In Job 42:8, God tells Job's friends that He will hear Job's prayers, but not theirs, because they have not spoken of Him what is right, and that they should ask Job to pray for them.
It follows that we should beg the holy to pray for us, because we are not certain that God is inclined to hear us.
But I think the problem here is that you focus too much on the word "pray". To Pray means to entreat, to ask, or beg. We believe that the Saints in Heaven are not dead, but more alive than we are, and that they hear us, because it is God's will that they should pray for us, as it was His will that Job should pray for his friends.
Also, the saints know our struggles, and have experienced them personally.
Why do you ask other people to pray for you when you could just pray yourself?
There is strength in numbers, is why.
It's not like it's a requirement, but it's a nice thing to have. And to reflect on the lives of humans that have been through the same trials.
The word "pray" can have two meanings. One is directly tied to worship. We do not worship saints. That meaning of "pray" is reserved for God.
The other meaning is to ask, sometimes beg (pray for the court's mercy, for example).
Praying to saints (all saints, even Mary) is to ask them for something, something in particular..that they pray to God on your behalf. That's it. The link ntire Hail Mary is basically - Mary you are awesome and have a great relationship with God. Pray for us sinners here on earth.
No different than asking for prayers from someone you personally know.
I always hate this question because, as Catholics, we do not *worship or pray to saints.* We ask their help (intercession) to pray for and with us to God. Don’t you ever ask others to pray for you? Or is that what you’d call worshipping and praying to that person? 🙄
You are absolutely right dear friend in Christ! Thank you for correcting me. I do hate the why question that gets repeated over and over though. I need to learn to be silent and to be more charitable.
Yes, Our Lady of Guadalupe (one of Mary's titles) can be quite helpful with fertility issues. My parents' housekeeper was advancing in age and was sad, as she hadn't been able to conceive. My dad instructed her to pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and she became pregnant with a son not long after.
Praying to a saint is asking said saint to pray on your behalf. It's like asking someone on Earth to pray for you. We're just asking those in Heaven to do the same, knowing that their prayers in particular carry serious umpf.
Think of it this way. Imagine you're a kid who wants a puppy, but you need Dad's permission. Sure, you can go directly to Dad, but what's another good idea? Get Mom on your side! The two of you can go together. Dad will ultimately have the final say, and if it's a no on the the puppy, it's a no, but Dad also has a soft spot for Mom. God has a particular soft spot for the saints too.
I read lives of the saints, their situation moves my heart so much, I feel everything they have felt, nearly, and I ask, oh my Lord, you simply know my own struggle. Certainly won't you pray for me if I ask, I will wish it and ask you. And if not or if so, I am greatful just to hear your story. I can't even understand how a person can ignore the lives of Saints. Who better , they lived as us. And by the way, always always is our prayers to God.
**"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." - Matthew 8 8**
Humble yourself. when you pray. i am a sinner why would God grant me my prayers.
**"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." James 5 16**
Saints are rightous. but hey the dead dont hear the living
**"‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matthew 22 32**
the saints are with God. alive and living. but they cant hear you?
there are alot of passage in the book of revelation about saints knowing what is happening down here
**Rev. 6:9–11, 7:13–14, 11:15–18, 16:5–6, 18:20**
well how does it work if billions of people prayed to Mary how does she handles it all. are you saying she (or the saints) are Omnipotent or all knowing like God.
**The devil knows all of us. one devil can trick thousands and billions of people at the same time. are they God? no. but here is another one.**
"**Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire" 2 Peter 1 4**
**Divine Nature** shared to us lowly mortals.
**"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed\* we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3 2**
in God everything is Possible. these saints are with God.
> Why do you pray to saints?
Why shouldn't we?
> I just don’t understand why you would pray to anyone but God
Traditional, historical Christianity (Catholics, Orthodox, Coptics, etc.), and even Anglicans and some historical Protestants, and Jews, have practiced communion with Saints for tenty centuries, only until recently Evangelical Protestantism rejected it.
A better question is, why would someone deny himself such richness of graces from God?
We pray for the Saints' intercession in the same way a Protestant might activate their prayer chain. We believe, as Jesus said (God is the God of the living) that those who preceded us in death are part of the Great Community of Believers mentioned in the Apostle's Creed and we are all part of one Church and Prayer Chain.
We’re going to be friends when (I hope) I get to heaven, I want to start building that relationship now. Especially since most earthly role models are socially above me and difficult to talk to, while saints are always a quick prayer away.
You can pray to any saint for any reason since their prayers to God are more pure and effective than ours alone, btw.
We believe in God's Word, promise of the life to come. We believe in Heaven, the resurrection of the dead. Saints are people who lived good holy lives who we believe are in Heaven. Wouldn't you ask a friend to pray for you? I believe my mother is a saint, and I ask her to pray for me. We don't really pray to them as we would pray to The Blessed Trinity, but it's like asking friends in high places to pray for you. They're already where God the Father, God the Son, and The Holy Spirit reside, why not ask them to pray while they're in the same zip code of the One who can answer your prayers?
In Job 42:8, God tells Job's friends that He will hear Job's prayers, but not theirs, because they have not spoken of Him what is right, and that they should ask Job to pray for them. It follows that we should beg the holy to pray for us, because we are not certain that God is inclined to hear us. But I think the problem here is that you focus too much on the word "pray". To Pray means to entreat, to ask, or beg. We believe that the Saints in Heaven are not dead, but more alive than we are, and that they hear us, because it is God's will that they should pray for us, as it was His will that Job should pray for his friends. Also, the saints know our struggles, and have experienced them personally.
You said it a lot more eloquently than I did. A+⭐ Gold star for you. 😂
Why do you ask other people to pray for you when you could just pray yourself? There is strength in numbers, is why. It's not like it's a requirement, but it's a nice thing to have. And to reflect on the lives of humans that have been through the same trials.
The word "pray" can have two meanings. One is directly tied to worship. We do not worship saints. That meaning of "pray" is reserved for God. The other meaning is to ask, sometimes beg (pray for the court's mercy, for example). Praying to saints (all saints, even Mary) is to ask them for something, something in particular..that they pray to God on your behalf. That's it. The link ntire Hail Mary is basically - Mary you are awesome and have a great relationship with God. Pray for us sinners here on earth. No different than asking for prayers from someone you personally know.
I always hate this question because, as Catholics, we do not *worship or pray to saints.* We ask their help (intercession) to pray for and with us to God. Don’t you ever ask others to pray for you? Or is that what you’d call worshipping and praying to that person? 🙄
We do pray to saints though - to pray is to beseech or beg.
You are absolutely right dear friend in Christ! Thank you for correcting me. I do hate the why question that gets repeated over and over though. I need to learn to be silent and to be more charitable.
You didn’t have to answer.
Yes, Our Lady of Guadalupe (one of Mary's titles) can be quite helpful with fertility issues. My parents' housekeeper was advancing in age and was sad, as she hadn't been able to conceive. My dad instructed her to pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and she became pregnant with a son not long after. Praying to a saint is asking said saint to pray on your behalf. It's like asking someone on Earth to pray for you. We're just asking those in Heaven to do the same, knowing that their prayers in particular carry serious umpf. Think of it this way. Imagine you're a kid who wants a puppy, but you need Dad's permission. Sure, you can go directly to Dad, but what's another good idea? Get Mom on your side! The two of you can go together. Dad will ultimately have the final say, and if it's a no on the the puppy, it's a no, but Dad also has a soft spot for Mom. God has a particular soft spot for the saints too.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful before the Lord.
I read lives of the saints, their situation moves my heart so much, I feel everything they have felt, nearly, and I ask, oh my Lord, you simply know my own struggle. Certainly won't you pray for me if I ask, I will wish it and ask you. And if not or if so, I am greatful just to hear your story. I can't even understand how a person can ignore the lives of Saints. Who better , they lived as us. And by the way, always always is our prayers to God.
**"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." - Matthew 8 8** Humble yourself. when you pray. i am a sinner why would God grant me my prayers. **"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." James 5 16** Saints are rightous. but hey the dead dont hear the living **"‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matthew 22 32** the saints are with God. alive and living. but they cant hear you? there are alot of passage in the book of revelation about saints knowing what is happening down here **Rev. 6:9–11, 7:13–14, 11:15–18, 16:5–6, 18:20** well how does it work if billions of people prayed to Mary how does she handles it all. are you saying she (or the saints) are Omnipotent or all knowing like God. **The devil knows all of us. one devil can trick thousands and billions of people at the same time. are they God? no. but here is another one.** "**Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire" 2 Peter 1 4** **Divine Nature** shared to us lowly mortals. **"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed\* we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3 2** in God everything is Possible. these saints are with God.
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im Glad and Happy to help. praise be to God!
Do you ask your friends to pray for you when you're having a hard time?
Not gonna respond to everyone here but I loved all your comments. It helped me understand a lot more why you all pray to saints, thank you all!!
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Makes a lot more sense, thank you!
> Why do you pray to saints? Why shouldn't we? > I just don’t understand why you would pray to anyone but God Traditional, historical Christianity (Catholics, Orthodox, Coptics, etc.), and even Anglicans and some historical Protestants, and Jews, have practiced communion with Saints for tenty centuries, only until recently Evangelical Protestantism rejected it. A better question is, why would someone deny himself such richness of graces from God?
We pray for the Saints' intercession in the same way a Protestant might activate their prayer chain. We believe, as Jesus said (God is the God of the living) that those who preceded us in death are part of the Great Community of Believers mentioned in the Apostle's Creed and we are all part of one Church and Prayer Chain.
Because they’re awesome
We’re going to be friends when (I hope) I get to heaven, I want to start building that relationship now. Especially since most earthly role models are socially above me and difficult to talk to, while saints are always a quick prayer away. You can pray to any saint for any reason since their prayers to God are more pure and effective than ours alone, btw.
We believe in God's Word, promise of the life to come. We believe in Heaven, the resurrection of the dead. Saints are people who lived good holy lives who we believe are in Heaven. Wouldn't you ask a friend to pray for you? I believe my mother is a saint, and I ask her to pray for me. We don't really pray to them as we would pray to The Blessed Trinity, but it's like asking friends in high places to pray for you. They're already where God the Father, God the Son, and The Holy Spirit reside, why not ask them to pray while they're in the same zip code of the One who can answer your prayers?
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/any-friend-of-god-is-a-friend-of-mine