We should not pray to dead saints. As the Westminster Larger Catechism puts it,
Q. 179 Are we to pray unto God only?
A: God only being able to search the hearts, hear the requests, pardon the sins, and fulfill the desires of all; and only to be believed in, and worshiped with religious worship; prayer, which is a special part thereof, is to be made by all to him alone, and to none other.
You might think that with the biblical prohibitions against necromancy (Deut. 18:10–12), prayers to the saints in heaven would not even be considered by those who profess Christ. We should not seek help from the dead, including the saints in heaven. But the Roman church teaches that "we can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world" (Catechism of the Catholic Church). They might argue that it does not count as necromancy since the saints are not telling us anything, although many who pray to the saints will also claim that on rare occasions the saints have appeared to people and told them things.
While I do think that seeking help from the dead saints in heaven at leasts contradicts the principle of the command against necromancy, another argument against prayer to the saints is that it is without biblical warrant. Holy Scripture does not teach us to pray to the saints in heaven. Prayers ought to be offered with faith, but there is no grounds for faith in prayers to the saints. As Philip Melanchthon said, “And since prayer ought to be made from faith, how do we know that God approves this invocation? Whence do we know without the testimony of Scripture that the saints perceive the prayers of each one?”
Those who pray to the dead argue that the Bible teaches that the saints in heaven pray to God. I am willing to grant that (Rev. 6:9-10), but that still does not mean that we can or should pray to them.
They also argue that it is no different than asking your friend to pray for you. It is true that Scripture does teach us that we can and should ask other members of the church militant on earth to pray for us, even as we pray for them (Eph. 6:18-20), struggling and persevering together, as the apostle Paul asked the living saints to pray for him, while he also prayed for them. But this is not the same as asking dead saints, members of the church triumphant, to pray for us, praying for their intercession. There are differences. For example, your friend is alive and with you. Prayers to the dead treat the saints as omniscient, able to hear the words and thoughts of people throughout the earth. But the saints in heaven remain human, finite, and limited. If I began praying to my living friend, while I was alone in my room without technology connecting us, we would think that odd behavior. There is some equivocation on the word "prayer" in this argument.
While I do think that seeking help from the dead saints in heaven at leasts contradicts the principle of the command against necromancy, another argument against prayer to the saints is that it is without biblical warrant. Holy Scripture does not teach us to pray to the saints in heaven. Prayers ought to be offered with faith, but there is no grounds for faith in prayers to the saints. As Philip Melanchthon said, “And since prayer ought to be made from faith, how do we know that God approves this invocation? Whence do we know without the testimony of Scripture that the saints perceive the prayers of each one?”
Those who pray to the dead argue that the Bible teaches that the saints in heaven pray to God. I am willing to grant that (Rev. 6:9-10), but that still does not mean that we can or should pray to them.
They also argue that it is no different than asking your friend to pray for you. It is true that Scripture does teach us that we can and should ask other members of the church militant on earth to pray for us, even as we pray for them (Eph. 6:18-20), struggling and persevering together, as the apostle Paul asked the living saints to pray for him, while he also prayed for them. But this is not the same as asking dead saints, members of the church triumphant, to pray for us, praying for their intercession. There are differences. For example, your friend is alive and with you. Prayers to the dead treat the saints as omniscient, able to hear the words and thoughts of people throughout the earth. But the saints in heaven remain human, finite, and limited. If I began praying to my living friend, while I was alone in my room without technology connecting us, we would think that odd behavior. There is some equivocation on the word "prayer" in this argument.
In fact, prayer is a part of religious worship. In Scripture, prayer is directed to God alone. It is wrong to "spread out our hands to a foreign god" (Ps. 44:20). God is the one who hears prayer (Ps. 65:2). God describes to us the worship in which he delights by saying, "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me" (Ps. 50:14–15).
Additionally, this practice of praying to dead saints detracts from the office of Christ, the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). The Son of God became man so that he might be a merciful and compassionate high priest. He deals gently with the humble and intercedes for sinners. Jesus "is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). Resting upon our merciful high priest, we are taught to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
So do not pray to the saints in heaven. Neither trust in their merits or rest on their achievements, but trust in our merciful Savior, Jesus Christ. Prayer to the dead is a superstitious practice that leads people astray from the way of true piety, defined in God's word. God would have us to call upon him, to come to him with confidence, relying on the meditation of Jesus our only priest and mediator.
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