Should we pray to saints?

from the old testament

• Elevating saints to equality with God is wrong. God commands in His ten commandments to Israel that His people are to have no other gods before Him. He alone is to be honored through worship and praise. Including anyone else in that position is idolatry (Exodus 20:3-4).
• Communication with the dead, such as deceased saints, or any attempts to do so, are strictly forbidden in Scripture. God is also clear that we are never to consult anyone who says they can access the dead, such as mediums, sorcerers, or fortune tellers. (Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:10-13).
• Saul, Israel's first king, began in the favor of God, though, throughout his reign, he acted in disobedience on multiple occasions resulting in the removal of God's favor and Saul's place as king. As Israel faced fierce enemies, Saul tried to ask God for help but received no answer. This led him to commit the dangerous sin of consulting a medium. While God allowed the prophet Samuel, who had died, to be brought up to speak to Saul, Saul's decision to use a medium was strictly against God's laws for His people (1 Samuel 28:1-19).
• God is above any other. He is supreme in knowledge, power, and love. No other being compares with those qualities and, so, no other being should be sought after in prayer by believers (Psalm 139:1-6).

from the new testament

• During His ministry, people asked Jesus how they should approach God in prayer. His answer came in the Sermon on the Mount in which He taught that prayer is addressed to our Heavenly Father only and no one else (Matthew 6:9-13).
• The Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell within believers upon acceptance in Christ, intercedes on our behalf, especially in times of great distress, when we do not have the right words to pray on our own (Romans 8:26-27).
• No one aside from Jesus, including biblical or historical saints, can mediate for believers before God. Christ, Himself, intercedes on our behalf; no one else holds this position in our lives (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25).
• Because we have salvation in Christ through His death on the cross, we can approach God's throne in prayer with full confidence. We do not have to worry about whether God wants to hear from us; we can be assured that He always welcomes the prayers and requests of His children (Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 4:16, 10:19-20).
• While we are not to search for mediation from those are no longer alive, we can ask for the prayers of other believers around us. Sharing our requests for prayers from other believers is encouraged in Scripture and modeled by apostles such as Paul (2 Corinthians 1:11, Philippians 1:19, Ephesians 6:19).
• We can include other believers in our prayers, sharing their needs with God along with them. Paul models how he includes other believers in his own prayers throughout his letters to different churches (Ephesians 1:6, 2 Timothy 1:3).
• Some may think that the prayer of a biblical or historical saint who is now in heaven would be more effective or that God hears it more than He hears ours. However, James reminds his readers that the prayers of righteous people (who are alive) are effective and powerful. He uses the prophet Elijah as an example of an ordinary human being praying a bold prayer and being answered powerfully by God (James 5:16-18). In other areas of Scripture, people attempt to worship an apostle or angel, someone who may be seen to have more clout with God, however the object of attempted worship always rejects the attention and reminds that they are only human and not worthy of the worship belonging to God (Acts 10:25-26, Revelation 19:10; 22:9).

implications for today

The belief that saints can pray for us or that we can pray to them is prominent in Catholicism. In Catholic thinking, prayers delivered by a saint are more effective than our praying to God directly. This concept is completely unbiblical. Catholics may also liken asking saints to intercede for us to earthly believers praying for each other.

Catholics claim that asking saints in heaven to pray for them is comparable to Christians on earth praying for one another. The Catholic Church utilizes James 5:16 to support this belief: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Catholic theologians posit that, since heavenly saints are righteous before God, their prayers have great influence and power.

While it’s true that believers in heaven are righteous, this verse does not instruct the living to request prayer from them. Scripture points us to pray only and directly to God through Jesus (Hebrews 7:25) and tells us that we can have confidence approaching God as our loving Father, who wants to hear from us (Hebrews 4:16).

We who are alive should pray for each other (2 Timothy 2:1; James 5:16) and ask God for things like strength, guidance, peace, and healing. God wants to hear the prayers of His people; He welcomes us to His throne in order to give us grace, mercy, and the gift of His presence. We need no mediator but Jesus Himself. How are you praying for others in light of the confidence that you have direct access to the Father through Christ alone?