, who do his will, and in praying for the Body of Christ to be built up, they continue to do his will in the life to come.

-Fr ACEGC
 
With God, All Things Are Possible.

When we pray, God can certainly make a saint in Heaven capable of hearing our prayers directly, or could receive the prayer himself and pass it along to the saint.

Do you doubt that God, who can do all things, can do this? Saints do nothing apart from God. Anything they can do is done through God with his permission and facilitation.
 
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Tommy999 said:
Any insights would be appreciated. I am open to Catholicism but am often met by “Where is that taught in the Bible”? by skeptical Protestant brethren when I mention Catholic beliefs in a positive light.
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Where is it taught in the Bible that everything has to be taught in the Bible?
 
The first place I’d probably look is in Revelation 5–
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four eldersfell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.
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The bit at the end (the prayers of God’s people) is variously translated as “God’s saints”, “God’s holy ones”, “God’s people”, etc, depending on where you look.
et cum aperuisset librum quattuor animalia et viginti quattuor seniores ceciderunt coram agno habentes singuli citharas et fialas aureas plenas odoramentorum quae sunt orationes sanctorum
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or
καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὸ βιβλίον τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα καὶ οἱ εἴκοσιτέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσον ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάρας, καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων αἵ εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων
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in case you want to have your own opinion on how it ought to read.

But the point is, you have the elders in heaven who are presenting the prayers of the faithful to God. Are you suggesting that they’re ignorant of the prayers they’re offering to God?
 
Tommy999 said:
I always assumed through my faith tradition that once a Christian goes to be with the Lord after physical death, he or she is blocked off from the world as we know unless God temporarily allows it because humans are not omniscient or omnipresent like God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.
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Ruth 2:20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.

but God is omniscient and omnipresent Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Colossians 1:17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Tommy999 said:
What biblical or other evidence is there to prove or disprove that the saints who have died on earth but are very alive in heaven can hear our prayers when we avail ourselves of them as our “heavenly prayer partners”? I would like to believe in this but fear the Bible is relatively quiet on the issue of whether the saints can see beyond the veil, so to speak.
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Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses(Saints), let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

Tobit 12:12 So now when you and Sarah prayed, it was I who brought and read[[f]the record of your prayer before the glory of the Lord, and likewise whenever you would bury the dead. 13 And that time when you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner to go and bury the dead, 14 I was sent to you to test you. And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord.”
Galatians 6:10 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family (That includes even the saints)of faith.

Luke 9:31 Elijah and Moses aware of earthly events

Revelation 20:4 John saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
 
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Thanks for the Bible references, Francis. Also, thanks to everyone else for your insights. I am not an apologist by any means, so your help is much appreciated.
 
As Midori points out above, Revelation 5:8 is pretty clear that the saints in heaven are NOT cut off from the affairs of earth. I was taught the same thing as an evangelical, but it’s a myth not grounded in scripture at all.
 
The only instance I can think of in the New Testament where a specific dead person is prayerfully addressed by a living person is in Acts 9:40, when Peter raised Tabitha from the dead, saying to her, “Tabitha, rise.” Since she did indeed rise from the dead, she obviously heard him.

I suppose the ultimate basis for Catholics believing that the saints in heaven can hear our prayers are the words of Jesus Christ himself, who said:
All things are possible for him who believes. (Mark 9:23)

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:23)

If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)
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Given what Jesus said about addressing trees and mountains, if a believer prayerfully addresses the saints in heaven, not doubting in his heart but believing that he will be heard, how can he not be heard by the saints in heaven?
 
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2 Maccabees 15:11 He armed each of them not so much with confidence in shields and spears as with the inspiration of brave words, and he cheered them all by relating a dream, a sort of vision, which was worthy of belief.12 What he saw was this: Onias, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentle manner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews. 13 Then in the same fashion another appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and of marvelous majesty and authority. 14 And Onias spoke, saying, “This is a man who loves the family of Israel and prays much for the people and the holy city—Jeremiah, the prophet of God.” 15 Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it he addressed him thus: 16 “Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.”
 
Thank you very much, joyfulandactive. Very helpful, especially this part:

"The reason we pray to the saints is that they are still members of the Body of Christ. Remember, the life which Christ gives is eternal life; therefore, every Christian who has died in Christ is forever a member of the Body of Christ. This is the doctrine which we call the Communion of the Saints. Everyone in Christ, whether living or dead, belongs to the Body of Christ.

From this it follows that a saint in heaven may intercede for other people because he still is a member of the Body of Christ. Because of this membership in Christ, under his headship, the intercession of the saints cannot be a rival to Christ’s mediation; it is one with the mediation of Christ, to whom and in whom the saints form one body.

Some Christians–most Protestants, in fact–deny that the Bible gives support for devotion to the saints, but they are incorrect. The Bible encourages Christians to approach the saints in heaven, just as they approach God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord: “But you have approached Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads of angels, and the assembly and church of the firstborn who have been enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and spirits of righteous ones who have been made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood which speaks better than that of Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24)."

Thanks again to everyone who replied. I think I have enough to go on to believe in this doctrine, even if many of my brethren do not.
 
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Quick follow-up question:
I made my first prayer for intercession a little while ago by starting out, “Dear saints in heaven, please pray for me” and then stated my prayer request – but don’t know if that is the correct way or not.

Since there are many saints in heaven, and it appears that different countries (and cities, even) have their own patron saint, does it matter which saint you ask to pray for your request to be effective or does a general prayer to all of them at once suffice? A clarification would be appreciated.
 
That’s a perfectly sound approach to it.

Bear in mind that it’s also not required. Catholics are not required to pray to the saints.
 
Here is something in the Bible, but it may be necessary to read between the lines: Think about what it means for us to be part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). What does it mean for Jesus to be in us, and us in him (John 6:53-57, John 15:4-5), and for us all to be one (John 17:20-23)?

One interpretation is that God, by becoming human, that is, by the Incarnation of Jesus, joined himself to humanity in a very special way. Through Jesus, we are connected to God, and we are also connected to the saints in heaven, and they are connected to us.

Here on earth, we cannot see the connections. At Mass, we receive the Body of Christ, but it looks like bread. Most of us do not see the saints or hear them talking. The saints in heaven, however, are more closely and perfectly united with Christ (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). Perhaps through his humanity, through his human eyes and ears, they can see and hear us.
 
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Another approach that I’ve used is to “think” about a specific saint that struggled with what I am going through. For instance, St. Monica continually prayed for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine. I think about what we have in common - love for our sons, concern for their souls, think about how her reaction was to pray where mine are to worry. Ask Christ to help me be more like St. Monica, and ask St. Monica to intercede - keep my prayers for my son - before Christ when I am not able to pray.
 
Tommy999 said:
I made my first prayer for intercession a little while ago by starting out, “Dear saints in heaven, please pray for me” and then stated my prayer request – but don’t know if that is the correct way or not.
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This is perfectly fine. As long as you are reverent/ respectful, there is no one “correct” way to ask a saint for prayers. I just did a prayer asking “all the saints in heaven and all the Holy Angels” to pray for the intention. It’s the same thing as what you said.
Since there are many saints in heaven, and it appears that different countries (and cities, even) have their own patron saint, does it matter which saint you ask to pray for your request to be effective or does a general prayer to all of them at once suffice? A clarification would be appreciated.
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It doesn’t matter for getting your request heard. As I said above, as long as you are reverent and respectful, a general request of all the saints for prayers is fine.

Many people have a certain patron saint that they like to invoke because they like/ relate to the saint, or they chose that saint for their own special patron saint, or because the saint is the special patron of something they are praying about.

For example, if I want to ask a saint to help me find something that’s lost, I’d probably ask St. Anthony to help because in USA, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost articles. In some other countries, St. Anthony is the patron saint of marriage, so a person there would ask him to pray that they find a good spouse. I might also ask St. Anthony to pray for a person I know who is named Anthony or Antony just because they have the same name.

But it would be equally okay if I asked another saint, like St. Joseph or St. Francis of Assisi, to help with all the above. You don’t absolutely have to ask the saint who’s designated as the patron saint of something.

Many people who have a favorite saint ask them for help with everything. St. John Vianney for example was devoted to St. Philomena and he always prayed for her to help him.

if you’d like to choose some favorite saints of your own, you can do that whenever you like. But you don’t have to. You can always just ask all the saints generally.
 
@Tommy999

I do note that you are happy with the wonderful answers here in reply to your questions. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the love and respect you showed in the manner in which you posed your questions. You will make a fine Catholic Christian. It is beautiful the way God draws us to Himself and His Church. Truly it is glorious. Be blessed my brother.
 
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