Are the saints and angels in heaven actively praying for believers on earth ?

The question of whether saints and angels actively pray for believers on earth divides Christian traditions sharply, with Catholic theology affirming it while Reformation theology rejects the claim as unbiblical and unnecessary.

The Catholic and Traditional Argument

Catholic theology argues that saints in heaven do not forget us, and if they have one desire greater than another, it is to see believers wearing the crowns that await them in heaven[1]. The reasoning follows that the spirits of people in bliss possess intelligence and will, are always close to God, love us deeply, are equal to the angels, and have experienced human miseries that angels have not[2], making them naturally inclined toward intercession. However, a critical problem undermines this position: neither angels nor saints are omniscient or knowers of hearts, and therefore they do not know all the anguished groans of our hearts, making it impossible to firmly state they pray for us in particular anguish and calamity[2].

The Reformation Objection

The Reformation position is decisive: the apostles carefully explain the fellowship between the churches triumphant and militant, but nowhere add that the saints in heaven pray for the living by virtue of their own merits or that the living should invoke them[2]. More fundamentally, the sort of intercession which is the foundation for religious invocation cannot be deduced from communion between churches, and therefore cannot be deduced from fellowship of the church triumphant with the church militant[2].

A Moderate Evangelical Position

The saints are intercessors only insofar as they participate in Christ’s intercession, and because of the temptation to view saints as mediators of redemption, we should generally refrain from invoking the saints in glory, though Christ alone is our Advocate[3]. The biblical answer is that believers need not depend on angelic or saintly intercession—Christ’s present intercession suffices completely.

[1] James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers: Being a Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ (Baltimore; New York; London; Glasgow: John Murphy Company; R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1904), 154.
[2] Johann Gerhard, On Death, ed. Joshua J. Hayes, Heath R. Curtis, and Benjamin T. G. Mayes, trans. Richard J. Dinda, Theological Commonplaces (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2024), 2:253–254.
[3] Donald G. Bloesch, The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004), 165.