DAY 59
CHALLENGE
“Catholics should not ask the saints for intercession. Why do that when you can pray directly to God?”
DEFENSE
If this proved anything, it would prove too much. It would wipe out much of Christian prayer.
We can and should pray directly to God—the source of all gifts (James 1:17). However, it does not follow that you should pray only to God. This is a “both/and” situation, not an “either/or” one.
We naturally sense that it is helpful to have others praying for us, and down through the ages Christians have asked one another for their prayers. But this would be impossible if God wanted us to make requests only of him. The objection thus would prove too much.
In truth, God desires that we pray for each other. This is illustrated by the Lord’s Prayer, in which we pray for ourselves and others (“Give us this day our daily bread,” “Forgive us our debts,” “Lead us not into temptation”; Matt. 6:11–13); by Jesus’ exhortation to pray even for our enemies (Matt. 5:44); and by Paul’s exhortation, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men” (1 Tim. 2:1).
God also desires that we ask others for their intercession, as illustrated by Paul’s requests for his readers to pray for him (Rom. 15:30; 2 Cor. 1:11; Eph. 6:18–19; 1 Thess. 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1–2)—a request also made by the author of Hebrews (13:18). Asking the saints for their intercession merely extends the principle. We may ask Christians in heaven for their intercession for the same reason we ask Christians on earth: It helps to have others praying for you, to not be alone in prayer. This is particularly the case when one’s prayer partners are righteous, for “the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (James 5:16b). None are more righteous than those with God in heaven.
TIP
Scripture nowhere prohibits asking the saints for their intercession.
Things that are not prohibited by Scripture and that have a rational basis are permitted under Christian liberty, and this practice qualifies on both counts. Opponents of the practice should ask whether they’re seeking to limit the “freedom which we have in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 2:4).