Intercession of the saints
Why do we pray to saints? Isn't that idolatry? How can possibly the saints who are dead hear our prayers?
These are questions that are usually raised when it comes to the matter of praying to saints, and today we will discuss these issues.
Firstly, how can the saints hear our prayers, if they are dead? This question arises from a lack of understanding about how saints lived their lives and what occurs after their death. The saints, are very much alive. Their souls are in heaven, existing close to God. As they lived incredible lives, they were absolved of their sins, and taken their place in heaven.
Still, their souls are in heaven, but how can they hear our prayers? Someone 100 meters away cannot hear us when we pray so how can they do it? That is because saints have achieved theosis, meaning they are now part of Christ. And as they have achieved theosis, they now possess part of that divine vision that God has. They can see what is happenning on earth, as if looking through a looking glass. And thus, they have the ability to listen to our prayers towards them.
In its original English translation, the word "pray" means "to request". Therefore, with our prayers we make a request towards the saints to pray for us to God. We are not worshipping them, in the same way we worship God. We are asking them to intercede on our behalf to God.
This is also explained in scripture. In Revelation 6:9-11 "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been." The souls of the martyrs are praying to God for the salvation of their brothers and sisters on earth.
So, to summarize, the souls of the saints are very much alive, and they can hear us when we pray to them. They exist in heaven, close to God. When we pray to them, we are not worshipping them as deities. Rather, we request from them to intercede on our behalf to God for our salvation.
God be with you.