Bible Questions Answered:
“Why do some pray to dead saints?...”
Audrey/ Houston, Texas U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Prayer to deceased saints, is not a
Biblical idea, neither is it endorsed by The Word, in any way shape
or form. Praying to saints was highly condemned during the time of
the Reformation (1500's).
Our blessed Savior, our example,
never under any circumstances prayed to any departed saint!
The ritual, held by Catholicism and
some Eastern Orthodox Churches, praying to saints, was a human
invention, never called for or advocated by The Word Of God.
Jesus Our Example...
John 13:15 KJV
For I have given you an example,
that ye should do as I have done to you.
Matthew 6:5-8 KJV
5 And when thou
prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward.
6 But thou,
when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door,
pray to
thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye
pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye
therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask Him.
9 After this manner therefore
pray ye: Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Luke 11:2 KJV
And He (Jesus) said unto them, When
ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Our Mediator In Heaven:
I Timothy 2:5 KJV
For there is one God, and one
Mediator* between God and men, The Man Christ Jesus;
*Mediator-Greek: Mesites
(Mes-ee-tace): Go-between, a reconciler, intercessor.
Matthew 17:1-6 KJV (Transfiguration)
1 And after six days Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high
mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them:
and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the
Light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto
them Moses and Elias talking with Him. (God sent them, Jesus did
“not,” call for them!)
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto
Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make
here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for
Elias.
(Oh the fallacy of sinful human,
fleshly reasoning! Absolutely No Attention Is To Be Paid To Anyone
Else But Jesus!)
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them: and behold A Voice out of the cloud,
which said, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Hear
Ye Him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they
fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
John 18:3-6 KJV
3 Judas then, having received a band
of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh
thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto them,
Whom seek ye?
5 They answered Him, Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am He. And Judas also,
which betrayed him, stood with them.
6 As soon then as He had said unto
them, I am He, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
Divine Jealousy:
Isaiah 42:8 KJV
I am the Lord: that is My name: and
My glory* will I not give to another, neither My praise
to graven images.
*Kabowd (Kabod (Kaw-bode):
Splendor, glory, honor. (Redeemer-ship/ Mediator-ship, Lord-ship.)
Psalm 73:25 KJV
Whom have I in heaven but thee?..." (Answer: No one, but The
Lord!)
Exodus 20:3-6 KJV
3 Thou shalt
have no other gods before Me.
4 Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt
not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I The Lord thy
God am a Jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate
Me;
6 And shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
Exodus 34:14 KJV
For thou shalt
worship no other god: for The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a
Jealous God:
Deuteronomy 4:24 KJV
For The Lord
thy God is a Consuming Fire, even a Jealous God.
Deuteronomy 29:20 KJV
The Lord will
not spare him, but then the anger of The Lord and His Jealousy shall
smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this
book shall lie upon him, and The Lord shall blot out his name from
under heaven.
Joshua 24:19 KJV
And Joshua said
unto the people, Ye cannot serve The Lord: for He is an Holy God; He
is a Jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your
sins.
I Kings 14:22 KJV
And Judah did
evil in the sight of The Lord, and they provoked Him to Jealousy with
their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had
done.
I Corinthians 10:22 KJV
Do we provoke
The Lord to Jealousy? are we stronger than He?
Christ Jesus Our
Heavenly Mediator:
Hebrews 8:6 NLT
But now Jesus, our High Priest, has
been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for
He is The One Who Mediates for us a far better covenant with God,
based on better promises.
Hebrews 9:15,24 NLT
15 That is why He (Jesus Christ) is The One Who
Mediates A New Covenant Between God And People, so that all who are
called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For
Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had
committed under that first covenant.
24 For Christ did not enter into a
holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true
one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God
on our behalf.
Hebrews 12:24 NLT
You have come to Jesus, The One Who
Mediates The New Covenant Between God And People, and to the
sprinkled Blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out
for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
I John 2:1 KJV
My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
Advocate* with The Father, Jesus Christ The Righteous: (Notice,
John does not say a host of saints!)
*Advocate-Greek: Parakletos
(Par-ak-lay-tos): An intercessor, consoler: advocate, comforter.
Isaiah 59:1 KJV
Behold, The Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot
hear:
John 14:13,14 KJV
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My
name, that will I do, that The Father may be glorified in The Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in My
name, I will do it.
