Before you dive into this article, I’m sure that you can clearly see from the title of this article [part 3], which means there is a [part 1] and [part 2]. So for the sake of more understanding, please click the link below to read the first and second parts of this article if you have yet to read them.
If you understand the concept of prayer, you will understand that prayer flows from this physical world up to a spiritual or heavenly world. This means someone who has crossed over to a spiritual world and has left this physical world cannot pray for you, and as we study the scriptures on this, you will begin to understand this. In the Old Testament, the high priest was told to burn incense on behalf of the people every morning.
Continue Read: Why Mary, Angels, And Other Saints Who Have Gone To Heaven Can Not Pray For You [part 1]
Because a lie has been in the office for so many years and people have come to believe that lie as the truth, does not make that lie the truth. A lie is still a lie, whether you believe in it as the truth.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.
Apostle Paul, addressing his spiritual son in the Lord, told him:
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3: 14-15 KJV
So Paul tells Timothy that there is a doctrine that you have heard from me; I have taught it to you for many years, and this doctrine has its foundation in the holy scriptures. Knowing these scriptures makes us wise in matters of Christianity. So here we have it. Any Christian doctrine that is not in line with the scriptures or the written word can never be from God because it makes one unwise in matters that relate to God. Any doctrine taught in the church that does not have its root in the Bible can never be from God. Such doctrines that does not have their roots in the scriptures are either doctrines of men or doctrines of the devil, and embracing such doctrines makes you an unwise person according to the scriptures.
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matthew 15:9 KJV
So you see, it doesn’t matter if you claim to worship God; if your worship of God is from the standpoint of having embraced doctrines established by men, doctrines not found in the Bible, then your worship of God is vain.
Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Colossians 2:22 KJV
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 Timothy 4:1 KJV
People who devote much time trying to protect a doctrine that doesn’t have its root in the Bible are unwise; they keep learning junk, doctrines established by men in the name of God, and doctrines of demons.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:7 KJV
As regards church doctrines, how we can judge which doctrine is right or wrong is when we follow what is written in the Bible. Any Christian practices and doctrines not found in the Bible can never be said to be practices God will have us do, and that said, there was no place in the Bible where the early church in the book of Acts asked angels or Mary to pray for them.
There is no place where it was recorded that somebody asked Mary or the angels to intercede on their behalf from heaven. The early church found in the book of Acts was not found practicing that. Neither were the apostles of Jesus found preaching and teaching people that. In the book of Acts, the Apostles of the Lord are the custodians of church doctrines and practices, and we learn what is right from them.
Peter, James, John, or any other apostles of the New Testament did not preach about asking Mary or angels to pray for us from heaven. Anyone who preaches this is going against the written word; those are doctrines of men or of demons. It doesn’t matter if such teachings have been existing for a long time now; such teaching is a lie, again:
Because a lie has been in the office for so many years and people have come to believe that lie as the truth, does not make that lie the truth. A lie is still a lie, whether you believe in it as the truth.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.
How Jesus Taught His Disciples To Pray
Now let’s examine how Jesus himself taught his disciples to pray. There was never a time Jesus asked or told his disciples to ask Mary or angels to pray or intercede on their behalf. Let’s see this below.
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luke 11:1-4 KJV
So from the above, did Jesus say to his disciples, When you pray, ask Mary and the angels to pray to God on your behalf? No! Jesus didn’t say that. For example, when you begin to say, Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed is the fruit of your womb, pray for us sinners. You are indirectly or directly trying to say that you are so unworthy to have a one-on-one conversation with God or pray to God, your father, so because you feel so unworthy, you want someone who is worthy, which is Mary, to talk to God on your behalf, and this is very, very wrong.
Your heavenly father doesn’t want his children to relate to Him with that mindset. You think God is like our earthly father; when you do something wrong, you lose confidence and boldness to approach them because of the fear of being punished or scolded. God doesn’t relate with his children like that; He wants His Children to be bold enough to come to him even when they have sinned or made a mistake. No wonder Jesus says when you want to pray to God, be more conscious of the fact that God is your father. Whether you did something wrong or not, you should recognize that God is your father regardless and that you are relating to a God who is your father. It didn’t say you should start it by being conscious of your sin or by being conscious that you need to ask Mary or angels to talk to God on your behalf because you feel your own prayers are not powerful enough for God to hear.
Prayer first start with OUR FATHER WHO HATH IN HEAVEN. Jesus never said you should pray through Mary or angels, but you should pray directly to God by yourself. In fact, concerning praying, Jesus also teaches his disciples that they should pray directly to the Father in His name. Again, Jesus was never found teaching his disciples that they should pray indirectly to the Father through Mary or angels, but rather, he taught his disciples to pray directly to the Father in his name, and they will be heard. Let’s see this below.
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:23-24 KJV
Again! Jesus never said that we should ask Mary to ask God on our behalf. Jesus never said that we should ask Angels to ask God on our behalf; rather, he said we should ask the Father directly in his name and we will be heard. Our praying is powerful enough to receive God’s attention in his name.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
1 John 5:14-15 KJV
God never gave anybody instructions from the Bible to ask Mary or angels to pray for us. Not one place in the Bible was it said to have been written that God wants us to ask Mary to pray to God or ask angels to pray to God on our behalf. It was men over the years who came up with that teaching; they began to raise up doctrines that instigated that it is proper to ask Mary and Angels to pray for us because of our unworthiness. Such doctrines and practices are nowhere found in the Bible. The church in the Bible didn’t do such, Jesus didn’t do such, and Jesus definitely did not ask the disciples or the church to do such. Even after Jesus left the earth when they saw him ascending and being taken out of sight in Act 1.
In Act 2, the Era of the Early Church began. In fact, the first voiced-out prayers from the early church are in Act Chapter 2 and it was all in tongues; they spoke in tongues.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 KJV
From the above, you see that, the content of their prayers did not have any Mary or angels in it. They just spoke in tongues. In Act 4, after Peter healed a lame man who couldn’t walk in Jesus name, and when people had gathered to see this wonderful miracle God wrought through Peter, Peter began to preach God’s word to them. In Acts Chapter 4, when the priest and captains of the temple and Sadducees saw that they were teaching people things concerning Jesus, they were angry; they arrested them and asked them questions.
Upon releasing them, they threatened them that they should not preach or teach Jesus to the people again. So Peter and John went on to the church and reported the whole matter to them. How they were threatened not to preach in the name of Jesus again. Let’s see all that happened in the scriptures because after Peter and John narrated all that happened to the church, everyone in the church lifted up their voice and prayed. Let’s see this below, and then let’s examine the content of their prayer to see if they directed it through Mary or angels.
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:18-31 KJV
Now notice from the above prayer that the church made that there was no “Hail Mary full of grace, pray for us’ contained there; they prayed, and the content of their praying did not include asking Mary or angels to pray for them. In fact, study the entire book of Acts. not one place will you find when the church prayed through Mary or the angels.
So please rethink and pray rightly; pray for yourself, and come to the Father in the name of His son, Jesus Christ. The early church in the Book of Acts started right before the Pentecostal, Apostolic, and Catholic churches were yet to exist. So, irrespective of our denomination, we should learn to derive and base our doctrines and Christian practices on Christ’s teachings. Going against what was taught and practiced from the origin and forming new doctrines not supported by the Bible is going against God’s standard of how God wants the church to worship Him.
So if you see nowhere in the Bible where it was written, then why do it? The answer might be that you honour the words of men, above the words of God. You do it because you honour a man on the pulpit whose words contradict the Scriptures. You do it because you grew up in a home where they taught you that asking Mary and the angels to pray for you is the right thing to do. You grew up believing that, and now even when the truth comes staring at you in the face as to what is right, you fight it. You fight it because, to you, the lie you were taught is now the truth to you, but that is not how truth works and this reminds me of a movie and what was said in that movie about truth. You can watch that short clip below.
Truth is truth: God is NOT dead – We the people
Just because a practice has been in existence for a very long time does not mean it is true. See the truth, and then do not harden your heart. God’s word is the final authority on any matter. Any practices not found in the Bible, we shouldn’t practice.
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What gives power, authority, and validity to words and doctrines is not because your pastor or mentor was the one who said them; the power, authority, and validity of a teaching, practice, or doctrine come from the fact that it is in line with the truth of God’s word, if this is not the case, then do away with it. The Apostle Paul said something concerning this; let’s see this:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, unto another doctrine that is not true.
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:6-8 KJV
So, as Paul said, it doesn’t matter who that man is, whether it is him, another apostle, prophet, pastor, or another man of God; if they preach anything that goes against the sound teachings of the scriptures, let them be accursed!!!!!
Accursed is from the Greek word “anathema,” which is translated correctly to mean “greatly cursed,” a person who should be excommunicated. So don’t fight the truth of God’s word; rather, be humble enough to embrace it. In my next article, I will explain those scriptures people make use of from the Bible to explain wrongly why it is good to go through Mary and angels in prayers.
Credit: Jonah Kingsley
