Are the dead saints in heaven sorrowful when they are petitioned to pray for the living?

Question

" There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4).

Are they omnipotent and omniscient that they can hear the prayers of the entire world?

Answer 1

the dead know nothing. they intercede for no one. that time has not come yet.

Answer 2

I don't think so.  I actually think they are in the ground, in a sleep type state that we will never understand, waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.  But who really knows.  Nobody has ever really come back to say, indisputably.  So, it is all about faith in what youuuuuu believe.

Answer 3

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the praying to saints is predominately found in Roman Catholicism, right?

WRONG

But what does it say about interseceroy prayer.

Because he is the only God-man and the Mediator of the New Covenant, Jesus is the only mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1–4). In particular, we should ask the intercession of those Christians in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for "[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16).

Not only do those in heaven pray with us, they also pray for us. In the book of Revelation, we read: "[An] angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3-4).

Thus, in Psalm 103 we pray, "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20–21). And in the opening verses of Psalms 148 we pray, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!"

Jesus himself warned us not to offend small children, because their guardian angels have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 18:10).

"But not the high priest [Christ] alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels . . . as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep

Rom 6:3-4

Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

Col 2:12

You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak" (Ephesians 6:18-20).

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak" (Ephesians 6:18-20).

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

But doesn't the Bible says Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man?

A: Yes, it does; in 1 Timothy 2:5 ("For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"), but we just quoted the four verses immediately preceding this one, and you will remember that in them Paul said: "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men."

So the fact that Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man does not prevent other people from acting as intercessors. And we know intercessory prayer certainly does not displease God, for in the same passage we just cited, Paul tells us: "This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior

I am sometimes stunned at how people can hop up and down about what Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5 and yet miss the subject of intercessory prayer, which is not only the topic of the preceding four verses, but the segue into the discussion of Jesus' unique Mediatorship.

For example, consider the following verses and the concern they show those in heaven having for what happens on earth:

"Then one of the elders [who represent the hierarchy of the people of God in heaven] addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?' I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:13-14).

"

And they [the elders] sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth'" (Revelation 5:9-10).



"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ this tells us these are the voices of humans, and he shall reign for ever and ever'" (Revelation

11:15). "And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, 'We give thanks to thee, Lord God Almighty, who art and who wast, that thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but thy wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth'" (Revelation 11:16-18).

"And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren this indicates it is a human voice has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!'" (Revelation 12:10-12).

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.' Once

How do you know the saints in heaven are praying for us

"And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God'" (2 Maccabees 15:14).

The very verses we just quoted. It goes without saying, for example, that our guardian angels are aware of what we are doing. It is their job to guard us, after all, so we can be sure they know what we are doing and when we are asking them to pray for us.

And in the same way, when we read of the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God in the form of incense (Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4), we know they are aware of our prayers.

Remember: Most of the saints don't have physical bodies right now. They furthermore don't have physical prayer request cards or physical incense or anything like that. This means that when they are pictured as presenting God with our prayers, they are not physically presenting him with our prayers, so they must be mentally presenting them to him. But if they are mentally presenting our prayers to God then they must be aware of our prayers.

Answer 4

Saints in heaven are not involved or concerned with the affairs of this world in that way.  Take a look at Luke 16:15ff,  Abraham may well suggest that God would not allow such.

Answer 5

(3) As regards the proof from Holy Scripture and the Fathers, we can show that the principle and the practice of invoking the aid of our fellow-creatures are clearly laid down in both. That the angels have an interest in the welfare of men is clear from Christ's words: "There shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance" (Luke 15:10). In verse 7 He says simply: "There shall be joy in heaven". Cf. Matt., xviii, 10; Heb., i, 14. That the angels pray for men is plain from the vision of the Prophet Zacharias: "And the angel of the Lord answered, and said: O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem . . . and the Lord answered the angel . . . good words, comfortable words" (Zechariah 1:12, 13). And the angel Raphael says: "When thou didst pray with tears . . . I offered thy prayer to the Lord" (Tob., xii, 12) The combination of the prayers both of angels and saints is seen in the vision of St. John: "And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel" (Revelation 8:3-4). God Himself commanded Abimelech to have recourse to Abraham's intercession: "He shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. . . . And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech" (Genesis 20:7, 17). So, too, in the case of Job's friends He said: "Go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust; and my servant Job shall pray for you: his face I will accept" (Job 42:8). Intercession is indeed prominent in several passages in this same Book of Job: "Call now if there be any that will answer thee, and turn to some of the saints' (v, 1);" If there shall be an angel speaking for him . . . He shall have mercy on him, and shall say: Deliver him, that he may not go down to corruption" (xxxiii, 23). "They [the angels] appear as intercessors for men with God, bringing men's needs before Him, mediating in their behalf. This work is easily connected with their general office of labouring for the good of men" (Dillman on Job, p. 44). Moses is constantly spoken of as "mediator': "I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you" (Deuteronomy 5:5; cf. Galatians 3:19, 20). It is true that in none of the passages of the Old Testament mention is made of prayer to the saints, i. e; holy men already departed from this life; but this is in keeping with the imperfect knowledge of the state of the dead, who were still in Limbo. The general principle of intercession and invocation of fellow-creatures is, however, stated in terms which admit of no denial; and this principle would in due course be applied to the saints as soon as their position was defined. In the New Testament the number of the saints already departed would be comparatively small in the early days.  

Answer 6

I don't believe they can hear us. I don't pray to anyone other than the Father in Jesus' name.  If they could hear people praying to them they would be sad because they know the person praying is deceived.  

Answer 7

There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow. That doesn't mean that they aren't praying for us, though. I don't believe that they can see or hear unless God allows it. But, I do believe they know us and they are praying for us.

Answer 8

Everyone in heaven is considered a saint.  No they are not omnipresent.  Heaven is a place with no sorrow or pain.

Answer 9

No, they are happy about it because they can do more and be more effective at it than they could when they were alive.  Saint type people are into helping others and they are still them when they die.  Family members are happy because they are in heaven and know that whatever happens, their loved ones will be OK soon enough.

I don't think they are omnipotent and omniscient or omnipresent, there's no need for that.  They can just hear better or farther than living people when someone thinks about them or says their name.

Answer 10

First, they are not "dead" saints, they are saints who have died...God is God of the living, not the dead.  Why would they be sorrowed?  Those in heaven are "still" part of the Body of Christ.  As such they are still concerned with those on earth, the Church militant.  They pray for us...and, being in heaven, they pray PERFECTLY within the will of God.  HOW can they hear our requests?  God allows it.

"Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed 2 we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2

Answer 11

Dead people do not pray for anyone.

It is the living that should intercede for one another.

Answer 12

Your 1st 2 lines are correct.

There is no death or sorrow in heaven.

If you are speaking about the likes of the Saints in Heaven now and soon to be, I don't believe they will be or have the mind of God.

There will be lots to do and heaps to learn.

Jesus intercedes for us continually, and the Holy Spirit utters and groans for us to God our Father.

No people who are in Heaven or h**l, cannot pray for other people.

The Bible tells us so, read Luke 16.

Answer 13

There is Godly Joy in heaven.  But there is times the Saints in heaven pray, "How much longer Lord, must people be martyred, etc?"  Jesus answers, "Until the rest are martyred...".  So the time of there being no more sorrow, crying, nor pain is in the future.  Because when one part of the Body of Christ suffers, so does the rest of the Body.

I don't believe the Saints are all knowing like God.  It is written that when we stand before God, we will know God like God knows us.  But that is probably after Jesus cleanses us more that we can also see Father God.  And I still doubt we will be all knowing like God.

Some think that Mother Mary or Saint Peter, James or John can hear every prayer from the many praying to them at once.  I highly doubt they can.  It is written that the 7 eyes of Gods Spirit go to & fro around the earth to see whose hearts are toward the Lord.  7 representing how God completely sees.  So God is seeing & is all knowing through His Holy Spirit who completely sees whose hearts are toward the Lord.

Now I believe God may send Saint Mary, Saint Peter, Saint James or Saint John to answer a Christian question or intercede in prayer. But that is because Jesus Christ is our intermediary. We go to Jesus first, who sends Godly Angels or Godly Saints,  to intercede in prayer or help someone out miraculously.

I don't think praying to the Saints is the most important if a hurricane is heading your way.  I think that whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved. That is the Name of Jesus!  The Name that is exalted above every name.  That is what gets Gods attention.

Answer 14

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the praying to saints is predominately found in Roman Catholicism, right? Nowhere in God's Word does it actually mention praying to Christians of earlier generations, and they cannot answer our prayers. God is the only omnipresent, omnipotent being, and anyone who says otherwise is sadly mistaken.

EDIT: allecat,Luke 15:10 reads: Likewise, i say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner than REPENTETH, not :

There shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance."

Penance is a falsehood, and needs to be treated as such. Also, this verse fails to support your argument, because finding anywhere in the true Bible that the dead become angels is impossible, as its NOT THERE.