Day 17: Only Jesus is My Mediator and Advocate to God!

Growing up, I was taught that I needed to have a “mediator” or “advocate” to intercede for me with my prayers to God. The way it was taught, it painted a picture of God as someone who’s very distant, and the only way for my prayers to reach Him is through mediators or advocates who in turn will intercede in my behalf. The more mediators or advocates I have, the better my chances for having my prayers heard by God, and answered by Him. And so through my younger years, I was more attuned to these “mediators” and “advocates” rather than intimately knowing God, His Son – Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

I was given the impression – and mind you, very subtly – that these individuals, usually dead now, have a direct path to God because of what they did and had done during their earthly lives. And I believed what I was told. So now, instead of praying directly to God, because of the mindset that I needed to go through them, I ended up praying and even worshiping these “mediators” and “advocates.”

Let’s answer some questions related to all of these practices, using the Bible as our guide:

1) In praying to God (whether to worship Him, give thanks, or petition for any requests), can you do the praying directly to Him?

Yes. God loves to hear your prayers, and in the new covenant of grace, as instituted by Jesus Christ, the veil between God and man has been torn, so that today, you can immediately – whenever and wherever – pray to God without anybody impeding that easy access to His throne of grace.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

2) As a Christ-believer, do you need anyone – dead or alive – to be your mediator or advocate to God?

Aside from Jesus Christ, no one – dead or alive, can be and need be your mediator or advocate. Put you trust, all of it, in Jesus Christ – your Savior, Redeemer and Lord. He is your only mediator and advocate to God the Father.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

1 Tim 2:5

we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One

1 John 2:1

3) Is the practice of worshiping people (aside from God) Biblically accurate?

Only God deserves our worship and praise. God even forbade any form of idolatry or worship aside from worshiping and praising Him alone (Exodus 20:3, Leviticus 26:1-2).

Is there any account in the new testament, guiding us that this practice is not to be practiced? The answer can be found in the Book of Acts, specifically during the time when Peter arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting Him.

As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him. But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

Acts 10:25-26