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Question: Isn’t it OK to pray to the saints who have already died?
After all, you can find an example of the “Communion
of Saints” in the book of Revelation. The angels
and saints are seen offering incense to God, which
are the prayers of God's faithful. Those in Heaven
pray for those on Earth. It is the ministry of
intercession - a ministry binding on those on
Earth as well. They pray for us and we pray for
them. We do not cease to be part of the mystical
body of Christ because we shed this mortal frame.
Answer: While the saints in Heaven may be praying for us,
there is a huge difference between that and the
saints on Earth praying to or for the saints
in Heaven. There is no Biblical justification
for that. We are instructed to pray to God alone
- never to any human being. There is only one
mediator between God and human beings - the Son
of God, who is fully God and fully man (1 Timothy
2:5). We don’t pray to angels. We don’t pray to
human beings who have died (Deuteronomy 18:9-12),
nor do we pray for them. They are beyond the help
of our prayers. Their lives and their justice
are in the hands of God. I am comforted that the
saints in Heaven may be praying for the saints
on Earth. I am greatly disturbed when the saints
on Earth pray to or for the saints in Heaven!
The one is permitted, but the other forbidden.
Question: Shouldn’t we pray to God using His proper name (YHVH,
the Tetragrammaton)? How can we “call on the name
of the Lord” if we don’t use His proper name?
With all the verses that talk about calling on
the name of the Lord, how can I say I love His
name if I never use it? Even more importantly,
if we are to call on the name of the Lord to be
saved (Romans 10:13), how can we be saved if we
don’t use His correct name?
Answer:
"YHVH" is a name that is usually translated
as "Lord." It is used approximately
7,000 times in the Tenach (Old Testament), more
than any other name or title for God. It is also
referred to as the "Tetragrammaton",
which means "The Four Letters", because
it comes from four Hebrew letters: Yud, Hay, Vav,
Hay. This is the special memorial-name that God
revealed to Moses at the burning bush. God
said to Moses, "I Am Who I Am; and He said,
thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I Am
has sent me to you ... this is My eternal name,
and this is how I am to be recalled for all generations
(Exodus 3:14-15). This name comes from the Hebrew
verb that means "to be". YHVH emphasizes
God's absolute being. He is the source of all
being, all life and all existence. He has being
inherent in Himself. Everything else derives its
existence from Him. YHVH denotes God's utter transcendence.
He is beyond His creation. He is the Eternal One,
without beginning and without end.
Although
some pronounce YHVH as Jehovah or Yahweh or some
other way, we no longer know the proper pronunciation.
The Jewish people stopped pronouncing this name
by the third century A.D. out of fear of violating
the commandment: You shall not take the name
of YHVH your God in vain (Exodus 20:7). According
to Jewish tradition, the Tetragrammaton may not
be pronounced under any circumstances. Another
name, "Adonai", is usually substituted
in place of YHVH. But even if we did know the
proper way to say YHVH, that misses the point.
“Calling on the name of the Lord” is not about
pronouncing certain syllables the right way.
God’s name represents who He is. God’s Name stands
for His essence, nature, attributes, character,
power and authority. One can call on the name
of the Lord without using the Tetragrammaton.
One can call on the name of the Lord by using
any of the dozens of names and titles for God
that are used in the Bible! When we call on the
name of the Lord, we are declaring who God is,
asking for His help, and conducting ourselves
accordingly.
In
a similar way, praying “in the name of Jesus”
doesn’t mean praying a prayer (perhaps even a
bad or misguided prayer) and then tacking on “in
Jesus’ name, amen” at the end of the prayer.
When we pray in the name of Yeshua, it means that
we are praying as He would pray, praying according
to His authority, and in agreement with His mind
and will, praying a good prayer that receives
His approval and blessing. One doesn’t have
to add the words, “in Jesus’ name” to pray in
Jesus name! For example, if I pray, “God of
Israel, Father of Yeshua and my Father too, I
pray for so and so’s daily bread, and that he
would sanctify Your name today, and that You would
not lead him into temptation today”, even though
I am not saying “in Jesus’ name”, I am still praying
in the name of Yeshua because I am praying as
He taught us to pray, praying as He would pray,
and praying according to His will. My prayer is
acceptable because I believe in Yeshua and am
joined to Him by faith. As further evidence
of this, I would point out that there aren’t any
prayers in the New Testament that end with “in
Jesus name, amen”. Even “The Lord’s Prayer”,
a model prayer in which the Son of God instructs
us how to pray, does not end this way. When Rabbi
Paul writes: whatever you do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua (Colossians
3:17), he doesn’t mean that when we drink a glass
of water, we must say “in Jesus name” before or
after drinking that water. When we put on clothes,
we don’t need to say, “I have put on this particular
garment in Jesus name”. When we take a walk, we
don’t need to say, “this walk is done in Jesus
name”. It means that everything we do is something
that pleases the Son of God and about which He
approves.
Question: I am a Christian. Why aren’t my prayers being answered?
There are promises that God has made that don’t
happen to me. For example: No good thing will
He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
I have seen much good withheld from me, and not
just from my life, but many others. The Scriptures
also say: Delight yourself in the Lord and
He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit
your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He
will bring it to pass. This is not an experience
in my life, and it doesn’t seem to be the experience
of many others, either.
Answer: God answers prayers that are prayed according to His
will and prayed in the name of Yeshua. All too
often we don’t pray correctly. We pray for things
that, if God granted them to us, might harm us
and others. Also, you need to be careful about
claiming the promises that were given to the Jewish
people as part of the blessings of the Sinai covenant.
God does not promise to give those who are part
of Messiah’s New Covenant all of the same blessings
that He promised Israel for faithfulness to the
covenant mediated by Moses. He promises us our
daily bread and enough things to meet our needs,
along with trials along the way. Most importantly,
He promised that His grace would be sufficient
for us to get us through life’s journey. My answer
to you is - trust God; understand to whom the
various covenants and the promises that are part
of them are specifically directed; and like the
disciples, ask the Lord: Teach me how to pray.
Question: Is it right to address our prayers to the Holy Spirit
rather than to Father or Son? I heard one preacher
praying to the Third Person of the Trinity exclusively
without mentioning God the Father or God the Son.
What do you think?
Answer: I find it strange to address prayers to the Holy Spirit.
Almost all the prayers in the Bible are addressed
to God the Father. I think there are good reasons
for that. The Father is the One seated on the
main throne of Heaven; He is superior to the Son
and the Spirit in position and authority. In addition,
one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is not
to point us to Himself, but to point us to Yeshua,
who points us to the Father. When the disciples
asked the Son to teach them to pray, He instructed
them to pray to our Father in Heaven. The standard
way of praying is to direct our prayers to God
the Father, knowing that we have access to Him
because we are joined to His Son and because our
prayers are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Question: I have heard many people claim that Muslims and Christians
worship the same God. Does God hear the prayers
of Jewish people and Muslims who have not accepted
Jesus?
Answer: Yes and no. The book of Proverbs tells us that the prayer
of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The
man who is not in a right relationship with God
often prays for the wrong things, and if God answers
his prayers, it only solidifies that person in
that wrong relationship. God may answer the
prayers of an unbeliever - if they are good prayers
and come under the will of God, and if those prayers
are moving that person closer toward God.
Those answers to prayer can be part of God’s goodness
that help lead a person to repentance.
Good
prayer begins by acknowledging the true God, the
God of Israel, the Three-In-One God. Good prayer
is preceded by faith, confession of sin and genuine
repentance. Return to Me with all your heart,
and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend
your heart and not your garments (Joel 2:12-13).
Only after knowing who God truly is, and after
confession and repentance, are we able to pray
correctly and make our requests known to Him.
Prayers that are heard and answered should be
prayed by a person who knows the Three-In-One
God, and prayed in the name of Yeshua - as Yeshua
Himself would pray.
Muslim
and non-Messianic Jewish people are not in a right
relationship with the Three-In-One God. The Lord
may respond to some of their prayers, but is not
obligated to do so. Many people who call themselves
Christians are also not right with God, like
the current president who claims to be a Christian
and yet is pro-abortion and pro-homosexual. Do
you think that God is impressed with the prayers
of those who defy the Lord by being pro-abortion,
pro-homosexual, or those who are greedy and immoral?
For the past 50 years many Americans have turned
their backs on God. We have removed many of His
principles from our schools, courts, media and
culture. Do you think the Holy God is obligated
to hear and answer the prayers of a nation or
its representatives who are aiding and abetting
the murder of 3,000 babies every day?
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