Over the course of 2000 years, praying to the Holy Saints has been a tried-and-true strategy on praying to the Lord our God. There have been thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of great and reliable testimonies about prayer to the Holy Saints, and how their intercession has truly made their prayers to God a reality.

Let us first understand why we pray to the Holy Saints. We as Christians believe that the Holy Saints are never dead. Sure, their life in this world has ended, but they are not dead. Remember that the Holy Saints served our Lord Jesus Christ, had great faith in him, and lived their lives after our Lord Jesus Christ's life. Because of this, they have been made alive in Christ, and they still live to this day. So whenever one of us prays to a Holy Saint, like Saint Anthony the Great, we are actually praying to someone who is still alive. And remember that the Holy Saints are indeed in heaven, which means that they are with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the One True Living God. This is why we do pray to the Holy Saints: they are very much alive because of Christ Jesus, and they are in heaven with God Almighty.

Now that we know this fact, let us look at the evidence in the Bible about praying to the Saints and the Intercession of the Holy Saints as well. James 5:16 above states that the prayer of a righteous man is indeed powerful and effective. Recall that all Saints are still alive because of Christ Jesus the Eternal Son of God. And know that all Saints are indeed very righteous and are the best of the best in the Church, so praying to the Saints is something that is entirely ok to do, and it is a great thing to do. By seeking the intercession of one of the Saints, who are righteous and good people, and who are still alive, we can have our prayers heard by the Lord our God through one of the Holy Saints, a practice that originated in the very beginnings of Christianity and the Holy Church. And we can be assured that our prayers will be answered, for the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful, i.e. the Saints. The other strong Biblical evidence for praying to the Saints is found in 2 Maccabees Chapter 15, in which Judas, the leader of the Jewish resistance against evil at the time, prayed to the Prophet Jeremiah, and indeed the Prophet Jeremiah heard him and presented him with a gold sword, promising him that with it he will crush his enemies. You can read it here: 2 Maccabees 15:6-16.

So, given the certainty that the Saints are very much alive in heaven with God Almighty, that they are very righteous people, that they are willing to pray, and the same Biblical evidence that clearly shows intercession of the Saints is very good and powerful, we should pray to the Holy Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God. Based on 2000 years of Church History, and the various testimonies of people who prayed to the Saints, we should pray to the Saints that they may pray for us to the Lord our God. Simply ask any Saint to pray for you, and whatever you ask them to pray for you, they will put in a good word with God. In other words, they will pray for you.

I'll end this with a personal testimony of mine: just recently I started to seriously seek the intercession and prayers of Saint John the Theologian and the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God. I asked them to please pray for me to the Lord our God, for a myriad of things, but one thing I definitely prayed for was for the Lord to consecrate my heart and purify my soul so that my desires, wills, thoughts, and actions are perfectly aligned with his will. And I have observed in real time a feeling within myself of feeling more pure, and more for the Lord. I have also observed that most of what I think and what I say are more in line with what the Holy Saints and Christ would say and do. I have witnessed a great transformation in my own life thanks to the intercession of the Holy Saints. And if you would like to hear more stories like this, go look it up! There's plenty of testimony to support praying to the Holy Saints.

Go in peace and glorify the Lord with all your heart, and keep carrying your cross for Christ Jesus, and keep remaining in his love, forever and ever.