It is certainly easy for us to understand praying for the living and the dead if this is an act of thanksgiving for the example and help that these brothers and sisters offer or have offered us, or if it is praise to God for placing them by our side. But in light of God’s revelation in Christ, what is the meaning of the prayer of petition, if God is a loving Father who provides for everyone according to a plan of infinite mercy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which of us, facing requests from our children or grandchildren regarding their health, fulfillment, or happiness, expects them to come kneeling before us, with folded hands or wide-open arms, imploring us with novenas, promises, vows, or the like? Yet, whenever a loved one sneezes, we rush them to multiple doctors and immediately schedule CT scans, MRIs, and specialist checkups\u2026 Are we, then, kinder than God? Beware: when one thinks oneself better than God, atheism is born! I would have no use for such a God\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus tells us: \u201cAsk and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened\u201d (Lk 11:9-10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet he also clarifies: \u201cIn praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him\u201d (Mt 6:7-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, I can tell God everything: God is the One who listens to me, the Friend in whom I can confide, the good Father to whom I can turn in every circumstance, certain of being understood. Our God is not silent; rather, for our sake He became the Word, the Word incarnate (Jn 1:14), with whom I can enter into dialogue. I can bring before Him every problem, every anxiety, every anguish, confident that they will be embraced in His Love. It is therefore right and an act of affection that I speak with Him, bringing before Him what seem to be my needs. The believer can also ask God for a \u201cmiracle,\u201d for Him to intervene by momentarily suspending creaturely limits, yet above all knowing that in any case the true \u201cmiracle\u201d God always performs for all is the gift of His Son, who raises us with Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke, the teacher of prayer, affirms in his Gospel: \u201cIs there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!\u201d (Lk 11:11-13). The true prayer of petition is asking for the Holy Spirit; that is, the plea to be filled with God\u2019s own Love, to realize that God is always with us, never abandons us, suffers alongside us, and that in the Resurrection of His Son He will conquer all our illness, suffering, and death itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What, then, is the meaning of intercessory prayer, which holds such prominent space in both the Old and New Testaments? One need only recall the great figures of intercessors among the patriarchs (Gen 18:23-32; 20:7), Moses (Ex 32:11-14; 34:8-9), the prophets (Am 7:1-6; 2 Kgs 19:4; Jer 42:2-4), the martyrs (2 Macc 7:37-38; Acts 7:60), and Paul (Phil 1:3-4; Col 1:3; 2 Thess 1:11; 2 Cor 13:9). Yet all Christians are called to intercede for their brothers and sisters (1 Thess 5:25; 2 Cor 9:14; Eph 6:18-20; Col 4:3-4; Heb 13:18-19; Acts 12:5; 20:36; 21:5\u2026), especially for the forgiveness of sins (Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 5:16) and for the sick, confident that \u201cthe prayer of faith will save the sick\u201d (Jas 5:13-15)\u2014that is, make them partakers of God\u2019s divine plan of salvation in Christ. It is necessary \u201cthat supplications, prayers, intercessions\u2026 be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions\u201d (1 Tim 2:1-2), and even for our persecutors (Mt 5:44), just as Jesus did (Lk 23:34). \u201cTherefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective\u201d (Jas 5:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet only God knows what is the supreme good for us. And our prayer does not change His mind, notwithstanding certain Old Testament anthropomorphisms, such as the episode where Abraham seems to dissuade God from destroying Sodom (Gen 18:18-32), or when Moses turns God back from His intention to destroy the idolatrous people (Ex 32:9-14): \u201cFor I the Lord do not change\u201d (Mal 3:6). Furthermore, if God were to change His mind because of our prayer, He would either have willed something not good for us prior to our plea, or decided something that is not the ultimate good for us after our invocation\u2014and that is impossible, because Love cannot but desire the ultimate good for the beloved. But, thank God, \u201cthe Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words\u201d (Rom 8:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What meaning does this mutual intercession hold, then, if God certainly does not alter His loving plan for us on account of our prayers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First and foremost, intercessory prayer is a dialogue with God about our brothers and sisters: it is acknowledging that He cares for all His children and hears the cry of the suffering; it is therefore a profound expression of faith in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, it makes us deeply conscious of our brother and sister, of their hardships and sufferings: it is an extraordinary moment of charity; and mutual love is the very sign of belonging to the Kingdom of God (Jn 13:34-35), to the extent that Jesus guarantees His salvific presence wherever fraternal charity is present: \u201cIf two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them\u201d (Mt 18:19-20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praying for someone else is therefore an act of love that mysteriously accelerates their encounter with Jesus the Savior, who is the true answer to all our prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This act of love, however, is not a mere verbal remembrance, but taking responsibility for our brother and sister in love: praying for another is essentially placing oneself before God so that He may enlighten us on what we ourselves can do for them. And Jesus gives me the strength to do for my brother in need what I ask for him. For this reason, in some communities today, during communal prayer, people prefer to replace the formula \u201cLet us pray for\u2026\u201d with the phrasing \u201cBefore God, we remember\u2026\u201d: in prayer, before the Lord, I take responsibility for my brothers’ and sisters’ situations and ask God for the strength to be a concrete sign of His love for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the meaning of asking for the intercession of Mary, of a saint, or of a brother or sister who is particularly devout before God? Asking for their prayers on our behalf first of all increases charity within the Church and strengthens the communion of saints, both living and deceased; it is a plea that the Virgin or our saintly brothers and sisters remain close to us to help us embrace God\u2019s plan of love for us, supporting us with their example and affection to remain united to Christ and filled with His Spirit. Moreover, invoking the help of the Saints means simultaneously acknowledging ourselves as sinners, unworthy of God\u2019s mercy: this is the first indispensable step toward opening our hearts to receive the gratuitous gift of God\u2019s Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, if I say to a brother: \u201cPray for me!\u201d, it means affirming: \u201cStay close to me, share a bond of charity with me that makes the Lord more present in my life, help me with your example and fraternity to embrace God\u2019s will for me.\u201d And if I ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary or a Saint, I am truly saying to them: \u201cMay communion with you help me experience God\u2019s love and make the Lord Jesus a living reality within me; be an example and a help to me in embracing the mystery of God and sustaining my faith in His immense goodness; I ask for your assistance because I believe in the communion of saints, which mysteriously fosters the growth of faith and charity in all believers; and standing before you, who admirably followed the Lord in your lives, I recognize myself as even more of a sinner, fragile, weak, and in need of that complete salvation which only God can grant us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praying is therefore always responding in love to the One who is Love (1 Jn 4:8) and who gives us nothing other than Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n