The Catholic Church teaches a different language when you can't find what they teach in the N.T. when it was never taught to the churches that way.
The evidence, which you ignore, points to the contrary. And there are no Protestant distinctives in the early church.
Stephen had died. Not once was there any reference to praying to him for help. And if you think about it, that is like asking him for help when such prayers to departed saints is vain and absurd when prayers should be offered to God only.
Stephen's death is irrelevant to the topic.
It's understood in Catholic spirituality and theology that any of us can pray to God at any time. The Bible emphasizes relationship to God, as sons and daughters to a Father. That said, there is also the practice of praying for
each other. Our Protestant brethren in Christ (who generally reject intercession of the saints) accept the notion of “getting a holy man [or the pastor, etc.] to pray for you.”
Hence, a person would, for example, ask Billy Graham to pray for them, because it is thought that somehow his prayer might have more
effect. This intuition is actually based on explicit biblical testimony:
James 5:14-18
Note here that the Bible itself recommends asking someone else to pray: “the elders” of the Church, who, like other Church leaders (1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:7), are supposed to be of exemplary character, and “worthy of double honor” (1 Tim 5:17). They have more power, due to their ordination.
To nail down his point, St. James cites the example of the prophet Elijah. When he prayed, it didn't rain for three-and-a-half years. James says this was the case because (here is the principle he wishes to convey): “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” We see the same dynamic in the following passage:
1 Kings 13:6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD; and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.
This is the biblical rationale for asking others, of more spiritual stature in the kingdom, or holier (or, best of all, both!) to pray for us. But that is not yet the same as asking a (dead) saint to pray for us. How does one arrive at
that conclusion? It takes a little more work, but it is possible to ground it, too, in Scripture.
In Revelation 5:8, the “twenty-four elders” (usually regarded by commentators as dead human beings) “fell down before the Lamb . . . with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” They appear to have other people's prayers, to present to God. So the obvious question is: what are they
doing with them? Why does Revelation present dead saints presenting the prayers of other saints to God?
If they
have them, it stands to reason as a rather straightforward deduction, that they heard the initial prayers as well, or at least were granted knowledge of them in some fashion: ultimately through the power of God. Revelation 8:3-4 is even more explicit. Rather than equating incense and prayers, it actually distinguishes between them, and presents the scenario that the prayers and incense are presented together:
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; [4] and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.
It seems clear that they have heard the prayers of men, and are involved as intercessors. Angels are extremely intelligent beings. We know that they rejoice when a sinner repents. They have knowledge in ways that we do not; above our comprehension.
This is biblical proof that dead saints and angels both somehow know about our prayers and present them to God. They are acting as intercessors and intermediaries. How do they hear our prayers? God gives them the power to do so because they are in heaven and therefore, outside of time. They are aware of earthly events. We know that from Hebrews 12:1 (“we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses”) and from Revelation 6:9-10, where dead saints are praying for those on the earth.
We also know of several incidents where dead men (even some from heaven) interact with those on earth: the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-3 / Mk 9:4 / Lk 9:30-31), the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3-13, the prophet Samuel (not just a demon impersonating him: 1 Sam 28:7-20), and “many bodies of the saints” that came out of their graves after Jesus' Resurrection and went into Jerusalem, appearing to many (Mt 27:50-53). In the deuterocanonical book of 2 Maccabees (15:13-16) the prophet Jeremiah returns to earth.
This is our entire rationale for asking saints to pray to God for us: all in perfect harmony with the Bible:
1) Holy men and women's prayers have great power.
2) Dead saints are perfected in holiness and are still part of the Body of Christ.
3) The Blessed Virgin Mary in particular is exceptionally holy (Immaculate Conception) and as the Mother of God, her prayers have more power and effect than that of any other creature: all by God's grace.
4) We know that they are aware (or are made aware) of earthly events.
5) We know that they exercise much charity and pray for us.
Name one reference in the N.T. where someone offered a prayer request to a departed saint. Now that is what I am talking about.
I already did. Here is more:
It’s indisputable that Jesus indeed plainly teaches the very thing that you claim is nonexistent in Scripture. In His story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), we find our compelling prooftext:
Luke 16:24 (RSV) And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz’arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’
This is the Abraham of the Bible — long dead by that time –, being asked to do something by a “rich man” (16:19, 22), His answer was, in effect, “no” (16:25-26). Having failed in that request, the rich man prays to him again for something else:
Luke 16:27-28 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father [KJV: “I pray thee therefore, father”], to send him to my father’s house, [28] for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
His request is again declined (16:29). He argues with Abraham (16:30), but Abraham reiterates that what he asks is futile (16:31). All of this reveals to us that not only can dead saints hear our requests; they also have some measure of power to
carry them out on their own (though no doubt by God’s power). Abraham is asked to “send” a dead man to appear to the rich man’s brothers, in order for them to avoid damnation.
Abraham doesn’t deny that he is
able to potentially send Lazarus to do such a thing; he only denies that it would
work (by the logic of “if they don’t respond to greater factor
x, nor will they respond to lesser factor
y”). Therefore, it is assumed in the story that Abraham had the ability and authority to do so on his own. And this is all taught, remember, by our Lord Jesus.
The fact that the rich man is dead (in the story they are both in
Hades or
Sheol: the intermediate netherworld) is irrelevant to the argument at hand, since standard Protestant theology holds that no one should make such a request to anyone but God. He’s asking Abraham to send Lazarus to him, and then to his brothers, so that they can avoid his own fate.
That is very much a prayer: asking for supernatural aid from those who have left the earthly life and attained a greater perfection. Also, rather strikingly (and disturbingly for Protestant theology), God is never mentioned in the entire story of Lazarus and the rich man. It’s all about the rich man asking / praying to Abraham for two different requests.
Protestant theology also generally teaches that we can’t talk to anyone who is dead, let alone make intercessory requests to them.
- Yet King Saul talked to the dead prophet Samuel (1 Sam 28:12-15),
- Moses and Elijah appeared at the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-3),
- the “Two Witnesses” of Revelation (11:3-13) came back to life again (and talked to folks);
- so did those who rose after Jesus’ Resurrection (Mt 27:50-53), etc.
Why Would Anyone Pray to Saints Rather Than to God?
Asking Saints to Intercede: Clear Teaching of Jesus
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
