Should We Pray to Mary?

[VCO]

Then why are we told that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who will aid us? Also, can we claim that they are dead, when Christ specifically says that those who believe in Him shall never die? Christ also says that God is the God of Abraham who is not dead, because God is not a god of the dead, but of the living.

It would appear that there is insufficient evidence, in the Bible to support either side of this debate, HOWEVER, I hear you and think you made a very good point. If they are rejoicing over every sinner that gets saved, are they not also participating in praying for that sinner to get saved?

Heb. 12:1

Many of the witnesses described in chapter 11 of Hebrews, suffered severely as a result of their loyalty to the Lord, yet they endured. If they maintained unflinching perseverance with their lesser privileges, how much more should we to whom the better things of Christianity have come.


They surround us as a great cloud of witnesses. This does not mean that they are spectators of what goes on on earth. Rather they witness to us by their lives of faith and endurance and set a high standard for us to duplicate.


This verse invariably raises the question, "Can saints in heaven see our lives on earth or know what is transpiring?" The only thing we can be sure they know is when a sinner is saved: "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance". (Luke 15:7).


Believer's Bible Commentary: A Thorough, Yet Easy-to-Read Bible Commentary That Turns Complicated Theology Into Practical Understanding.

Luke 15:7 (HCSB)
[SUP]7 [/SUP] I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.