A simple answer might be that the Bible
tells us to in a number of places, perhaps most notably Ephesians 6:18-19, in
which Paul tells the Ephesians they should be “praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with
all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me,
that utterance may be given to me.”
But how does this make
any sense in light of the clear Biblical teaching that Jesus Christ is our only
Mediator?
I can pray to Jesus
directly; I don’t need anybody else to do that for me. If you agree with that,
then why would I ask anyone else to pray for me? And why would I pray for
anyone else when they can also pray directly without me? And why would Paul, of
all people, ask for prayers—he had a direct supernatural encounter with Jesus,
a clear, unobstructed path.
It would seem that
anyone who puts forth this reasoning to argue that we have no business asking
Mary or other saints in Heaven to pray for us had better stop asking anyone on
earth to pray for them as well. You have only one Mediator between you and God,
so you’d better stop asking your pastor or your neighbor or your brother to
pray for you.
And you’d better stop
praying for other people, stop trying to be another mediator, because by doing
so you’re trying to usurp the role of Christ.
Does that sound silly?
Of course it does—especially to someone who understands the real reason we pray
for others and ask their prayers for us.
We are not mediators
for each other, that’s Jesus’ unique role. Jesus is the one Mediator between
God and all of humanity. And we really don’t need anybody else to intercede for
us, because we can all pray directly ourselves. Jesus taught this clearly in
Matthew 6:6 where he says:
“When you pray, go into
your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you openly.”
But what we do
need is an intimate connection to the other members of the Body of Christ
to which we are all joined as one. We cannot live as individual members of the
Body without a powerful connection to each other. (1 Corinthians 12)
Prayer is that
connection, for when we pray for each other we enter intimately into each
other’s spiritual life—not just physical, emotional and mental life, but
spiritual life, in which we are ultimately one Body. Prayer is the blood that
circulates throughout the entire Body of Christ, much like the blood in my
physical body establishes a bond between my right hand and my left ankle, for
the same blood flows through both. Our prayer for each other draws us into a
closer bond with each other and with Jesus the true Mediator.
So we pray for others,
and we ask them to pray for us, not because we need their mediation or even intercession
for God to hear us (as if God won’t listen to me unless someone more
influential speaks on my behalf), but so that we can be a stronger, complete
Body.
And if it is true that
the Body of Christ is one, not divided, then it is true that we are part of the
same Body as all the other members, including those who have preceded us
in death. So we continue to pray for them, and they pray for us, because we are
still one Body in Christ and need to maintain that connection through prayer,
the life blood of the Body.
