Prayer Directed to God Alone vs Praying to Saints
Prayer Directed to God Alone vs Praying to Saints
The practice of directing prayer to God alone is rooted in biblical teachings and has been a point of contention among Christian traditions regarding the role of saints in prayer. The Bible instructs believers to pray to God, as seen in the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus taught his disciples (Matt. 6:9-13) [1]. This prayer serves as a model for Christian prayer, emphasizing the direct relationship between the believer and God.
The concept of praying to God alone is supported by Reformed theologians, who argue that prayer should be directed to God because He is the one who gives grace and glory (Ps. 83:12). According to Aquinas, prayer is offered to a person in two ways: to be fulfilled by them or to be obtained through them. In the first sense, prayer is directed to God alone, as He is the only one who can grant grace and glory [4].
In contrast, the Catholic tradition, as represented by Aquinas, allows for praying to saints, not as the ultimate fulfillers of the prayer, but as intercessors who can obtain the desired outcome through their prayers. This view is based on the understanding that the saints are in a position to intercede on behalf of believers [4].
The Reformed tradition, as exemplified by Calvin, emphasizes that Christ is the sole mediator between God and humanity. Calvin argues that while believers can pray for one another, Christ's intercession is unique and sufficient, making the invocation of saints unnecessary [5, 6]. The Lutheran tradition, as stated in the Augsburg Confession, also rejects the invocation of saints, citing the Scripture's emphasis on Christ as the one Mediator, Propitiation, High Priest, and Intercessor [8].
The practice of praying to God alone is further supported by biblical passages that emphasize God's sovereignty and the role of Christ as mediator. For instance, Romans 13:1 underscores God's ordination of powers, and 1 Corinthians 6:1 highlights the role of saints in judgment, not as objects of prayer [2, 3].
The early Christian tradition also provides insight into the practice of prayer. The patristic writer Augustine discusses the role of saints' prayers in the context of God's judgment, suggesting that the efficacy of prayer is not in the saints themselves but in God's response to their intercessions [7].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Lord's Prayer — The name given to the only form of prayer Christ taught his disciples (Matt. 6:9-13). The closing doxology of the prayer is omitted by Luke (11:2-4), also in the R.V. of Matt. 6:13. This prayer contains no allusion to the atonement of Christ, nor to the offices of the Holy Spirit. "All Christian prayer is based on the Lord's Prayer, but its spirit is also guided by that of His prayer in Gethsemane and of the prayer recorded John 17. The Lord's Prayer is the comprehensive type of the simplest and most universal prayer."”
- King James Version “[KJV] Romans 13:1 — Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
- I Corinthians “I Corinthians 6:1 (LEB) — Does anyone among you, if he has a matter against someone else, dare to go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Prayer, Art. 4: Article: Whether we ought to pray to God alone? I answer that, Prayer is offered to a person in two ways: first, as to be fulfilled by him, secondly, as to be obtained through him. In the first way we offer prayer to God alone, since all our prayers ought to be directed to the acquisition of grace and glory, which God alone gives, according to Ps. 83:12, "The Lord will give grace and glory." But in the second way we pray to the saints, whether angels or men, not that God may through them know our p”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: make himself a mediator between God and the people, but asks that all the members of the body of Christ should pray mutually for each other, since the members are mutually sympathetic: if one member suffers, the others suffer with it. And thus the mutual prayers of all the members still laboring on the earth ascend to the Head, who has gone before into heaven, and in whom there is propitiation for our sins. For if Paul were a mediator, so would also the other apostles, and thus there would be many mediators, and Paul’s statement co”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, section 10.5: Intercessor; for no man’s prayers are heard either in behalf of himself, or in behalf of another, unless he rely on Christ as his advocate. When we intercede for one another, this is so far from setting aside the intercession of Christ, as belonging to him alone, that the chief reliance is given, and the chief reference made, to that very intercession. Some person will perhaps think, that it will, therefore, be easy for us to come to an agreement with the Papists, if they place below the only intercession of Christ, all that the”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 24.--AGAINST THOSE WHO FANCY THAT IN THE JUDGMENT OF GOD ALL THE ACCUSED WILL BE SPARED IN VIRTUE OF THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS. (part 1): And this reasoning is equally conclusive against those who, in their own interest, but under the guise of a greater tenderness of spirit, attempt to invalidate the words of God, and who assert that these words are true, not because men shall suffer those things which are threatened by God, but because they deserve to suffer them. For God, they say, will yield them to the prayers of His saints, ”
- Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), 1 Of the Worship of Saints they teach that the memory of saints: 1 Of the Worship of Saints they teach that the memory of saints may be set before us, that we may follow their faith and good works, according to our calling, as the Emperor may follow the example of David in making war to drive away the Turk from his country. 2 For both are kings. But the Scripture teaches not the invocation of saints or to ask help of saints, since it sets before us the one Christ as the Mediator, Propitiation, High Priest, and Intercessor. 3 He is to be prayed to, and has ”