Asking for Intercession of those more Holy?

I have always struggled with the notion that some people’s prayers may be more effective than others. It makes me cringe inside to think that God is more willing to respond to some than to others. But there is the verse in James that says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Or more commonly translated, “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.” (James 5:16).  Some people will claim, “Who is more righteous than the saints in heaven?”

Some individuals I know ask for intercession from the Saints and Mary, because their prayers are pure and effective as they are righteous and alive in heaven with God. I still have a hard time believing that Mary asking something of God on my behalf is more effective than me just asking God myself, since I do have a direct line to the Father. However, I hold my opinions rather humbly these days, and have been open to hearing otherwise from God. 

This morning, I read My Utmost for His Highest, and realized that the spiritual state and quality of the individual praying does indeed matter in God’s response to the prayer. So this leads me to consider the fact that yes, of course the saints and Mary are more saintly and holy than I am because they are in heaven with God. And maybe it is true, then, that God would be more responsive to their prayers than mine, based on Oswald Chambers’ meditation for today. If this is true, then, it is a good reason to ask the intercession of the saints. Why don’t you read for yourself?

The Spiritual Search (My Utmost for His Highest)

 What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9

The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings”? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.”

We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).

I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8).