Prayers for intercession vs prayers to God

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expectthebest

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It is the Catholic Tradition to say prayers to Mary and the Saints to intercede for us by praying to God in Heaven for us. This brings up the following questions:

Should one spend more time praying for intercession or more time praying directly to God? Should the prayers for intercession and prayers to God be more or less equal?

I know people who probably spend more time each week in prayer asking for the intercession of Mary than directly to God. is this a problem?
 
Hi,

I for one mostly pray to God and sometimes to Mary. I think all prayers are equal and you should pray however you are comfortable doing it. Just pray.

God Bless
Jeanne
 
expectthebest said:
I know people who probably spend more time each week in prayer asking for the intercession of Mary than directly to God. is this a problem?
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Well, it’s not like God is gonna feel cheated or anything.

The Bible tells us:
The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
- Proverbs 15:29
​
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
- James 5:16​
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Of course, we can ask anyone to pray for us (either in heaven or on earth). But, naturally, we prefer the prayers of the righteous. Who is more righteous than the Saints?

God is pleased when we pray on behalf of someone else. So he has no objection to us asking for those prayers.

Ultimately, they all wind up on his desk anyway.
 
I agree with the others. The are both authentic and give glory to God. There is no right “amount” whether you do 90-10% in favor of prayers directed at God or 90-10% in favor of intercessory prayers or 50-50. :o
 
I understand your points in that the prayers are worthy and end up with God in the end anyway. But, I can’t help but think God would want the majority of time spent in prayer to be directly to Him. We do ask others to pray for us but we don’t pray to others to pray for us, on earth at least.

If we spend the too much of our prayer time praying to Mary, for example, are we developing our relationship with Mary when we should be spending time developing a relationship with God? Maybe we should ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us but in less of a devotional way, much like we would ask our neighbor to pray for us.
 
Mt 18:19-20 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

God is love, and love requires the presence of more than one person. By asking intercession from the saints, we get that second (or third, or…) involved, and Christ as well. It has a greater effect than the prayer of a single person directly to God.

Well, at least that’s my theory 🙂
 
ricmat said:
Mt 18:19-20 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

God is love, and love requires the presence of more than one person. By asking intercession from the saints, we get that second (or third, or…) involved, and Christ as well. It has a greater effect than the prayer of a single person directly to God.

Well, at least that’s my theory 🙂
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If I’m not mistaken, this passage relates to people on earth, not those in Heaven.
 
ricmat said:
Mt 18:19-20 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

God is love, and love requires the presence of more than one person. By asking intercession from the saints, we get that second (or third, or…) involved, and Christ as well. It has a greater effect than the prayer of a single person directly to God.

Well, at least that’s my theory 🙂
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The verse talks about praying with others, not praying to others for intercession. It also specified “earth” as apposed to earth and Heaven. Does this differencitate those who pray for us on earth vs those in Heaven? What is the Scriptural evidence that the Saints hear our prayers?
 
expectthebest said:
I understand your points in that the prayers are worthy and end up with God in the end anyway. But, I can’t help but think God would want the majority of time spent in prayer to be directly to Him. We do ask others to pray for us but we don’t pray to others to pray for us, on earth at least.
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Online dictionary gives the meaning of pray as ask fervently. So when we ask someone on earth …, we pray they …

It’s the same word. Pray is a form of ask, coming from the latin rather than the english.
 
expectthebest said:
What is the Scriptural evidence that the Saints hear our prayers?
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Every Sunday you go to Mass (your profile says you are a Catholic), and you recite the Nicaean Creed. You do believe in the “communion of saints”, right? The Church triumphant? The most alive part of the Church? They join us in our prayers if we ask them to.

You are Catholic aren’t you?
 
expectthebest said:
What is the Scriptural evidence that the Saints hear our prayers?
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Here are a couple.
Revelations 5:8:
And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints
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Revelations 8:3:
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
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expectthebest said:
If I’m not mistaken, this passage relates to people on earth, not those in Heaven.
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We believe in the Communion of Saints. Here is an explanation and I hope it helps.

In Ephesians 3:14-15 we are called one family in Christ, in heaven and on earth. We are united together, as children of the Father, through Jesus Christ. That is what a covenant is, a union, not a contractual agreement. Our brothers and sisters in heaven are still part of that family. This family is in Jesus Christ, the head of the body, which is the Church.

In Romans 8:35-39, St. Paul writes that death does not separate the family of God and the love of Christ. We are still united with each other, even beyond death. Did Jesus not converse with the “diseased” when he spoke with Moses and Elijah?

St. Paul urges supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people in his letter to St. Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:1-4. So, since this is pleasing to God, and those that are in heaven are still part of the one family of Christ, Revelation 5:8 makes perfect sense. The prayers of the saints, on heaven and earth, are presented to God by the angels and saints in heaven. This shows that the saints intercede on our behalf before God, and it also demonstrates that our prayers on earth are united with their prayers in heaven.

We also see in Revelation 6:9-11 that the martyred saints in heaven cry out in a loud voice to God to avenge their blood “on those who dwell upon the earth.” These are “imprecatory prayers,” which are pleas for God’s judgment. This means that the saints in heaven are praying for those on earth, and God answers their prayers (Rev. 8:1-5). We, therefore, ask for their intercession and protection.
 
expectthebest said:
I understand your points in that the prayers are worthy and end up with God in the end anyway. But, I can’t help but think God would want the majority of time spent in prayer to be directly to Him. We do ask others to pray for us but we don’t pray to others to pray for us, on earth at least.

If we spend the too much of our prayer time praying to Mary, for example, are we developing our relationship with Mary when we should be spending time developing a relationship with God? Maybe we should ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us but in less of a devotional way, much like we would ask our neighbor to pray for us.
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Praying is asking, as in the phrase ‘I Pray you know me when we meet again’ (that’s not mine - it belongs to Shakespeare) so don’t let the word trip you up on what’s actually happening.
If you are talking to Mary, where will she point you besides to her Son? If you feel more comfortable with teh Our Father, then go ahead and pray that. 🙂
 
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