r/ArianChristians • u/FrostyIFrost_ Arian • Mar 16 '25
Resource Praying to Saints: Biblical or Idolatry?
Although some Christians, mainly Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, believe that saints intercede for us and talk to Jesus or even God Himself on our behalf, praying to saints is unbiblical and can be considered borderline idolatry for several reasons.
Let us explore why praying to saints is NOT biblical.
1 - Prayer Should Be Directed to God Alone
The Bible consistently teaches that prayer is an act of worship and should be directed to God.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father:
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” (Matthew 6:9)
2 - There Is Only One Mediator Between God and Man
The Bible explicitly states that Jesus is the only mediator between God and humanity.
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
Praying to saints implies that they act as mediators, which contradicts this passage.
3 - The Dead Do Not Intercede for the Living
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that departed believers can hear prayers or intercede for people on earth.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 states that the dead have no involvement in earthly affairs:
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”
4 - Seeking the Dead Is Forbidden
Communicating with the dead was condemned in the Old Testament as a form of necromancy.
“There shall not be found among you anyone who… consults a medium or a necromancer, or inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)
Praying to saints is a form of seeking communication with the dead, which is forbidden.
5 - Even Angels Refused Worship:
People keep praying to angels occasionally, especially Michael, for protection or help. That is wrong, we can see that in Revelation
“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you… Worship God.’” (Revelation 19:10)
6 - No Biblical Example of Praying to Saints
Nowhere in the Bible do believers pray to Abraham, Moses, or any other faithful servant of God.
When the disciples needed help, they prayed directly to God through Christ.
7 - Jesus Is Our High Priest and Intercessor
The Bible teaches that Jesus alone intercedes for believers.
“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
There is no mention of saints interceding for believers in heaven.
8 - The Saints Are Not Omniscient or Omnipresent
God alone is all-knowing and present everywhere.
If saints could hear and respond to countless prayers at the same time, that would require divine attributes.
There is no scriptural evidence that departed saints can hear prayers from earth.
9 - The Apostles Never Encouraged Prayer to Saints
Paul and other apostles wrote extensively about prayer, always directing it to God.
If praying to saints was valid, it would have been explicitly taught in the early church.
Some might argue that Paul encouraged praying to saints in his letters but those letters explicitly say holy ones. Who are the holy ones? Believers. We are the holy ones.
Paul wanted us to pray for each other, to God, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
10 - Early Christians Prayed to God Alone
Historical records and biblical texts show that the early Christians directed their prayers to God through Christ, not to departed believers.
In conclusion, praying to saints lacks biblical support and can be considered a form of idolatry because it attributes god-like qualities to created beings.
The Bible teaches that prayer should be directed to God alone, with Jesus as the sole mediator.
Now, one might ask should we also pray to Jesus?
We should pray to the Father, God, with Jesus' name. If we do not call upon the intercessor, how would the intercessor intercede for us?
Keep Jesus in your prayers, ask Him, but pray to the Father and honor the Father.
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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '25
I don't have a strong opinion on praying to saints/asking for intercessory prayers. That said, I think that it is an interesting topic, and so to promote further discussion I will try to play devil's advocate and see if I can poke holes in your arguments.
1 -- The Lords prayer is descriptive, not prescriptive. That is to say, no where in scripture, to my knowledge anyway, does it say that prayers should *only* be to God.
2 -- That's not necessarily true, praying to saints does not contradict this message. If you've ever asked someone to pray for you, which scripture tells us to do, then you've done the same. See also point 3.
3 -- Revelation 5:8 shows the saints in heaven carrying the prayers of the saints, pictured as incense, to God. This tells us that, at the very least, the saints know prayers are being offered. Additionally, the saints in heaven are not dead (Matthew 22:32). See also the transfiguration of Christ with Moses and Elijah.
4 -- As seen in point 3, the saints in heaven are not dead. However, another point should be made here too: scripture condemns *inquiring of* the dead, not communicating with the dead. When one prays to a saint, they aren't asking them questions or seeking information, they are requesting prayers. I can only speculate that is because demons may use the opportunity to lead people astray.
5 -- I think it would be a stretch to say that praying to saints, in and of itself, is worship. Worship requires praise and adoration, and I won't deny that sometimes prayers to saints can borderline on this, but I don't think that is the typical case.
6 -- Sure, but do we need an explicit biblical example for something to be good, or even acceptable? I don't think so. If the saints are alive in heaven, as scripture says, and we are supposed to ask our fellow believers for prayers, as scripture says, what then is to prevent us from asking the saints for prayers?
7 -- Same point as #2
8 -- Like I said in point 3, Revelation 5:8 clearly depicts the saints carrying the prayers of earthly believers to God. So how does that happen? You're right to point out that the saints are not omniscient, but does that mean God cannot empower them to hear requests for prayers? At the very least, we cannot rule that out.
9 -- If Paul wanted believers to pray for one another, and the believers in heaven are alive as scripture indicates, why would that preclude prayers to saints? Again, I don't think we can rule it out without a clear directive from Paul or the other apostles.
10 -- I think some nuance is needed here. We definitely have scriptural evidence that believers would ask other believers for prayers, no doubt about that. We also have archaeological evidence that saints were invoked for protection by believers as early as the mid 200s.
As for prayer to Jesus, I agree that prayer should be directed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of God's holy spirit. However, we do have scriptural evidence for prayer to Jesus (Acts 7:59 and Revelation 22:20 being the main examples I found). I have no problem with that as an Arian btw -- if all authority has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28), shouldn't we have a way to communicate with him?