Bible Truth Web Site
Our prayers should be addressed to God the Father as Jesus instructed in Matt 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." We close our prayers in "Jesus' name." In closing a prayer a Christian is recognizing that Jesus Christ is our Savior and "advocate" between us and God the Father.
The New Testament speaks many times about "saints" which always means those who have by faith received Jesus Christ alone as their Savior. There is no mention in God's word of Christians praying to saints, communicatiing with dead saints or saints interceding for believers on earth. There is no mention of anyone living or dead being made a saint such as the Romans Catholic church teaches.
Further, no where in the Bible do the dead have communication with the living. That is a false teaching. Therefore seeking advice as to the future from dead saint is a false practice and not according to God's word.
There is however, communications with demons, who mimic and falsely represent themselves as dead people. The Bible refers to this as "witchcraft" and strongly condems the practice. Demons, serve the Devil and they seek to confuse and mislead living people with this occult practice. God strongly condemns anyone from seeking advice from demons or being involved with the occult.
Some people today claim they are communicating with the dead. In most cases the practice is a con game used to get money from people, but some are actually communicating with demons. The demons know of what is happening on earth and when they are consulted by people called medians they relate information they saw happen in the lives of now dead people when they were living. The median then tells the living person of things that happened in the lives of the dead. However, dead people cannot communication with the living. The fact is....no living person can communicate with the dead or the dead with the living. So what appears to be someone contacting the dead is in fact a hoax.
God tells the Christian to boldly go to Jesus Christ in prayer and seek His help and direction for our lives. The Bible never says we are to pray to dead saints. We can communicate with the Lord through prayer and through reading the word of God the Bible. The Bible says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
Believers are to go directly to Jesus Christ in our prayers and He hears and answers our prayers. God says, "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12) "The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." (Proverbs 15:29)
Jesus Christ alone is our "intercessor" who hears our prayers and intercedes on our behalf before God the Father. There is no other intercessor.
The Lord tells us that the Bible, His word, is given to instruct us. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The Christian does not need to consult false fortune tellers, whom God condemns to guide us in our lives. Further, the Lord tells us to live by faith. That means we are to live godly lives serving the Lord. We do not know what the future holds for us, but God knows, and He promises to keep us and guide us daily. So we live by faith....not really knowing that the future will bring, but trusting God and knowing He is with us always and will never leave for forsake us. Thus we live by faith and that pleases God because it shows we are depending on Him.