The following advertisement recently ran in the Carlsbad (NM) Current-Argus:
Pray to the Virgin Mary
Pray nine Hail Marys during nine days with a lit candle
and ask for three favors:
one economic,
two impossible,
and on the eighth day publish.
On the ninth, let the candle be consumed.
Even without faith they shall be fulfilled.
This ad (called a novena), which frequently appears in our local newspaper, is a sad
commentary on the religious ignorance in which prayer has been reduced to a superstitious
ritual. As New Testament Christians we see all around us denominations posing as repositories
of spiritual knowledge. They excel in the wearing of religious garb, the burning of incense,
chanting, counting beads, observing holy days, and the burning of candles. In reality they are
a patchwork of man-made religious tradition and superstition. "But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:9). Notice the doctrinal errors
inherent in this ad:
- Mariolatry — Where in the Bible do we read of anyone praying to the mother of Jesus
Christ? This is because she is not our advocate with the Father. Jesus is (1 Jn. 2:1). It
is a man-made tradition which originated centuries after the faith (Jude 3) was delivered
to the world.
- Blatant superstition — The instructions given remind me of the instructions a
fortune-teller dispenses: Take your money and rub it over your body seven times. Burn a candle.
Then send the money to me. It will double. Superstition always has elaborate instructions to
follow to get Lady Luck's attention. In this case it seems hard to get Mary's attention. This
reminds me what the prophet Elijah said to the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel after they had
cried all morning to Baal to light their sacrifice: "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he
is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be
awakened" (1 Ki. 18:27).
I am thankful that the faithful Christian has access to God any moment of the day or
night. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you" (Jn. 15:7).
- Faithless religion — Even without faith they shall be fulfilled. What a heretical,
Biblically false statement! We cannot approach the throne of God in prayer without faith. "But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb.11:6). Faithless religion
does not offer salvation, only the broken reed of meritorious works to lean ones soul upon.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).
Who knows what foul recesses of paganism this ritual originated from! It did not originate in New
Testament Christianity. The Bible teaches us that prayer is a great blessing to the Christian.
Jehovah is not some distant being who must be awakened from slumber to get His attention. Rather,
He is our Heavenly Father who deeply desires to hear our sincere petitions. We do not need to
chant a memorized incantation or burn candles to accomplish this. We just address our petition
to Him, speak with Him in obedient faith (cf. Matt. 7:7-8) and send it in His beloved
Son's name (Eph. 5:20). "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 Jn. 5:14-15).
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