Mary: Prayer Related Questions

[drstevej]

[1] With millions petetioning Mary daily, how does she as a finite human possibly even have any awareness of all the sincere requests, let alone respond to them? Now since Jesus is God and not subject to the limitations that impact Mary; is that not reason to pray to Jesus directly?

[2] Since Mary is not omniscient and Jesus is, why is it not preferable to pray to Jesus since He fully knows us, our circumstances and the context surrounding our petetions?

 

[Theophorus]

Christians believe in intercessory prayer. Why does Paul pray for people. Why does he ask others to pray for him. Why does Christ pray for us? Who did he pray to, Himself?

I suppose it comes down to how one perceives the body of Christ, and its role in our salvation.

 

[drstevej]

Christians believe in intercessory prayer. Why does Paul pray for people. Why does he ask others to pray for him. Why does Christ pray for us? Who did he pray to, Himself?

I suppose it comes down to how one perceives the body of Christ, and its role in our salvation.

Why does Paul pray for people. : He prayed to an omniscient God asking God to minister to people he was praying for.

Why does he ask others to pray for him. They pray to an omniscient God for reasons parallel to the answer above

Why does Christ pray for us? He is our High Priest and prays to the Father.

Who did he pray to, Himself? No, to the Father.

None of these prayed to a non-omniscient person. You might reread the OP, I think you missed the point.

Steve

 

[jckstraw72]

[1] With millions petetioning Mary daily, how does she as a finite human possibly even have any awareness of all the sincere requests, let alone respond to them? Now since Jesus is God and not subject to the limitations that impact Mary; is that not reason to pray to Jesus directly?

Mary is not a mere human as we are--she is transfigured by the grace of God, as are all those who have reposed in the Lord. Eternity knows no boundaries of time and place so the many petitions mean nothing in this regard. How can she know about them? Through the grace of God. He can allow people to know our needs so that our needs can be prayed for by more people. As James said, the prayer of the righteous is more effective. Who's more righteous than those directly in God's presence? Also, asking Mary to pray for us does not mean we don't pray directly to Jesus. Just as you ask your church to pray for you, you still directly pray to Jesus. The difference is we believe in one united Body of Christ, while you seem to believe in 2 divided Bodies--1 in Heaven and 1 on earth, with no communion between the two (see Hebrews 12 on this point).

[2] Since Mary is not omniscient and Jesus is, why is it not preferable to pray to Jesus since He fully knows us, our circumstances and the context surrounding our petetions?

who doesnt pray to Jesus?

Since your mom is not omniscient and Jesus is, why is it not preferable to pray to Jesus, rather than to ask your mom for prayers, since He fully knows us, our circumstances and the context surrounding our petetions?

 

[Dewi Sant]

Why does Christ pray for us? He is our High Priest and prays to the Father.

Who did he pray to, Himself? No, to the Father.

I hope this isn't what you meant in your post but just incase it is.

Jesus does not pray to the Father. Jesus is the Father. Consubstantial, of one essence.

It really does annoy me when people start thinking of the trinity as the [literal] father, [literal] son, and the Holy Spirit as some sort of wonder force which acts on behalf of the Father .


One of the greatest problems I see in theology is the lack of distinction between the Father as the wholeness of God and the Father as the member of the trinity.

Jesus' prayer to "our Father" was a sign of his [oncoming/present] mortality.




Anyway, back to topic.


Just because St. Mary is deceased does not mean that she is dead. She is in Heaven, this therefore means that she has been granted life eternal.

About praying.

All Christians (even Romans) pray to God and only God. They worship God and only God.
But, just as you may ask a friend to pray with you, one may choose to ask St. Mary to pray with them.

 

[ROGER459]

(1Timothy 2:4-5-6) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
(1Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
(1Tim 2:6) Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

NOW, I can go directly to JESUS, my Savior and LORD! Why would I have some Dead Person, pray for me? How can that Dead Person, hear my prayers? SHE CANNOT!

Those that hold HER, in some reverence and position of authority, have fallen into the same TRAP that Eve did!

Genesis 3:1 ".... and Satan said, "HAS GOD REALLY SAID. . . ?"

Thanks, Roger459

 

[stray bullet]

[1] With millions petetioning Mary daily, how does she as a finite human possibly even have any awareness of all the sincere requests, let alone respond to them? Now since Jesus is God and not subject to the limitations that impact Mary; is that not reason to pray to Jesus directly?

Your post supposes that one's soul in Heaven is only as capable as the nerve-cell based physical mind on Earth and that time there is proportional to time here.

I've received no biblical indication that one's total consciousness in Heaven is proportional to consciousness capable in the cells within our brains on Earth. The bible also doesn't seem to explain the physics of Heaven, nor the way our universe relates to it.

 

[lionroar0]

[1] With millions petetioning Mary daily, how does she as a finite human possibly even have any awareness of all the sincere requests, let alone respond to them? Now since Jesus is God and not subject to the limitations that impact Mary; is that not reason to pray to Jesus directly?

Mary is heaven. We don't know the mysteries of heaven or the myseries of the Soul.

[2] Since Mary is not omniscient and Jesus is, why is it not preferable to pray to Jesus since He fully knows us, our circumstances and the context surrounding our petetions?

Since people are not omniscient then why ask then to pray for us? They donlt know everything about the circumstances and the context surrounding our petitions yet we ask them to pray with and *** us.

It is not necessary for Mary to know everything about us for her to pray with and for us. Just as it is not necessary for people here on earth to pray for others knowing everything.

God will grant a petition(or not) based on His knowledge not on the knowledge of others.

Peace

 

[Peter]

(1Timothy 2:4-5-6) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
(1Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
(1Tim 2:6) Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

NOW, I can go directly to JESUS, my Savior and LORD! Why would I have some Dead Person, pray for me? How can that Dead Person, hear my prayers? SHE CANNOT!

Those that hold HER, in some reverence and position of authority, have fallen into the same TRAP that Eve did!

Genesis 3:1 ".... and Satan said, "HAS GOD REALLY SAID. . . ?"

Thanks, Roger459

So, do you believe in soul sleep? What happens to a soul after it leaves the body? Does God save only the body? Is mankind soul-less?

Even Jesus believed that those who have departed this life intercede on behalf of those still on earth. Read His little story on Lazarus and the Rich man.

Peter

 

[Theophorus]

Why does Paul pray for people. : He prayed to an omniscient God asking God to minister to people he was praying for.

Why bother, since God is omniscient.

Why does he ask others to pray for him....They pray to an omniscient God for reasons parallel to the answer above

Again, why bother.

Why does Christ pray for us? He is our High Priest and prays to the Father.

Why bother, Christ and the Father are one.

Who did he pray to, Himself? No, to the Father.

So what's the difference. I mean Christ said Himself he had the power to remit sins.

None of these prayed to a non-omniscient person. You might reread the OP, I think you missed the point.

I think you missed my point.

 

[mike1reynolds]

In the stereotypical stories of a mother knowing for certain that something terrible has happened to one of her children (and I have experienced this in reverse with my mother going to the hospital and at her death) do you think these kinds of connnects just appear all of a sudden? No, they are lifelong connections of the spirit. Are these lifelong connections limited to one person at a time? Obviously not, that simply wouldn't make any since.

Your whole way of thinking about spirit communication is flawed and based on an entirely physical model of communication, without any understanding of the nature of spirit.

 

[Theophorus]

I am sure that satan is extremely limited for the same reasons the OP stated.

Of course, many protestants would see prayer to the devil as dangerous, and would consider demonic manifestations as a real possibility. The irony being that they place more power with the fallen angels than they do with Saints of God.

 

[Iollain]

Even Jesus believed that those who have departed this life intercede on behalf of those still on earth. Read His little story on Lazarus and the Rich man.

What do you mean by that?

If your talking about when the rich man:


Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.


Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.


Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.



.......notice that he SAW Abraham, if i see Abraham about i'll be sure to ask him to pray for us.

There is not a case in the Bible of communication from a human who has left this world or angel that was not in direct contact, and noone calls out to spirit or angel, only to God.

 

[mike1reynolds]

When you are died, Iollian, I am sure that you will see a lot more things than you see now. In the meantime, we can be confident that there is eternal life for saints too and they can indeed see us in our plight and know why we suffer.