Tis, we do pray to saints.
Just because many (not all) Protestants have managed here in the US (by weight of numbers overall) to redefine for themselves the term ‘prayer’ and to narrow its definition to ‘that which is offered to God alone) doesn’t mean that we have to meekly kowtow to that narrowed definition ourselves.
Prayer is asking or communication. to ANYBODY. Even in Shakespeare’s time and as seen in his works, the word pray meant to ask, and his characters would ask each other, “pray tell me” this and that.
So yes, we pray to the saints. We pray to each other.
The ultimate END of any prayer though is God because He of course is the ultimate of anything; He is our Source, our Creator, our Lord and Almighty.
Our prayers to saints are all for those saints to add on THEIR prayers to ours with God as the ultimate One to whom prayers are intended.
Where the shorthand comes in is that as you rightly noted, all prayers to any saints, or indeed to any friends (hey Tis, please I pray you, join with me in prayer to the Holy Family to bless our world, which they do by the power of Almighty God) will be ultimately directed to God, through Whom all comes.
