Praying to Saints:?

Question

In the bible it says that "you shall have no other gods before me"-God. I am a babtist and i was wondering is it unchristian like to pray to saints of god. If you can please incorporate a scripture.

Layout of answer:
Religon:
Title: Priest, member, ect.
Scripture:
Other:

Answer 1

Is it Scriptural to pray to “saints” for them to act as intercessors with God?

Jesus Christ said: “You should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, . . . ’” So prayers are to be addressed to the Father. Jesus also said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it.” (Matt. 6:9; John 14:6, 14, JB) Thus Jesus ruled out the idea that anyone else could fill the role of intercessor. The apostle Paul added regarding Christ: “He not only died for us—he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.” “He is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him.” (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25, JB) If we truly want our prayers to be heard by God, would it not be wise to approach God in the way that his Word directs? (See also pages 258, 259, under the heading “Mary.”)

Eph. 6:18, 19, JB: “Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all the saints; and pray for me to be given an opportunity to open my mouth and speak without fear and give out the mystery of the gospel.” (Italics added.) (Here encouragement is given to pray for the saints but not to them or through them. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. XI, p. 670, acknowledges: “Usually in the N[ew] T[estament], all prayer, private as well as public liturgical prayer, is addressed to God the Father through Christ.”)

Rom. 15:30, JB: “I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to help me through my dangers by praying to God for me.” (The apostle Paul, himself a saint, asked fellow Christians who were also saints to pray for him. But notice that Paul did not address his prayers to those fellow saints, nor did their prayers on his behalf replace the personal intimacy that Paul himself enjoyed with the Father by means of prayer. Compare Ephesians 3:11, 12, 14.)

Drawing Close to God in Prayer

Why is it important to pray regularly? (1)

To whom should we pray, and how? (2, 3)

What are proper subjects for prayer? (4)

When should you pray? (5, 6)

Does God listen to all prayers? (7)

1. Prayer is humbly speaking to God. You should pray to God regularly. Thus you can feel close to him as to a dear friend. Jehovah is so great and powerful, yet he listens to our prayers! Do you pray to God regularly?—Psalm 65:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

2. Prayer is part of our worship. Thus, we should pray only to God, Jehovah. When Jesus was on earth, he always prayed to his Father, not to anyone else. We should do the same. (Matthew 4:10; 6:9) However, all our prayers should be said in the name of Jesus. This shows that we respect Jesus’ position and that we have faith in his ransom sacrifice.—John 14:6; 1 John 2:1, 2.

3. When we pray we should speak to God from our heart. We should not say our prayers from memory or read them from a prayer book. (Matthew 6:7, 8) We can pray in any respectful position, at any time, and at any place. God can hear even silent prayers said in our heart. (1 Samuel 1:12, 13) It is good to find a quiet place away from other people to say our personal prayers.—Mark 1:35.

4. What subjects can you pray about? Anything that might affect your friendship with him. (Philippians 4:6, 7) The model prayer shows that we should pray about Jehovah’s name and purpose. We can also ask for our material needs to be provided, for our sins to be forgiven, and for help to resist temptation. (Matthew 6:9-13) Our prayers should not be selfish. We should only pray for things that harmonize with God’s will.—1 John 5:14.

5. You may pray whenever your heart moves you to thank or praise God. (1 Chronicles 29:10-13) You should pray when you have problems and your faith is being tested. (Psalm 55:22; 120:1) It is appropriate to pray before you eat your meals. (Matthew 14:19) Jehovah invites us to pray “on every occasion.”—Ephesians 6:18.

6. We especially need to pray if we have committed a serious sin. At such times we should beg for Jehovah’s mercy and forgiveness. If we confess our sins to him and do our very best not to repeat them, God is “ready to forgive.”—Psalm 86:5; Proverbs 28:13.

7. Jehovah listens only to the prayers of righteous people. For your prayers to be heard by God, you must be trying your best to live by his laws. (Proverbs 15:29; 28:9) You must be humble when you pray. (Luke 18:9-14) You need to work at what you pray for. You will thus prove that you have faith and that you really mean what you say. Only then will Jehovah answer your prayers.—Hebrews 11:6.

Answer 2

Simply positioned sure you might be. The lifeless are lifeless and so they understand not anything. Ecc nine:five For the dwelling understand that they shall die: however the lifeless understand now not any factor, neither have they to any extent further a gift; for the reminiscence of them is forgotten. Ecc nine:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they to any extent further a component for ever in any factor that's performed underneath the solar. So if the lifeless understand not anything then why pray to them? If the lifeless even those so-known as saints understand not anything then who're you relatively praying to? Look at all of the pagan varieties of worship down by way of the a long time, all of them worshipped and spoke with the lifeless however who in which they relatively talking with? Well you set it directly devil. Private emails accredited David

Answer 3

Praying to the Saints

"‘And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? He is not God of the dead, but of the living . . .’" (Mark 12:26-27)
"Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me . . ." (Eph. 6:18).
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely . . ." (Heb. 12:1).
"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints . . ." (Rev. 5:8).

Answer 4

The Bible nowhere mentions anyone asking for someone in Heaven to pray for them. The Bible nowhere describes anyone in Heaven praying for anyone on earth.
he Bible gives absolutely no indication that Mary or the saints can hear our prayers. Mary and the saints are not omniscient. Even glorified in Heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? Whenever the Bible mentions praying to or speaking with the dead, it is in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and divination - activities the Bible strongly condemns (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13).
God does not answer prayers based on who is praying. God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). There is absolutely no basis or need to pray to anyone other than God alone. There is no basis for asking those who are in Heaven to pray for us. Only God can hear our prayers. Only God can answer our prayers. No one in Heaven has any greater access to God's throne that we do through prayer (Hebrews 4:16).

Answer 5

well, look at it like this. the glory of god is unbearable. if we were to see him, we would die. thats how good he is. so, if im in heaven, in whatever bodies we will have there, then i am going to be fully consumed and amazed and focused on him. u think i want to tell God what u want and need? doesn't he already know. i can't confess ur sins to God. only u can.

no, there are no scriptures. did jesus pray to saints? to dead people? no. he prayed to the father God.

sometimes i think it would be funny(i know, im a sick person) if a person prayed to a person they thought was a dead saint, but was actually unsaved. then they'd be praying to someone in hell wouldn't they?

Answer 6

We don't worship saints; we ask them for prayers. We believe that the saints are in Heaven, and therefore have a special relationship with God. Their intercession is therefore more powerful than asking others around us to pray for us. (That doesn't mean we don't ask our friends to pray for us: that is still effective too!) Praying to saints is comparable to asking someone who works at a place we want to get into to put in a good word for us with the boss, etc. Except with prayer, it's much more important than a job and much more effective than putting in a good word! :)

Catholic
Member
The Holy Bible encourages prayer; as long as we don't worship the saints (which we don't) then there's nothing wrong with asking for help!

Answer 7

Praying to saints is the same as praying or tuning in to pass love ones.... You should know that there is only one God, therefore praying to saints is okay.
I usually pray to God first, Jesus, Mary at times, and to my spirit guide.

Answer 8

There is a misconception that Catholics pray to saints. They actually ask saints to pray for them.

Before you get all huffy & say "But we baptists pray for ourselves" ask yourself if you have ever asked a family member or friend to pray for you. Baptists do this ALL THE TIME.

No difference -- except that saints are dead. But Catholics (and Baptists) believe that you live on after death.

Answer 9

It's not un-Christian to ask the saints for their intercession. After all, we ask people here on earth to pray for us -- so it makes even more sense to ask the saints in heaven to pray for us.

Unfortunately, too many people equate this with worship. Asking someone in heaven to pray for us is not the equivalent of worshipping them.
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Answer 10

Saint are no Gods and neither you and I am there for if we cannot pray for one another neither can the saints.

Answer 11

saints aren'y gods, but holy people. They are able to intercede for us only becuase of Christ's sole mediatory power. We ask them who are in heaven to pray for us, just like we ask people here on earth to pray for us. God bless.