Why do Catholics pray through Mary & Saints?

[jlhargus]

With all due respect to all who pray in whatever fashion, and to whatever deity they believe and have faith in, I offer my two cents(as opposed to two mites,Luke 21:2); which I do not ask others to believe as I do. Anyway, all the verses pertaining to the Ark of the Covenant, were from the Old Testament, and were part of the Old Covenant! When Christ died on the Cross, and was subsequently resurected, believers were able to do what, in the OT, was only available to priests; enter the Holy of Holies:thumbsup:. It’s not so much that we non-catholics disrespect or dismiss Mary’s role in God’s great plan of salvation, we just don’t, at least me personally, do not feel the NEED to pray through Mary, or any other saint. In John 16:23-26, Jesus tells us that because of Him, we are able to approach the Father, and that if we ask for whatever it may be, in Jesus’s Name, we will receive. So, as a content, confident, and blessed believer(denomination not relevant), I know that when I pray, I am talking directly to my Heavenly Father, through Jesus!:thumbsup:So,please do not take it as a personal affront to your religion, if we don’t pray through Mary; we stilllove and respect our God, and believe that Mary is important

JL: REV 11:19 And **the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen **in his temple THE ARK of his testament and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail REV 12:1 And THERE APPEARED A GREAT WONDER IN HEAVEN A WOMAN CLOTHER WITH THE SUN and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars …5 And SHE BROUGHT FORTH A MAN CHILD who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne

2 MCABS 2:5 And when Jeremaias came thither he found a hollow cave: and he carried in thither the tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense and so stopped the door. 6 Then some of them that followed him came up to mark the place: but they could not find it. 7 And when Jeremaias preceived it, he blamed them, saying: The place SHALL BE UNKNOWN TILL GOD GATHER together THE CONGREGATION OF THE PEOPLE and receive them TO MERCY. 8 And then the Lord will shew these things: and THE MAJESTY OF THE LORD SHALL APPEAR AND THERE SHALL BE A CLOUD, as it was also shewed to Moses, and he shewed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be sanctifed to the great God.

EX 40:34 Then A CLOUD COVERED THE TENT of the congregation and the glory of THE LORD FILLED THE TABERNACLE 35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation BECAUSE THE CLOUD ABODE THEREON and THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE TABERNACLE.

LK 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE and THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE therefore also that holy thing which shall be BORN OF THEE shall be called the SON OF GOD

2 SAM 6:2 And** David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah** to bring up from thence the ark of God whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims

LK 1:39 And **Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda **

2 SAM 6:9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day and said How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?

LK 1:30 And the angel said unto her **Fear not Mary **for thou hast found favour with God

2 SAM 6:9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day and said How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?

LK 1:43 And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me

2 SAM 6:16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window and saw king **David leaping and dancing **before the LORD and she despised him in her heart

LK 1:44 For lo as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears **the babe leaped in my womb for joy **

2 SAM 6:18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings **he blessed the people **in the name of the LORD of hosts

LK 1:45 And **blessed is she that believed **for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord

2 SAM 6:11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom and all his household

LK 1:56 And Mary abode with her about **three months **and returned to her own house

No one could touch or open the ark. Euphemistically speaking the Ark (Mary) was to remain virgin. Ezek 44:1 Then the man brought me back to **the outer gate **of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. 2 **The LORD said **to me, This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it.

 

[YADA]

With all due respect to all who pray in whatever fashion, and to whatever deity they believe and have faith in, I offer my two cents(as opposed to two mites,Luke 21:2); which I do not ask others to believe as I do. Anyway, all the verses pertaining to the Ark of the Covenant, were from the Old Testament, and were part of the Old Covenant! When Christ died on the Cross, and was subsequently resurected, believers were able to do what, in the OT, was only available to priests; enter the Holy of Holies… It’s not so much that we non-catholics disrespect or dismiss Mary’s role in God’s great plan of salvation, we just don’t, at least me personally, do not feel the NEED to pray through Mary, or any other saint. In John 16:23-26, Jesus tells us that because of Him, we are able to approach the Father, and that if we ask for whatever it may be, in Jesus’s Name, we will receive. So, as a content, confident, and blessed believer(denomination not relevant), I know that when I pray, I am talking directly to my Heavenly Father, through Jesus!..So,please do not take it as a personal affront to your religion, if we don’t pray through Mary; we stilllove and respect our God, and believe that Mary is important

God is the God of the living and not the dead… in Christ we have life everlasting …

We are instructed not only to pray to God but to pray for each other … Yes, we can [and do] pray directly to our Lord and God. But I also can pray for you, my family, for my enemies and my friends … and they can pray for me …

If you ask me to pray for you - it would be unChristian of me to retort -

“Pray directly to God to 1Beleevr, do not involve me in your request” …

Similarly, if I know of your need for God’s grace, I am bound to pray for you out of Christian charity - even if you do not ask [pray] it of me …

ISo as another has noted … the issue is not one of praying either to God directly or through the Saints [and saints] … but a case of Both - we can pray directly to God and ask for intersession from the Communion of Saints …

 

[1beleevr]

What the heck is 2Mcab?

 

[YADA]

What the heck is 2Mcab?

Maccabees is one of the books of the Old Testament that the reformers removed from the Bible in in the 1500’s … sometimes they included it in an appendix … FYI: Today many Protestant versions of the Bible have brought back those books in an appendix

It is present in the Septuagint [Greek] Old Testament commonly used and most often quoted by Jesus and the Apostles …

You probably would refer to it as “Apocrapha” … we call it a Deutero-Canonical

 

[Bill_Pick]

God is the God of the living and not the dead… in Christ we have life everlasting …

We are instructed not only to pray to God but to pray for each other … Yes, we can [and do] pray directly to our Lord and God. But I also can pray for you, my family, for my enemies and my friends … and they can pray for me …

If you ask me to pray for you - it would be unChristian of me to retort -

“Pray directly to God to 1Beleevr, do not involve me in your request” …

Similarly, if I know of your need for God’s grace, I am bound to pray for you out of Christian charity - even if you do not ask [pray] it of me …

ISo as another has noted … the issue is not one of praying either to God directly or through the Saints [and saints] … but a case of Both - we can pray directly to God and ask for intersession from the Communion of Saints …

What do you like the best me praying for you or some one in heaven praying for you.

 

[cazayoux]

What do you like the best me praying for you or some one in heaven praying for you.

BOTH!!

That might be the crux of the misunderstanding, it’s not an either-or question.

michel

 

[jlhargus]

What the heck is 2Mcab?

JL: 2 Machabees is the Word of God. I quoted 2Mac2:5 from the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible the English version, the other quotes were from the KJV. The Douay NT was first published by the English College at Rheims, (France) 1582AD and the OT at Douay, (France) 1609. It is before the KJV of 1611 which also included 2 Machabees along with the other six books. The translators of the KJV on their own authority said they were not inspired but were good for reading and included them between the OT and NT, if I remember correctly. They were taken out of the KJV about 1639. The Amish still have them in their bible and I think Mennonites. If you ever talk to one ask them about those books, I did.

 

[YADA]

What do you like the best me praying for you or some one in heaven praying for you.

I like it when any Christian prays for me … or for my intention …

My husband has nearly died the last two Aprils [2007, 2008] … I know that literally hundreds and perhaps thousands of people prayed for him … and God answered their prayers … I know that people prayed directly to our Lord for him [as I did] that they prayed to the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit or All Three …

I know that many of them probably offered their prayers for us both [DH and me]directly to God and through a fovorite Saint in heaven …

Some may have offered their prayers for him only through their favorite Saint …

Some of the people who prayed for us are Christians who practice in a different faith tradition - I know of Lutheran’'s and Episcopal for sure …

Some of these people also asked their friends to pray for him and me too even though they did not know who we were…

They also prayed for his Health Care Team [Doctors, nurses, and other staff]

He received the Annointing of the Sick in 2008 [as did I - the priest after annointing my husband turned to him [DH] in reassurance and said he was going to annoint me - that I needed a “different kind of healing” at that moment minutes before my husband was going to be life flighted two hundred miles away and I began the drive to that hospital]

Why limit the avenues of God’s grace to flow in your life and those around you? All are strengthened by prayer … the person for whom the prayer is offered and the person praying … the community [as a whole] that lives their faith and is strenghened by the open living of that faith - that un-apologetically prays in a multitude of ways …

We are instructed to “Pray for one another” … as I said … my God - the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - One God, the Trinity … Jesus the Christ … He is the God of the Living … The Living through alltime … as God stands outside of time … HE is not the God of the Dead …

All prayer is beneficial and strengthening …

 

[guanophore]

This has always been a subject, which stirs up a lot of debate, and discussion! I personally pray to God the Father, through my intercessor, Jesus Christ; and don’t care one way or the other if catholics pray to Mary or the saints! This is their prerogative, as it is ours to bypass her and enter the throneroom of grace! It is one of the privileges we gained, when the veil was torn from the top down! Praise God for freedom and mercy!

beleevr, “bypassing” the Mother of God, is nothing to brag about. She through whom the Divine Son found worthy to bear and to raise Him certainly is deserving of more than a “bypass”. I do not think Christ is honored by such an attitude toward His mother. Obviously He did not think she needed to be “bypassed”.

We are all called to intercede for one another, because the veil is torn. Excluding the Blessed Theotokos from this privilege is quite disrespectful.

 

[1beleevr]

To suggest that not praying through Mary or the saints is disrespectful, is actually a narrow-minded view! Perhaps using the word bypass was a bit strong, because when I pray to God, through Jesus, I am "bypassing " everyone! Jesus told all of us to ask for things in HIS name when we pray:thumbsup:This by no means, implies that I don’t believe in intercessory prayer, because I pray for others all the time, and they pray for me! But, we all pray in the name of Jesus, not Mary, or Paul, or whoever. Additionally, we do not display statues of Mary, or Crosses, with Jesus still on them. Differences in worship, and belief are what make us unique, as do language, culture, and numerous qualities:thumbsup:However, these very same things can also divede usNon-catholics have been referred to as the separated ones in this forum, but those of us who are secure in our salvation, know that we are not separated from our God, just because we aren’t catholic! So, bottom line, if you prefer to pray through Mary and the saints, that is perfectly fine; if we choose not to, that should be equally acceptable. We all serve the same God, and follw the same Saviour It’s sort of like we’re all on the same team, just wearing different colored uniforms:thumbsup

 

[YADA]

To suggest that not praying through Mary or the saints is disrespectful, is actually a narrow-minded view! Perhaps using the word bypass was a bit strong, because when I pray to God, through Jesus, I am "bypassing " everyone! Jesus told all of us to ask for things in HIS name when we prayThis by no means, implies that I don’t believe in intercessory prayer, because I pray for others all the time, and they pray for me! But, we all pray in the name of Jesus, not Mary, or Paul, or whoever. Additionally, we do not display statues of Mary, or Crosses, with Jesus still on them. Differences in worship, and belief are what make us unique, as do language, culture, and numerous qualitiesHowever, these very same things can also divede usNon-catholics have been referred to as the separated ones in this forum, but those of us who are secure in our salvation, know that we are not separated from our God, just because we aren’t catholic! So, bottom line, if you prefer to pray through Mary and the saints, that is perfectly fine; if we choose not to, that should be equally acceptable. We all serve the same God, and follw the same Saviour It’s sort of like we’re all on the same team, just wearing different colored uniforms:thumbsup

We also pray in the name of Jesus … And FYI, the opening of the thread [thread title and opening post] is one that implies that “catholics” are wrong to request others to pray for them [Mary the Mother of God and the Saints]. Even this last post of yoru implies that we are praying to the Saint and if the Saint was God - like Jesus …

You have had many explanations of how we ask the Saints to pray TO JESUS on our behalf … something you admit you do [pray for others and hae them pray for you]…

Then you attack statues and such …

Catholics do not worship statues …

As for being assured of your salvation … that is an entirely different topic … rest assured, every catholic knows that Jesus died for our sins and that we live in the Hope of the Eesurrection and Life Everlasting … St Paul was not absolutely certain of his salvation … we have to pick up our cross daily, die to self daily, live in Christ and reconcile daily … everyday we are journeying toward Christ or turning away … when we turn away - we must find Him again …

Pax Christe …

PS get the writings of the early christians [the is a 3 volume set of th Early Chruch Fathers by Jurgens that is very good - they even contain the writings of those seen as heretical] … see what the early christians believed and practiced in their own words … you might be surprised

 

[Bill_Pick]

i asked my catholic friends the questions too. and that’s the arguments that i used too that ‘why dont pray to God directly.’

and they replied me the same as here too that ‘why do you invite your friends to pray for you then?’

i still got stuck. i didnt understand why people would ask dead people to pray for them. until a catholic friend told me the concept of time in God is different from us, a human being on earth.

then i understood.

but for myself, i rarely pray to saints or Mary even though i understand. i still prefer to pray to God directly. personal choice.

Anyone who argues that praying to a Saint is praying to a dead person doesn’t understand what Jesus has taught us;

 

[1beleevr]

So, I guess it comes down to praying through Mary and the saints, or not praying to them, being a matter of choice on either side of the fence(non catholic&catholic). It is not a mandatory practice for catholics, is it? Non-catholics that I have spoken with, say that because they have not felt led to, they don’t feel the need toWe could argue ad nauseum and throw verses back and forth; and at the end of the day, both sides would still feel the way they did at the beginning:thumbsup: Let’s face it; God answers prayer,(even though He doesn’t always say yes) regardless of who’s praying, who that prayer is through, or whether it’s directly to Him I guess ther would be some who would say,“Did Jesus tell me to pray through Mary and the saints?” Yes, He and others told us to pray for one another, but it still comes down to amatter of choice, not obligation:thumbsup:And, in talking about statues, I am not suggesting that catholics worship Mary, or any other person besides God(Exodus 20:4). But, you do recite a number of hail Marys, right? Thank God for freedom of choice!!!

 

[YADA]

So, I guess it comes down to praying through Mary and the saints, or not praying to them, being a matter of choice on either side of the fence(non catholic&catholic). It is not a mandatory practice for catholics, is it? Non-catholics that I have spoken with, say that because they have not felt led to, they don’t feel the need toWe could argue ad nauseum and throw verses back and forth; and at the end of the day, both sides would still feel the way they did at the beginning:thumbsup: Let’s face it; God answers prayer,(even though He doesn’t always say yes) regardless of who’s praying, who that prayer is through, or whether it’s directly to Him I guess ther would be some who would say,“Did Jesus tell me to pray through Mary and the saints?” Yes, He and others told us to pray for one another, but it still comes down to amatter of choice, not obligation:thumbsup:And, in talking about statues, I am not suggesting that catholics worship Mary, or any other person besides God(Exodus 20:4). But, you do recite a number of hail Marys, right? Thank God for freedom of choice!!!

Yes, we repeat many prayers … we are called to pray unceasingly … in truth God knows my every need and how much I love him … some might say why pray at all … or I prayed the Lord’s Prayer once and once is enough … However from the Didache, we learn that the fist century Christians were taught to pray te Lord’s Prayer 3 times each day … and that fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays was a good practice …

The Hail Mary prayer is scriptural and if you studied the history of its deelopment as a devotion to Christ [not Mary specifically] and developing a life of prayer … you would know that these prayers [150] were the illiterate [not unintelligent] persons participation in praying the 150 Psalms … in a day when personal ownership of scriptures was impossible for even the wealthiest and learned families …

You would also know that meditating on the life of Christ is enriching to one’s spiritual life. Parying the Liturgy of the Hours is also a wonderful and long standing practice amoung Christians …

And yes much of our spiritual exercises are “personal” choices … what you find enriching may not be for me …

What I find disconcerting about your posts is the disdain for intercessory prayer … or articles of religious devotion … Personnally, I rarely pray a Rosary in my daily life in the last few years. But a few years back - when I had a 45 minue commute to work - I prayed a Rosary every morning. I found it very enriching and calming and it deepened my love for Jesus and His sacrifice for me, me personally.

Similarly, a few years ago a priest challenged each family to have a family member attend daily mass once a week for a month … I attended the 6:30 AM Mass for my family, more than once a week and for longer then the month. I found that my life was more attund to our Lord. My problems did not cease but I was better prepared to handle them and actually handled them better … it was a wonderful experience and to this day I often time wonder why I do not attend a daily Mass more often then I do … Life pressures get in the way … but that is the issue isn’t it … We must find ways to stay closer to our Lord then the World …

My point is no catholic I know limits themselves to any one and only one practice. Their devotional life have cycles and variety. Their maturity level grows and so does thier faith life.

You seem to disdain practices you have not researched, practices for which you have a negative bias and which you have never tried [and tried over a distinct period of time]…

Your post - it is like hearing a comment that the Bible is hard to read and full of errors and then asking why Christians read the bible?

 

[Bill_Pick]

So, I guess it comes down to praying through Mary and the saints, or not praying to them, being a matter of choice on either side of the fence(non catholic&catholic). It is not a mandatory practice for catholics, is it? Non-catholics that I have spoken with, say that because they have not felt led to, they don’t feel the need toWe could argue ad nauseum and throw verses back and forth; and at the end of the day, both sides would still feel the way they did at the beginning:thumbsup: Let’s face it; God answers prayer,(even though He doesn’t always say yes) regardless of who’s praying, who that prayer is through, or whether it’s directly to Him I guess ther would be some who would say,“Did Jesus tell me to pray through Mary and the saints?” Yes, He and others told us to pray for one another, but it still comes down to amatter of choice, not obligation:thumbsup:And, in talking about statues, I am not suggesting that catholics worship Mary, or any other person besides God(Exodus 20:4). But, you do recite a number of hail Marys, right? Thank God for freedom of choice!!!

The stumbling BLOCK for non-cathloic is called SOLA SCRIPURA.

 

[1beleevr]

Fortunately, the road to Heaven, does not go through the catholic church! And, speaking of things that are disconcerting, I find that there seems to be a general lack of love towards non catholics(Mark 12:31) And no mention of serving others in His Name(Mark 10:45, Matthew 25:31-46) There seems to be equal bias on both sides, and though we are different, we are all Christians! I’m glad that I don’t get as upset as you guys, when someone disagrees with me:thumbsup:

 

[Patrick_Cox]

Fortunately, the road to Heaven, does not go through the catholic church! And, speaking of things that are disconcerting, I find that there seems to be a general lack of love towards non catholics(Mark 12:31) And no mention of serving others in His Name(Mark 10:45, Matthew 25:31-46) There seems to be equal bias on both sides, and though we are different, we are all Christians! I’m glad that I don’t get as upset as you guys, when someone disagrees with me:thumbsup:

“General lack of love towards non catholics”… rather a broad generalised statement don’t you think? After all, you are on a website propagating Catholic teaching and are involved in a discussion about this particular topic. The Catholics herein are taking the time out to explain the Catholic viewpoint to you and it is quite natural that Catholic doctrine / teachins / views should be defended staunchly - it is something we hold dear to us. It has nothing whatsoever to do with a lack of love!

The road to heaven is open to everyone on this earth, be they Muslim, Jew, Protestant, Catholic or even atheist.

Getting back to the original issue, I think we all agree that people are all free to pray or honour God in the way that suits them. Catholics do NOT pray to anyone but God. However, Catholics also believe that the more we can have other people/souls (either on earth or in heaven) praying WITH us, the stronger will be the impact of that prayer offered to God. Hence the reason many Catholics like to ask those who are close to God (such as the souls in heaven and specific great saints as well as Jesus’s very own mother) to support us in our prayers. If you choose to pray to God directly on your own - absolutely great! All honourable prayer to God is powerful and good. But for me (and a great many Catholics), if I can have many others supporting me in my prayer to God, more’s the better - and who better to support us than those who have already won God’s favour and are with him in heaven. God would surely listen to these… so I will continue to ask for the support of these others to my prayers…

 

[Bill_Pick]

I’m Catholic… and i had a big debate (but never a fight) with my protestant friend yesterday…

and I got through the question of “worshiping” Mary last time, (she is our Mother, so we RESPECT her and the prayer says “pray for us sinners…” not “oh grant us salvation right now because You’re our God.”)

but I got stuck when she asked me why we pray to Mary & saints when we could directly pray to God?

I told her that they’re like the connector from us to God, but she didnt seem to get it… how should I explain this?

& same for confession, why do we have to talk to priests when God could just forgive us?

I guess protestants don’t really like the idea of …connecting? (that’s how i understand it as…)

I was pretty sure that a lot of other protestants would be wondering about this as well, and I thought i should ask here.

help meee pleasee??

When we “pray to Mary” we are merely asking Mary and/or the Saints to pray for us in exactly the same way as when we ask another Christian to pray for us. This is nothing more than asking for intercessory prayer. And just like most Christians ,when we are in need of prayer we ask those we consider to be closest to God. If I need prayer for healing for my mom with cancer I will not ask the drug dealer on the corner or even a nominal Christian to pray for me. Instead, I ask the holiest Christians I know. After all, James 5:16 says, “the fervent prayer of a righteous man is very powerful”. Misunderstanding arises between Protestants and Catholics because of our use of the phrase “pray to Mary” or “pray to St. Francis” etc. For Protestants, with a shorter history, prayer is only and always directed to God. However, for Catholics the older uses of the English “pray” have endured through the centuries. In medieval English it was common to use the word “pray” as a synonym for “ask”. I pray thee, good king, give me …. Plus, as usual in human speech this phraseology has endured because it is short and sweet. It is easier to say, I will pray to Mary than to say, I will ask Mary to pray to God for me. While the second sentence is more theologically accurate it is also more than twice as long. So, no one uses it in everyday speech.

 

[DLClark]

People pray to Mary and other saints out of a misunderstnding of what the Bible teaches. There is only one way to pray and there is only one person through whom we are to pray to God the Father. There is only one advocate, Jesus Christ, to whom we are to pray through.
1 Tim 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimonygiven at the proper time.
NASU

John 14:13-14
13 " Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 ******"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. ******
NASU

John 16:23
Truly, truly, I say to you, **if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. **NASU

John 15:16
6 " You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, **so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.**NASU
.

We do not need priests to pray for us because each saved believer is a priest and has direct access to God through Christ. No dead person can pray for us or interceed for us on our behalf. Only the living Christ can interceed for us. We are to pray to God the Father in the name Christ’s name.

 

[Bill_Pick]

People pray to Mary and other saints out of a misunderstnding of what the Bible teaches. There is only one way to pray and there is only one person through whom we are to pray to God the Father. There is only one advocate, Jesus Christ, to whom we are to pray through.
1 Tim 2:5-6
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimonygiven at the proper time.
NASU

John 14:13-14
13 " Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 ******"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. ******
NASU

John 16:23
Truly, truly, I say to you, **if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. **NASU

John 15:16
6 " You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, **so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.**NASU
.

We do not need priests to pray for us because each saved believer is a priest and has direct access to God through Christ. No dead person can pray for us or interceed for us on our behalf. Only the living Christ can interceed for us. We are to pray to God the Father in the name Christ’s name.

God bless you, you just keep rambing on.so you do not believe what the Bible has to say about these the verse YOU believe, did you see the one talking about intercessory pray,do you not believe what Paul said about pray and asking people in heaven to pray for us BTW are you saying dead people in heaven can not heard our prayers and we do not pray to Mart or the saints we pray thun Her