Another way that Mary helps me in walking with Jesus is by her intercessions for me and the things I am concerned about. When Catholics talk about praying to Mary and the saints, they are talking about asking them to pray for us much like we ask our friends on earth to do. Prayer is a conversation and a sharing between beings. Much like she did with the servers in the miracle at Cana in the Gospel of John, chapter 2, she brings me into the presence of her son, presents my concerns and then tells me to do whatever He tells me to do.
The Bible tells us that the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much in James 5 and then James gives the prophet Elijah during his earthly ministry as an example. How much more effective are the prayers of Mary and the saints and the angels who stand in the presence of God in heaven. And you may ask me, "Howard, do they really pray for us?" And my answer is yes.
In Revelation, chapter 5, as the Lamb of God (Jesus) is receiving the scroll from His Father, we read of humans in heaven offering up prayers to God in verse 8, "When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones." And in Revelation 8 we read of an angel offering up prayers to God in verses 3 and 4, "Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel." In verse 5, we read of the impact of those prayers upon the earth, "Then the angel took the censer, filled it with burning coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. There were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake." Our prayers really shake things up! But remember that it is God who answers our prayers from heaven, who wills and accomplishes great things. And He wants us to pray for one another. It is part of love.
But, Howard, have you experienced this power? Again, my answer is yes. One of my sons who was deathly ill on more than one occasion is well and still with us and I am still here.
I will give you a specific incident as I was on still on my journey towards becoming a Catholic. In 2004, my father died and our family went out to Oregon for a week for his memorial service. Our son who had been ill the year before had to stay behind and work so we boarded our two dogs so he wouldn't have to take care of them. One of them was our son's favorite, a small cocker spaniel mix. Shortly after we left, there was a thunderstorm and the bigger dog who was quite a digger and escape artist tried to escape from their pen. She didn't succeed but the small one was able to slip out. Our son looked for her frantically during most of the week during a hot summer, following tips and leads. There were coyotes, town roads, highways, railroads and open country. We were on our way home at the end of our week away and still she had not been found. And so I asked Mary and Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, for their prayers on the night before we would arrive home.
The very next morning our son called us as we were on the road home. He had been out driving a road on the edge of town and our dog came out of the brush and tall grass a few yards in front of his car looking tired, dazed and bedraggled. She was found and recovered from her adventure.
We are to pray to God ourselves but we are also to ask others to pray for us. More later.
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