Praying to the Saints

In my previous life, it was quite common to ask people to pray for me. The degree of the importance of the request varied, as did its specificity.  But, in the asking was the implication that I believed that their praying on my behalf would have some effect before God, and that something would happen as a result of the prayer.  And, there was some  belief that the more people were praying, the better off one would be.  Why else would the pastor stand in the pulpit and ask people to pray for dear Aunt Lilly who had fallen and broken her hip?

This is exactly the concept behind praying to the saints.  In the Orthodox Church there is no real distinction made between the saints who are alive on the earth, and the saints who have fallen asleep in the Lord.  Does not Paul, in Hebrews, talk about that "great cloud of witnesses" who are cheering us on as e run the race?  And, does not John, in Revelation, talk about the prayers of the saints before the throne of God "rising like incense"?  And, not only are we putting out a blanket request for people to pray, but we are  targeting our requests to those people who demonstrated, till the end of their earthly life, that they were Christlike people.  After all, "the prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much".

There is a marked appreciation for those people who forged the way for those of us who are on earth, and in the church today.  Each day of the year commemorates many saints, some more "famous" than others.  They are commemorated in a special way during Divine Liturgies that are celebrated on their day.  One's "Name Day", the day that is commemorated for the saint one is named after, is a special day of prayer to that saint--to intercede on our behalf.

Just like in the Acts of the Apostles, proximity to a saint, or the things of a saint, are considered to have sacramental value.  This is why prayer, in faith, in the presence of the relics of a saint are considered particularly efficacious.  I have a particularly amazing personal testimony to this fact.  Last June my wife and I were in Israel.  I made a point of  getting to the town of Lud,  a few miles from Tel Aviv, to the relics of St. George.  His relics are housed in a lower level below the altar in a heavily fortified church in a predominantly Moslem area, in fact, next to a mosque.  After banging on a large metal door, we were greeted by a monastic who very graciously granted us access to the church.  We lit a candle, prayed, and visited St. George's relics.  I remember quite well descending the stone steps to where his relics lay.  I put my hand upon the stones that covered his body and I made a simple request, my first prayer to a saint in the presence of his relics.  My son had not spoken to me in three years.  I prayed that St. George would intercede on my behalf, so that God would soften his heart, and bring him back to  me.

A couple of months later I was sitting with my wife and  parents watching a video.  The video was a thirty minute biography of the life of St. George.  My son had not spoken to me in three years,  yet during the thirty minutes that we watched the video of the life of the saint that I had prayed to, my phone rang.  My son was calling to tell me that he needed to see me.  Don't ever tell me that we should not pray to the saints.  Oh, I met my son  shortly thereafter, and it is as if we did not miss a beat.  I have him back.  Glory be to God.  Thanks, to St. George for his intercessions.  The prayer of a righteous man does accomplish much.