Stop Praying To Mary
Hail Mary.
Depending on your upbringing, this is either a gutsy fourth quarter play-call, or a stiff prayer recited at the behest of your local priest. The Roman Catholic Church boasts 1.3 Billion members worldwide, including (supposedly) the President of the United States. The average Protestant church, depending on its location, is made up of a large portion of members who were raised Roman Catholic. Even after leaving Catholicism, many carry with them various beliefs and traditions that are rooted in Catholic dogma. The process of unlearning the many errors of Rome can sometimes take years.
One common area of confusion is the near-deification of Mary, and many new Protestant converts still find themselves drawn to Mary as a pathway to greater intimacy with Jesus Christ. This manifests most commonly in the practice of prayer. The famous “Hail Mary” is a Catholic reminder of the supposed power of approaching Mary as a mediator between God and man.
However, praying to Mary not only stands in direct conflict with Biblical commands on worship and prayer, but also devalues the beauty of the work of Christ as our High Priest and intercessor. In short, praying to Mary is a practical denial of the sufficiency of Christ.
Praying, But Not “Praying”
The Scriptures are clear on the topic of prayer and worship, only leaving room for God to be the target of our praise and petitions. When God laid down His law for the worship practices of Israel, he made it clear that petitioning the dead is a sin akin to necromancy, and worthy of His judgment:
“There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” -Deuteronomy 18:10–12.
The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that Catholics do not pray to saints, but rather ask the saints to pray for them. Rome claims that this is no different than having a living family member pray for you. However, this technicality has no bearing on the commandment being broken. Speaking with the dead in order to receive some kind of answer or help, or attempting to, is in violation of Deuteronomy 18, whether the deceased are the aim of your prayers or a helper in them.
Jesus is Enough
Beyond the clear violation of God’s law, offering prayers to Mary shows a lack of understanding of the role of Christ as the great and final High Priest. The book of Hebrews was written to show the sufficiency of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King, and the ultimate fulfillment of all the Old Covenant promises. Speaking of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews shows us the role that He now plays as the High Priest of a New Covenant:
“And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.” -Hebrews 5:9-10
In the Old Covenant, the High Priest was a man chosen from among the people, who would make sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins, and bring the requests of the people directly to God. In the New Covenant, all who trust in Christ are priests (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6) who have direct access to God through the High Priest, Jesus, who brings our requests directly to the Father:
“but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” -Hebrews 7:24-25
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” -Hebrews 4:15-16
Every believer has direct access to God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ, who is our eternal High Priest. No “saint”, person, bishop, pope, or spiritual guru can bring you any closer to God than a Christian already is. Jesus is the High Priest, and He gives us full and unfettered access.
To pray to any other spirit, even one as honored as Mary, in an attempt to get closer to the Father, represents a denial of the sufficiency of Christ as our sacrifice and mediator. Jesus Himself declared that He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), we need no other path to take our requests to God.
This Roman Catholic error stems from a larger falsehood that informs much of their doctrine: the belief that a human being holds ultimate spiritual power over another believer. This is why they teach that the words of the Pope are equal to Scripture, that Rome is the sole interpreter of Scripture, and the “priest” must act as a go-between for people seeking forgiveness of sins. This consolidation of power into the hands of a few men stands in stark contrast to the Bible, which calls all who trust in Christ “priests” and “saints” (1 Peter 2:9, Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2).
The God Who Hears You
Christian, be sure that the Father hears your prayers. It was Jesus Himself who taught us to pray to “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). Those who turn from sin and trust in Christ are united to Him, and have the very same access to God’s throne as He does. You have even been given God’s Spirit, who lives in you. You can be sure that God hears your prayers, and that He loves to answer them. You don’t need Mary, you don’t need a priest, Jesus is enough.
