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Absolutely not. The believer is not really supposed to even pray to Jesus, but rather to the heavenly Father, and do so in the name of Jesus. By using the name of Jesus in this respect, our petition will be granted by our Father in heaven. John 16:23, says, “And in that day [from the Day of Pentecost forward] ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” In this verse, Christ placed all believers in direct relationship with the Father as enjoying the same access that He Himself enjoyed. Christ gives us His own name as the authority through which all needs could be met. All blessing from the Father comes in Jesus’ name.
Any prayer to Mary is unscriptural. When you pray to Mary, you are praying to someone who has died, and the Scripture tells us very clearly that we are not supposed to communicate with somebody who has died, and that includes the saints (Deut. 18:11).
Of course, many Catholics are taught to believe that Mary did not die but was assumed into heaven. In his official definition of Mary’s assumption, Pope Pius XII wrote: “Hence the revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.”
Some people will read this and think, “You’re just knocking the Catholic Church again. Why do you do that? Catholic Christians love God just like you do.” To those we would say that we are, in no way, questioning your love for God. What we are saying, as clearly as we know how, is that you cannot pray to Mary or pray through Mary and reach God. We’re strong on that.
We’ve also been accused of not honoring Mary, which is also untrue. We do give Mary honor. We do respect her. What she did was phenomenal. The faith that she had when she said to the angel Gabriel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” was amazing. But we don’t see in the Scripture any admonition to pray to her. You don’t honor somebody by praying to them. Praying to them gives them a quality that is beyond every other human being. Yes, the Scripture does say that Mary is blessed among women, but not blessed over all women (or all people).
After we make statements like this, the emails still come, mostly from our Catholic friends, saying, “I just honor Mary, but I don’t pray to her.”
Yet they know the Hail Mary, which is definitely a prayer because it’s asking for Mary’s help. The Hail Mary is considered the center of the Catholic rosary. And the rosary, according to Catholic sources, has recently made a comeback.
Catholic.com admits that the most problematic line in the Hail Mary for non-Catholics is usually the last line: “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
Yes, this is problematic, especially for the born-again Christian who believes what I Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Your faith must be in Jesus Christ and Him alone. If Jesus is continually making intercession for us, and He can save to the uttermost—and, according to Hebrews 7:25, He can—then we don’t need any other mediator. Why would I need to go to somebody else who died and is buried in the grave?
The doctrine of the Catholics—the doctrine that the saints or the Virgin Mary may act as mediators to procure blessings for us—is patently false. There is but one mediator, and only one is necessary—Christ. This means that prayer offered to “the saints” or to Mary is idolatry pure and simple; and, at the same time, removes the one great mediator from the office which He alone holds—making intercession with God. In fact, the Catholic doctrine of mediation by others is blasphemy. It strikes at the very heart of the atonement, does great insult to Christ, and does so because it elevates poor mortals to the level of the Son of God, and even beyond.
The Bible says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Let us—that means believers can come. Why boldly? Because we have confidence that the blood of Christ has made a way for us to come directly to the Father. You don’t need Mary or any another mediator other than the blood of Christ and Jesus Christ Himself.
I don’t want anyone else going to God for me. I want to go to God myself. I can enter boldly into the very throne room of God, not arrogantly but I can walk into His presence confidently, at any given time, and let Him know what I have need of, and He will be there working for me on my behalf.
Here’s something to keep in mind—in Luke 16, the rich man died and went to hell. He said to Abraham, “I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him [Lazarus] to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” No. You cannot use somebody who is dead as an intercessor or to spread the gospel.
Mary is not a mediator. John 2:3 says, “And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.” This is Mary’s attempt at mediation between the servants of the wedding and Christ. And what happens? “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” Mary’s only attempt at mediation failed.
Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus point others to Mary. He doesn’t do that. Instead, we see the opposite. We see Mary pointing to Jesus. It’s telling that the last words of Mary recorded in the Bible point others to Christ. She said, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). When she made this statement, Mary promptly stepped aside, in effect, telling the servants to turn from her to Him.
Bible scholar George Williams points out, “Whether these people that day at the marriage feast of Cana learned the lesson permanently, that the Lord Jesus is to be appealed to directly and not through an intermediary, is more than doubtful, for to this day, man has not learned it. And so, millions pray to Mary, although she is dead.”
Even when Mary was alive, the thief on the cross, coming down to his last dying moments, ignored her, even though she was only a few yards away, and turned rather to Jesus directly (Luke 23:39-43).
The thief was rewarded with paradise, but he would have received nothing had he appealed to Mary, which is exactly what all receive who appeal to her.
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