If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Remember, the life which Christ gives is eternal life; therefore, every Christian who has died in Christ is forever a member of the Body of Christ. Let him sing praise. Q Behind this objection is the idea that a charitable person always assists his friend and/or neighbor when the latter is suffering. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Ive always taken it on faith, but how can we be assured that Mary and the saints in heaven can hear our prayers?. The only place where spirits of perfected righteous people can dwell is heaven. Since full comprehension of the divine essence is not involved in knowing a finite number of thoughts at the same time, its not necessary that the saints in heaven be omniscient to know simultaneously the interior prayer requests of Christians on earth. The Catholic Church explicitly teaches that the Saints can hear our prayers. This can be seen, for example, in Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers. Can they also hear prayers in different languages, both thought and spoken, all simultaneously from all over the planet? Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.. The souls of the saints have their will fully conformed to the Divine will even as regards the things willed; and consequently, although they retain the love of charity towards their neighbor, they do not succor him otherwise than they see to be in conformity with the disposition of divine justice (ST Suppl. Romans 8:26-7 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Of course, God is sufficient unless you take your eyes off of God and put it on your tradition. "No one can come to the Father except through me.". Where does the Bible say that people in heaven can hear our prayers? Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, a man, Jesus Christ, who has given himself as a ransom for all, the testimony in its own time (1 Tim. Yes, in two places. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. The immaculate heart of Mary is a Catholic veneration of the virtues, holiness, and perfections of Mary by which the by Luke Wayne | Nov 5, 2021 | Roman Catholicism, World Religions. But this kind of knowledge doesnt require full comprehension of the divine essence, which is characteristic of omniscience. Can Mary hear our prayers? No, she cannot | carm.org Revelation 5:8 serves as another example. A fourth objection is that the Bible does not instruct Christians to honor the saints, seek their intercession, or keep their relics. John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. First, there is nothing contrary to reason in the idea that God can reveal his knowledge of the interior thoughts of men to those whose intellects he also created. Labs The gold cherubim and the bronze serpent were not objects of worship. The Roman Catholic Church replies that we do not know what the state is of those in heaven and that we should not, therefore, conclude that they cannot hear all of our prayers. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Paul wrote to the Romans: I exhort you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive with me in prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judaea and that my ministry may be acceptable to the saints in Jerusalem, so that in the joy coming to you through the will of God I may rest with you (Rom. Nevertheless, lets take a look at what catholic.com says about that verse. CARM |P.O. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 72:1, ad 3). Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1999. Thank you for your interest in supporting CARM. 12:11-13). John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. In theTome,which the Council of Chalcedon accepted as the authentic Catholic teaching on Christ, he quotes 1 Timothy 2:5 as the authentic Catholic doctrine: Hence, as was suitable for the alleviation of our distress, one and the same mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, was both mortal and immortal under different.aspects., The fifth session of the Council of Trent (1546) laid out the belief in Jesus the one true mediator as the norm of Catholic faith: [Original sin cannot be] taken away through the powers of human nature or through a remedy other than the merit of the one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ, who reconciled us to God in his blood, having become our justice, and sanctification, and redemption., The schema of theDogmatic Constitution on the Principal Mysteries of the Faith, drafted for the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), includes the unique mediation of Jesus Christ as one of these principal mysteries: Truly, therefore, Christ Jesus is mediator between God and man, one man dying for all; he made satisfaction to the divine justice for us, and he erased the handwriting that was against us. Since the saints in heaven have perfect love, and were their friends, it follows that if they knew our requests about whats going on in our lives, they would help us in our sufferings. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997. Gods knowledge of himself as Trinity is uncaused. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! The Catholic Church has always believed that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! The fact that those in the heavenly court can hear our prayers is also indicated in the book of Revelation, where we read: "And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose . Since the Ascension of Christ, when Jesus took the Old Testament saints from sheol to heaven, large numbers of humans saints have also been in heaven, and Revelation indicates they also present our prayers to God: And when he [the Lamb] had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8). The Catholic practice of invoking the intercession of the saints assumes that the souls in heaven can know our interior thoughts. Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. This violates the first commandment: You shall not have any other gods before me (Ex. Knowledge of God as a Trinity is something that God alone has by nature. 18:10-12), the intercession of the saints seems blasphemous to me. In the book of Psalms, which was the hymn book for the Temple in Jerusalem, we sing to those in the heavenly court and exhort them: Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! You will say to them, Be gone!. Paul, an apostlenot from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Knowing a finite number of thoughts is not the same as knowing all that can be known about the divine essence, and thus knowing all possible ways that the divine essence can be imitated in the created order. No creature, no matter how good or beautifulno angel, no saint, not even the Virgin Marydeserves adoration. They hatch adders' eggs; they weave the spider's web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. English Standard Version 15:30-32). Heres one way to put the argument: P1: If the saints knew our prayers, then they would know our sufferings. No one should ever ask the saints for intercession. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. In any event, we know that the saints in heaven (whether human saints or angel saints) are aware of our prayers and, based on them, intercede with God on our behalf. Therefore, they must not know the requests that we make. Can people in heaven pray for us? | GotQuestions.org This is a beautiful image of how the intercession of the saints works. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And because God would cause this knowledge, we could still affirm that God alone knows the hearts of menthats to say, he knows them in an uncaused way. Samuel was not pleased about returning his attentions to earth. This objection to the intercession of saints is an honorable and sincere one. (Angels are also saints, as indicated by the fact that the Bible applies the Hebrew word for saint/holy one qaddiysh to them, cf. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Of course, these are Protestant commentaries. It is a figurative context and is not explicit. It begins with Genesis in the top left and concludes with Revelation in the bottom right. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. There are no seances that try to make them appear, speak messages, tap tables, or anything of the sort. The fact that those in the heavenly court can hear our prayers is also indicated in the book of Revelation, where we read: And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God. (Revelation 8:3-4). There is nothing in the Bible that says that Mary can simultaneously hear the prayers of people all over the world, in different languages, spoken, and thought, an attribute that God possesses. But its not a problem for God to reveal this knowledge to the saints in heaven (by whatever means) anymore than it is for him to reveal to mankinds knowledge of himself as a Trinity of persons. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. Nothing in that verse says that anyone hears the prayers of the saints. 23 Prayers for Healing That Provide Strength and Comfort Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 2:5-6). Furthermore, spirits of righteous ones who have been made perfect is a perfect definition of the saints in heaven. by Matt Slick | Jun 10, 2016 | Roman Catholicism. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. However, a person who says this only digs the hole deeper for himself since this would mean that those in heaven are aware of prayers which werent even directed to them! The key premise is the second, to which Aquinas replies that we cant say the saints in heaven are grieved by knowledge of our troubles in life because they are so filled with heavenly joy, that sorrow finds no place in them.. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. The Catholics are committing the interpretive error called eisegesis. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Required fields are marked *. The Catholic Church, being a Bible-believing Church (actually, of course, its more than thatthe Catholic Church is the one and only Bible-writingChurch), condemns all forms of superstition and conjuring the dead. Roman Catholics all over the world offer prayers to Mary regularly and expect her to hear them and intercede for them with God and Jesus. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Catholics make statues of the saints whom they worship, thereby committing the double sin of polytheism and idolatry. The prayer of the upright is a delight to God because it expresses those affections of the heart which call attention to the all-sufficiency of God. ( John 14:6, Catholic Jerusalem Bible) Those unambiguous words harmonize with Jesus' teaching recorded at Matthew 6:9-13. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. You have not lied to men but to God (v.4; emphasis added). We see this in both the Old and New Testaments. Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. Is praying to the saints biblical? No, it is not. | carm.org Perhaps the saints know our prayers and its just not Gods will that we be delivered from a particular trial, at least not yet. TopicalBible It is because the Christian belongs to Jesus Christ and is a member of his Body, the Church, that we can make effective prayer. 1. The Roman Catholic Church has read a doctrine into the text. The main verse The Roman Catholic Church uses to support their idea about Mary hearing prayers is found in Revelation 5:8. Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every - Bible Hub The graph below shows the locations of each appearance. They have gone beyond scripture. And the smoke of the incenses went up with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.. Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything by prayer and supplicationwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. GOD IS LISTENING. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. He leads me beside still waters. Thus we speak of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, etc.). And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. Alternately, ifin a particular casethey do know that God wills to allow a source of suffering, they certainly would not pray for it to be removed. The Saints Hear Our Prayers and Intercede for Us Only God is able to hear our prayers and answer them wisely. In that day you will ask nothing of me. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The Bible teaches that the attempt to contact the dead through seances and mediums is a serious sin. Isaiah 65:24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. Jesus Christ is fully satisfactory as the mediator between sinners and God. Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. Because they are alive, we believe that we can go to them to intercede for us with God. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Thus, according to Scripture, God wants us to pray for one another. Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. God's Ears Are Open To Your Prayers. But this is an argument from silence. C The saints in heaven offering the prayers doesnt mean that they can hear the prayers of people on earth. More Bible Verses that Will Move You 50 Most Powerful Scriptures on Faith 60 Transcendent Verses on Trust 50 Strong Scriptures on Perseverance 68 Powerful Verses on Forgiveness 40 Uplifting Scriptures on Patience, Bible Commentary Bible Verses Devotionals Faith Prayers Coloring Pages Pros and Cons. TheBaltimore Catechismexplains the seriousness of the sin of superstition: Superstition is by its nature a mortal sin, but it may be venial either when the matter is slight or when there is a lack of full consent to the act (question 212). Is prayer to saints / Mary biblical? | GotQuestions.org Several Catholic Answers writers, including myself, have responded to Protestants who challenge the Catholic practice of asking the saints in heaven to intercede for us. 21 Bible verses about Hear Prayer - Online Bible We can undoubtedly pray for our Christian brothers and sisters on earth and intercede for them, and we are encouraged to do so: "Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Does God Hear Our Prayers? - JW.ORG James 5:13-15 Is anyone among you suffering? I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus alone by which people are saved. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. D Because the light that God gives the created intellect is created, its not infinite by nature, nor does it require infinite power to comprehend or act upon. These texts give us a way to understand how the saints offer our prayers for us. The faith of the Church is that the saints are not really dead, but are fully alive in Jesus Christ, who is life itself (John 11:25; 14:6) and the bread of life who bestows life on all who eat his flesh and drink his blood (John 6:35, 48, 51, 53-56). Thus it follows that through these images, which we kiss and before which we kneel and uncover our heads, we are adoring Christ and venerating the saints whose likenesses these images bear (Council of Trent, Session XXV, Decree 2). Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. K Nov 01 2022 By Dr. Robert Stackpole In honor of All Saints' Day on Nov. 1, let's take a look at the wonderful gift God gives us in the form of the saints. 20:3). We should not argue from what we dont know. Box 1353 |Nampa, ID 83653 USA1-800-803-8093. A fourth objection is that the Bible does not instruct Christians to honor the saints, seek their intercession, or keep their relics. Similarly, because God knows the thoughts of men of himself, Gods knowledge of mans thoughts is uncaused. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 2:5). The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The saints are alive in heaven because of the life they have received through their faith in Christ Jesus and through their eating of his body and blood. O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 5 Bible Verses To Reassure You That God Is Listening To Your Prayers Good friends are open and sincere. From this it follows that God can communicate this kind of knowledge to rational creatures. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. The Bible assures us that "Jehovah . N The Bible consistently teaches that we should pray only to God, doing so in the name of Jesus Christ. They smell sweet and good. Our prayers are like nuggets of incense. No, it does not. Additional proof that Catholics worship the saints is that they make statues of them, in violation of the next commandment: You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters which are under the earth; you shall not bow down and serve them because I am the Lord your God (Ex. Human beings, on the other hand, only know God as Trinity because God willed to reveal it to mankind.
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