Prayer To Anyone Other Than God—A False Doctrine
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, September 1, 2026 (Donate)
Throughout the 66 books of the Bible, prayer is consistently
directed to God. Prayer to false gods was forbidden and useless anyway since
they don’t exist.
Scripture doesn’t give permission to pray to angels,
departed saints, Mary, deceased relatives, or any other created being. Prayer
is an act of dependence and worship that belongs to God.
Prayer Is Directed To God
Jesus, who is God, taught His disciples how to pray by
saying:
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be
done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into
temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV).
He repeatedly told believers to pray to the Father (Matthew
6:6; John 15:16; 16:23). Christians are also told:
Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).
Christ also has an amazing prayer to the Father in John 17.
God speaking to God in the persons of God is to be expected and isn’t problem
considering the Triune nature of God.
Throughout Scripture, God's people call upon the Lord (Psalm
50:15; 86:6-7; Jeremiah 33:3; Acts 4:24-30). Prayer is never presented as
something believers should redirect toward created beings or inanimate objects
like wooden or golden idols.
Jesus Christ Is Our Mediator
One of the clearest reasons Christians don’t need heavenly
intermediaries is found in 1 Timothy 2:5:
For there is one God and one
Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
Through Jesus we have direct access to the Father (e.g., John
14:6; Ephesians 2:18). The books of Hebrews says we Christians may "come
boldly to the throne of grace" through their great High Priest (Hebrews
4:14-16).
Therefore, we don’t need Mary, saints, angels, or deceased
believers to carry their prayers to God. Christ is our Mediator and High
Priest.
Prayer To Angels?
You already know the answer to this don’t you! Angels mustn’t
receive prayer either. Scripture gives striking examples of angels refusing certain
religious things reserved for God alone. When John fell before an angel, the
angel immediately responded:
And I fell at his feet to worship
him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your
fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10,
NKJV; see also Revelation 22:8-9).
Angels are servants of God like us, not substitutes for God
(Hebrews 1:14). If an angel refuses such religious devotion, Christians
certainly shouldn’t direct prayers toward angels.
What About Mary And The Saints?
Mary was greatly blessed and should be respected as the
earthly mother of Jesus (e.g., Luke 1:28, 42, 48). But Scripture never
commands Christians to pray to her. Mary herself prayed to and worshiped God,
calling Him "God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). Mary, though favored and
rightly so, still needed the blood of Christ to be saved just like we do.
Likewise, Scripture regularly honors faithful believers (though
also points out their sins), but never teaches Christians to address prayers to
deceased saints. When believers needed prayer, they asked living Christians to
pray for them (see: Romans 15:30; Ephesians 6:18-19; James 5:16).
The distinction is important. Asking a living Christian
beside you to pray is explicitly biblical. Attempting to communicate with those
who have died a physical death is not. The Bible forbids calling upon
the dead—which are sinful actions by mediums and spiritists (e.g., Deuteronomy
18:10-12, Leviticus 20:6; Isaiah 8:19).
Can You Pray To The Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is God. So, praying to the Holy Spirit is
praying to God. So rightly, the Bible doesn’t forbid praying to the Holy
Spirit. Although the normal biblical pattern is prayer to the Father, through
the Son, in/by the Holy Spirit (e.g., Matthew 6:9; John 16:23; Ephesians 2:18,
6:18).
The Holy Spirit is fully God, not a created being (Acts
5:3-4), and is a distinct divine co-eternal Person who speaks, teaches, guides,
and can be grieved (e.g., John 14:26; Acts 13:2; Ephesians 4:30). Therefore,
there is no biblical reason that addressing Him directly in prayer would be
sinful.
Nevertheless, Scripture doesn’t explicitly give examples of
prayers addressed directly to the Holy Spirit. Instead, believers ordinarily
pray to the Father while relying upon the Spirit, who helps us in our weakness
and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). In biblical instances, the Holy Spirit
spoke directly to men (e.g., Acts 8:28, 10:19, 13:2)
Thus, praying to the Holy Spirit is permissible, but the
predominant biblical pattern is prayer to the Father through Christ by the
Spirit.
Seeking the Dead Is Condemned
As mentioned, Scripture condemns attempts to seek
information or spiritual assistance from the dead. Saul did it and the Lord smote
Him for it. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 condemns mediums and those who "call up
the dead." Isaiah asks:
And when they say to you, “Seek
those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people
seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To
the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it
is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:19-20, NKJV).
The biblical answer is obvious: God's people should seek God
and pray to Him alone.
Conclusion: Prayer Belongs to God
Prayer is a God-given ability to commune directly with Him. He
is all-knowing (omniscience) and all-present (omnipresence) and this permits our
prayers—even in our silent thoughts, to be heard by God. God knows our thoughts
and hearts—we can’t hide them (Psalm 139:1-4; Jeremiah 17:10). He can hear His
people wherever they are and respond accordingly.
Scripture never attributes God's omniscience or omnipresence
to Mary, departed saints, created being, idols, or angels.
The biblical pattern is therefore straightforward: pray to
God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, with the help of the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 6:9; John 16:23; Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 2:18).
Directing prayer toward another being, who isn’t God,
introduces an intermediary that Scripture never warrants. Christians already
possess something far greater: direct access to God through Jesus Christ.
Prayer should, therefore, be directed to God alone. He alone
is worthy of worship, He alone possesses the divine attributes necessary to
hear His people everywhere, and He has already provided the one perfect
Mediator between God and man: Jesus Christ.
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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years
working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He
was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in
2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a
501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in
churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees
from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught
at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of
undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did
research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of
titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test
Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
*Image by generative program as requested by Bodie Hodge.
