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Should I Pray to Mary or Pray Directly to God?
Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. She was a chase and pure woman and chosen by God from among all the woman of her time (Luke 1:28). Her responsibility was to give birth to Jesus and raise Him in the way of the Lord (Luke 1:31).
But Mary was only a human who needed salvation from Jesus – God in the flesh. And we know that all humans have sinned. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Adam’s sin marred the divine image in man (Genesis 1:26,27), and ever since man’s fall, all of Adam’s descendants have continued to fall short and be destitute of the image and glory of God.
Mary herself acknowledged her need for a savior. She said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46, 47). Like every other human being, Mary was in need of salvation. It never occurred to her that she had been born without sin, as some have unscripturally claimed.
One Mediator
The Bible declares that Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Only through Jesus can the sinner be reconciled to God (John 14:5–6; Romans 5:1–2). The heavenly Father provides the means of salvation through Christ’s life and death (John 3:16). Paul clearly rules out the need of human mediators and the supposed virtue that some have linked to such attempted mediation.
Christ is man’s intercessor. The Bible states, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Christ is man’s advocate with the Father (Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1). It is not only a living Christ but a Christ enthroned in power. It is not only a Christ in power but a Christ of saving love, who ever lives to make intercession for His struggling people.
This must not be understood to mean that God needs to be convinced to do good things for His people, for it was He who so loved the world that He gave His only Son. The nature of this divine intercession may be shown by Christ’s intercessory prayer for His disciples (John 17:11, 12, 24).
Jesus declares, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The Son of God declares Himself to be the only true gate to the spiritual fold. Admission to the spiritual kingdom is possible only through Him.
Christ is the way from earth to heaven. The apostle Paul writes, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that comes into God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). By Christ’s humanity, He touches this earth, and by His divinity He touches heaven. He is the ladder connecting earth and heaven. Because of His life and death “a new and living way” has been consecrated for us (Hebrews 10:20). There is no other way of salvation (Acts 4:12). Therefore, we should not seek the mediation of humans. We should go directly to God the Father through Jesus Christ.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
