What does the Bible say about praying to the dead?

What does the Bible say about praying to the dead? We're going to answer that question.

Praying to the dead is strictly forbidden in the Bible. Deuteronomy tells us anyone who consults with the dead is detestable to the

Lord. The story of Saul consulting a medium to bring up the spirit of the dead Samuel resulted in his death because he was unfaithful to the

Lord. He did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance. Clearly, God has declared that such things are not to be done.

Consider the characteristics of God. God is omnipresent, everywhere at once, and is capable of hearing every prayer in the world.

A human being, on the other hand, does not possess this attribute. Also, God is the only one with the power to answer prayer.

God is omnipotent, all -powerful. Certainly this is an attribute a human being, dead or alive, does not possess.

And finally, God is omniscient. He knows everything. Even before we pray, God knows our genuine needs and knows them better than we do.

Not only does he know our needs, but he answers our prayers according to his perfect will.

So in order for a dead person to receive prayers, the dead individual has to hear the prayer, possess the power to answer it, and know how to answer it in a way that is best for the individual praying.

Only God hears and answers prayer because of his perfect essence and because of what some theologians call his imminence.

Imminence is the quality of God that causes him to be directly involved with the affairs of mankind.

This includes answering prayer. Even after a person dies, God is still involved with that person in his destination.

Man is destined to die once, and after that, to face judgment. If a person dies in Christ, he goes to heaven to be present with the

Lord. If a person dies in his sin, he goes to hell, and eventually everyone in hell will be thrown into the lake of fire.

God has provided his son, Jesus Christ, to be the mediator between man and God.

With Jesus Christ as our mediator, we can go through Jesus to God. Why would we want to go through a sinful, dead individual, especially when doing so risks the wrath of God?

That answers the question, what does the Bible say about praying to the dead? Research this question further on our website,

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