Short Answers: Repetitive Prayers and the Intercession of Saints

Dear Apologist, I was told that Jesus doesn’t want us to pray repetitious prayers like the Rosary. Is that true?

This objection is drawn from Jesus’ preaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said, “When you pray, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them.  Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” [Matt 6:7].  Those words “babbling on” in the passage are sometimes rendered as condemning “vain repetitions” in English translations.  Thus, many non-Catholics will read this as a condemnation of any prayer which features repetition.

The best response is to explain the true meaning of the passage.  Pagans treated prayer as a means of explaining their situation to their gods, bargaining with them, and placating them by reciting long invocations.  This is contrary to how we should pray. We should trust that God knows our situation and already desires what is best for us.  That is why Jesus goes on to criticize the pagans, saying, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

You could also point out examples of repetitious prayer in Scripture.  Take your friend to Psalm 136 and read it aloud.  Or point to Revelation 4:8, which shows the angels praying with repetition.  Alternatively, keep reading after Matt 6:7 you will find Jesus giving us the Our Father - a formulaic prayer we’re meant to repeat.

Now, there is potentially a valid point in the criticism of repetitious prayer.  There is a constant danger to pray with robotic, empty recitation.  We should let the Protestant complaint serve as a reminder to always mean the words of our prayers as we say them and to let them affect our hearts.

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Dear Apologist, How do you answer someone who says we shouldn’t ask for the prayers of saints because Jesus is the “one mediator”? 

This objection is based on a passage from Paul’s first letter to Timothy.  It reads: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, which is the man Christ Jesus” [1Tim 2:5].   The implication is that by asking the Saints in heaven for their prayers, we are setting them up as mediators with God, thus doing an end-run around Christ and violating this passage of Scripture.

You may note, however, this objection proves too much.  If asking the Saints in Heaven to pray for you violates the unique mediation of Jesus, then the same would be true of asking ANYONE to pray for you.   Imagine asking a friend to pray for you, and he defiantly replies, “Don’t set me up as a mediator!  Go to Jesus yourself!”   This would be a shockingly unchristian behavior.  In fact, it would violate Paul’s command which immediately precedes his statement about the unique mediation of Jesus: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, and intercessions, be made for all people” [1 Tim 2:1].

Taken as a whole, the passage is really pointing out that Christ’s unique mediation is the reason why our prayers are effective. And for this reason Christians are commanded to pray for one another – a command which is not rescinded when we leave this earthly life.  In fact, you may point out that in Revelation 5:8, we see saints in Heaven offering up to God the prayers of the Christians on earth.  In any case, as soon as you point out how a consistent application of the “one mediator” objection would ban all intercessory prayer, you have successfully answered the challenge.