“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Question: Do We Need Intercessory Prayers?
Answer: Nowhere in the Bible are we instructed as believer in Christ to pray to anyone other than God, nowhere is it mentioned or are we encouraged as believers to ask anyone in heaven for their prayers. To ask for anyone other than Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit to intercede for us is blatantly unbiblical. Hebrew 4:16 tells us that we as believers here on earth can “approach the throne of grace with confidence.”
First Timothy 2:5 very clearly states, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." There is no one else that can mediate with God for us. Since the Bible tells that Jesus is the ONLY mediator, then none other mediate our prayer requests to God. Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is interceding for us before the Father: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25). With Jesus Himself interceding for us, why would we need anyone else to intercede for us? Will god listen to someone else more closely than to His Son? We are told in Romans 8:26 that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. So if the 2nd and 3rd members of the Holy Trinity are already interceding for us before the Father in heaven, what could possible lead us to believe that we need to have any other entity interceding for us?
Some say that Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him and that is correct, however if we examine that claim. First the Apostle Paul does asks other Christians to pray for him in Ephesians 6:19. And many Scriptures describe believers praying for one another (2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 1:3). However nowhere does the Bible mention anyone asking for someone in heaven to pray for him. Second we are absolutely not given any indications in the Bible that anyone else in heaven can hear our prayers. There is none other than God who is omniscient. Even while some are glorified in heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? Bible references to praying to or speaking with the dead, are in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and divination, all activities that are strongly condemned in the Bible (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). There is one instance when a "saint" is spoken to, Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:7-19, Samuel is not exactly happy to be disturbed. Therefore it is clear that praying to anyone other than God in heaven is completely different from asking someone here on earth to pray for us.
God answers prayers if they are asked according to His will per 1 John 5:14-15 He does not answer prayers based on who is praying. 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 hears our prayers. Only God answers our prayers. No one in heaven has any greater access to God's throne than we do through prayer (Hebrews 4:16).
Rayed Redemption Ministry
Euless, TX 76039
www.rayedredemption.org
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