Prayer

[CrossCuT]

So my fiance had a question that I couldnt answer.

 

He said he though he understood the whole "Saint X, pray for us" but he started to wonder why we ask saints specifically. Because they are in Heaven with God?

Are prayers from the Saints more "powerful" or have more weight than prayers of the militant?

 

This is a quote from him:

 

Are there different classes? For instance, between man and saint?

and does that difference that makes their prayers... worth more?

but okay okay

so saints are worshipping god

does that mean they're praying?

do you have to pray to someone when they're right in front of you?

arent you kinda just talking at that point?

but i guess thats semantics since "pray for us" still makes sense - because we'd be praying

 

 

So I guess its two questions. Are the saints "praying" in the same sense that we are praying, and do their prayers mean more than ours?

[cappie]

There are three parts of the Church of Christ. Traditionally they are called, the Church Militant (on earth) the Church Suffering (in Purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (in Heaven). All make up the Church one is no less than the other. Just because you die you do not stop being a member.

 

One can and should ask other Christians here on earth to pray for us/others we are part of the family. However, the more people one has praying, the better, as their devotion to God is added to ours.

 

The saints in heaven we could say are even more suited to this than living Christians (the saints on earth) because they have undivided devotion toward God. Here on earth we can have distractions, difficulty in concentration, and lack of fervor in prayer, but in heaven none of these are the case. Our brothers and sisters in heaven are the perfect prayer warriors, having been freed of the distractions of the body.

 

One may also cite in this regard admonition of James: â€œThe prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (James 5:16b).

 

The saints in heaven, having been perfectly sanctified (saintified), are even more righteous than us, and so their prayers should have corresponding power in its effects. They are even better able to pray for us than we ourselves.

 

Also the saints, being endowed with perfect divine love, would not mind at all, would still care for the situations of those praying to them, and would pray just as fervently for those asking for their intercession.

 

“And when he 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).

 

This shows us the twenty-four elders, who represent the leaders of the people of God in heaven, offering to God the prayers of the saints on earth. They therefore must be interceding with God by presenting to him our prayer needs.

 

In short summary, I look at it this way. Just as people ask me to "say a prayer for me Father" I have this "great cloud of witnesses" Hebrews 12:1 members of the Church who are ready to make intercession for me. They are not distracted, they have lived out their baptismal commitment here and are now with God in the kingdom and I am grateful for their prayers. :bananarap: