My dear readers,

“Saints in heaven praying for saints on earth” – is it biblical?

The doctrine of prayer is well-established, with numerous Bible passages on prayer taught from Genesis to Revelation. Introducing a new teaching on prayer impacts the doctrine as a whole because all aspects of that doctrine are interrelated. The question is whether it undermines or enhances the doctrine of prayer.

Prayer is a privilege given to only God’s children born again in Christ. The doctrine of prayer includes how to address God, how to pray, how not to pray, how frequently one should pray, how to end prayers, etc. The Bible has many examples of prayer by God’s prophets and servants. How will this new teaching that “saints in heaven are praying for saints on earth” impact God’s children’s prayer life when one tries to insert it into the long-established biblical doctrine on Prayer?

The following highlights some potential impacts:

Is Christ not our only heavenly Intercessor? – Christ is our great High Priest and is our only heavenly Intercessor. The above new teaching suggests that there are millions, if not billions, of intercessors in heaven together with Christ! The Bible passage used to support “saints in heaven praying for saints on earth” is Revelation 6:9-11: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

Revelation 6:9-11 does not teach “saints in heaven praying for saints on earth”. It, in fact, teaches that the heavenly saints cry to God for divine justice for the injustices they endured when they witnessed for Him on earth. Christ answered their cries immediately in verse 11: “that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

This text does not mention or teach heavenly saints praying for (i.e. making intercession for) earthly saints! Christ alone is our heavenly Intercessor, ever praying for God’s children on earth! Romans 8:34: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Christ is our only great High Priest – Hebrews 7:25: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Intercessory prayer in heaven is reserved only for our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. Christ is omnipresent, omnipotent, and as our great High Priest He knows everything. He continues to pray for all of God's children. There is no record of such a privilege given to believers when they arrive in heaven. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us on earth (cf. Rom 8:26-27), and Christ makes intercession for us in heaven (Rom 8:34). Believers are taught to make intercession for one another on earth only. James 5:16: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Efficacy of prayer? – What is the efficacy of the prayers of the saints in heaven compared to the efficacy of the saints’ prayers on earth? Is the former more efficacious? If it is more efficacious, in what way is it more efficacious? Is it because of the heavenly saints' “physical” proximity to God’s throne of grace and mercies or their perfect righteousness in heaven? Or is it that in terms of their relationship with God when they were on earth, like Mary, the prophets and apostles, they were more holy than other believers thus making their prayers more efficacious when they arrived in heaven? These are some of the questions that arise if this new teaching is believed!

The doctrine of an efficacious prayer of earthly saints is in James 5:16: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Efficacy in prayer is the result of the Lord’s omnipresence among His children when they live in holiness and righteousness according to the Scriptures and NOT our “physical” proximity to Him. The Lord’s presence with a righteous believer, and not our physical proximity to God, makes the fervent prayer of a righteous man efficacious! Proverbs 15:29: “The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.”

Intercessory prayer? – When believers are commanded to pray for one another, it is biblical to teach the sharing of prayer items; otherwise, how will others know their needs in order to pray intelligibly? The sharing of prayer items is integral to the doctrine of prayer. Christ, who is omniscient and seated at God’s right hand as our great High Priest, knows everything about us even before we do or say anything, and He prays for all His disciples. But if one says that heavenly saints desire to pray for earthly saints, can they know the needs of the earthly saints, unless the earthly saints tell them? Anyone who believes that saints in heaven pray for saints on earth will inevitably cry to these dead saints in times of distress and desperation! This cannot be.

The teaching that saints in heaven pray for saints on earth has led to the following reasoning and experience:

“I may also point out how we all know someone who is a real prayer warrior that we ask to pray for us. As James said, ‘The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects’ (James 5:16). Then I continue: The only difference between us is I believe when someone dies, they don’t stop praying for us. To believe otherwise is tantamount to declaring that death is stronger than Christ; that death is more powerful than the unity which exists between Christ and all the members of His body; that death could somehow dismember His Body the Church. God forbid! St. Paul declared nothing ‘will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,’ not even death (Rom 8:39).

“As an aside, I was recently at a Funeral Vigil, and the prayers from that service stated it so succinctly, ‘My brothers and sisters, we believe that all the ties of friendship and affection which knit us as one throughout our lives do not unravel with death.’ Later, the Rite continues, ‘But for those who believe in your love, death is not the end, nor does it destroy the bonds that you forge in our lives.’

“I conclude with my evangelical friends, ‘So, just as I ask another person on earth to intercede for me in a difficult situation, I know I also have access to the full family of God in heaven to intervene on my behalf as well. How do I speak to them? By prayer (which simply means to make a petition or request). Prayer is not worship, but spiritual conversation. We aren’t ‘conjuring the dead’ but engaging with beings which Jesus clearly declared are alive in God (Matt 22:32-35).’

“Invariably, the young Christians will say, ‘I’ve never thought of it that way,’ ‘It actually makes a lot of sense,’ or ‘You’ve given me a lot to think about.’ At the very least, we can dispel wrong-headed notions non-Catholics may have and plant a seed in their hearts to consider this great gift of our faith.” [https://media.ascensionpress.com/2019/10/31/the-saints-are-alive/]

The above is the teaching of the Roman Catholics. Will this new teaching of heavenly saints praying for earthly saints not lead to the deadly heresy stated in Isaiah 8:19? “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?”

If proponents teach that this is wrong because they cannot share their prayer items with the heavenly saints, then how do the latter know what to pray for? The heavenly saints cannot continue to pray as they will not know our present needs and struggles. The whole concept of intercessory prayer is compromised if one believes that heavenly saints pray for earthly saints, either once only, continually or continuously.

Pray without Ceasing? – Are heavenly saints duty bound, when they arrive in heaven, to pray without ceasing, just as earthly saints are commanded to do so on earth as they fight the good fight of faith and earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints (cf. 1Thess 5:17)? Believers pray without ceasing on earth because they are witnessing for and serving Christ in this spiritually dead and dangerous battleground. God does not want them to fight His battle without His help. But the introduction of this new teaching “that heavenly saints pray for earthly saints” opens up a can of worms that will lead to many erroneous teachings as seen above, and the doctrine of prayer will inevitably be corrupted.

How do erroneous doctrines begin? – Errors usually begin small. They appear harmless at first to appear more palatable for the unsuspecting. For anyone to say that he is limiting his belief that “saints in heaven pray for saints on earth” to this aspect of prayer only is not being true to his conscience and is subtly deceptive. All doctrines are intertwined. Erroneous doctrines begin with a little leaven like the young shoots of tares that appear out of the ground. They look like wheat and seem harmless at their inception. Give it time, and the erroneous teaching will be clear to see; but sadly, not to the ones who have believed and practised the error. Their eyes have been blinded, and their hearts numbed.

The discerning Christian who retains his objectivity will see the errors clearly and wonders how these professing believers are blind and cannot see! But that is the nature of deception and errors in the spiritual realm. Take the “tongues speaking” phenomenon of the Charismatics as a clear example. Every born-again believer can hear they are uttering gibberish. Yet the ones who utter them sincerely believe they are talking to God even though no one knows what they are saying, not even the utterers themselves.

When an erroneous teaching is believed, it will lead to blindness, resulting in tragic consequences. The danger of accepting doctrinal errors is clearly warned by God in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Doctrinal errors will corrupt sound doctrines. The doctrine of prayer is a well-established doctrine taught in Scripture. Inserting an unbiblical teaching like “heavenly saints pray for earthly saints” into the doctrine of prayer will inevitably corrupt the good doctrine of prayer.

Conclusion – The first basic rule of biblical interpretation is that no doctrine ought to be built upon silence from the Scriptures. Teaching a doctrine from silence is the basis of doctrinal errors. All doctrines must be personal convictions. Every personal conviction of the believer must be Bible-based. God expects conviction in all His children when they receive His perfect Word. Conviction means “a strong persuasion or belief” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). All Christians are expected, and commanded by God, to share their convictions, i.e. their belief (Christian faith). 1 Peter 3:15: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

Therefore, all Christians must take heed to believe correctly all doctrines, for all doctrines are intertwined, and every Christian’s holy witness for Christ depends on it. It is the perfect Word of God that is at stake! It is self-defeating to believe in the perfect Bible and then to believe in an erroneous doctrine. It is incumbent upon all Christians to rightly divide God's truth. 2 Timothy 2:14-16: “Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”