The most powerful prayer I ever prayed...

This may be a little controversial. Especially for those of you who are protestants, or have deep protestant roots. I was a protestant pastor for a long time, so I get it.

A year ago I never would have said any of this. But I recently discovered a lot of what I assumed about this practice/prayer was way, way, way off. In fact, my eyes have been opened about a lot of things recently.

So, if you find yourself "repelled" by the idea, I'd encourage you to just open your mind for a bit, exercise maximum charity, and refuse to default to the posture of "contempt prior to investigation." You may still not agree with it in the end, but at the very least, it'll give you a better understanding of Christians who engage in this practice, and we need to prioritize our unity as fellow believers (since that's what Jesus prayed for in John 17).

Recently I started praying a very Catholic prayer. You've surely heard of it. It seems repetitive, almost ritualistic, and it can be confusing to people who haven't grown up with it.

But I was talking to a friend of mine recently who strongly recommended it. He said it helped him get over a sin he'd struggled with for thirty years, and after having prayed it once a day for thirty days, that sin has all but disappeared from his life.

Frankly, I have a few of those pesky sins, too. Who doesn't, really?

Still, I didn't think I could buy into it theologically...

... until I realized all the assumptions I was making (and the things I was taught about it) weren't true. I'd bought into what's really a pretty biased and one-sided strawman campaign that we hear about Catholics when we're in Protestant churches... (suffice it to say 95% of what Protestants condemn about Catholics, aren't actually what Catholics believe).

I'm sure it's a two-way street, in terms of what Catholics think about what Protestants believe, but I just don't have as much experience being in Catholic churches to make that claim with certainty. The point is, it's a lot easier to make assumptions about people and condemn what we think they believe, because we don't understand it, than it is to actually gain a fuller understanding.

I'm talking about the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

You've probably seen it. Usually people pray it with a series of beads, and you go around in a circle, repeating several prayers over and over, while meditating on various aspects of Jesus' life.

That's the key to understand. Because while there are a lot of "Hail Mary" prayers, the Rosary is ultimately all about Jesus. 

And since I started praying it, I honestly feel like it's made my relationship with Jesus stronger than it's ever been.

Now, I realize, just the mention of the Virgin Mary outside of Christmas time sometimes causes a knee-jerk reaction from Protestants. I get it, because until recently I wouldn't have considered it, either. I know I said that already, but I have to drive home the point.

Until I had an open mind and decided to actually hear what this practice meant to people who actually embrace it (rather than listen to people who haven't even ever so much as tried to learn what it is, much less haven't actually prayed it).

The thing is, it's far more biblical than I ever realized.

So, I'm going to talk a little about how this prayer has benefitted me, and then I'll go into the Biblical basis for it. Funny thing, I've actually been finding out that a lot of things I used to think were just "late traditions" that came into the Catholic faith in the medieval period are actually more rooted in the Bible than I understood... especially in the Old Testament.

There are websites, videos, etc., all over to learn how to pray it. I did some searching. The easiest way to learn how to pray it is to find a good video where someone walks you through it.

That's how I learned it. The beads are very helpful, it's just something tactile that keeps your hands busy and focused on the task. You can get a really cheap one, or you can even just pray it by counting on your fingers (the important number to remember is 10 for each "decade" on the Rosary). Still, I prefer to use the beads. It really helps keep the mind focused on the meditations.

The prayer is often described as a "garland of roses" (which is what "Rosary" means in Latin) offered to the Virgin Mary, but at its heart, it's a prayer that helps you think deeply about the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of his mother, Mary. 

And since I've prayed this prayer, and I've meditated on the mysteries of the Rosary (it's really just meditations connected to important events in the Gospels about Jesus) I've started to see those events with a clarity like never before. It's really awakened my heart for Jesus in ways I never imagined it could.

So, why does that work? Why does a prayer that seems so wrapped up in Mary have such an impact?

Truth is, before I understood it, I thought all these prayers with Mary and the saints were distracting from the centrality of Jesus.

It's actually exactly the opposite. It's all about elevating Jesus in our lives.

The prayer might seem Mary-centric to an outsider, but the power of the prayer is all about Jesus.

Let's flush that out a little.

My faith isn't perfect. I think my faith is pretty strong, but it's far from perfect. There's one human being in all of history who had perfect faith.

We don't have to get into the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception to establish it. You don't have to agree with the doctrine that Mary was born "sinless" to make this claim. Let's just set that one aside for now, because it's a whole other can of worms.

The idea that Mary had perfect faith comes from the very fact that Mary is the only person who knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the child in her womb didn't have a human father. Even Joseph doesn't believe it until the angel reveals it to him. She experienced the birth of the son of God, the actual incarnation of God in the world in the most intimate of ways.

She's also at the cross. She's the only person in the Bible who was there to witness both Jesus birth (the incarnation) and his death (the crucifixion) and also witnessed his resurrection. She's unique among all the eye witnesses of the primary and chief mysteries of our faith. In fact, she is almost certainly a primary source for much of Luke's Gospel, not to mention John's (since she lived with John after Jesus left the earth).

The practice of praying with Mary finds its theological foundation in Scripture's portrayal of Mary as the exemplar of perfect faith. When we examine the Annunciation narrative, we encounter the first part of what would become the "Hail Mary" prayer: "Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ" ("Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" Luke 1:28 ESV). The Greek term κεχαριτωμένη (kecharitōmenē) is a perfect passive participle indicating a completed action with ongoing effects—Mary has been and continues to be the recipient of divine grace in a unique and profound manner.

Elizabeth's greeting provides the second scriptural foundation: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:42-43). The Greek term εὐλογημένη (eulogēmenē, "blessed") is used to describe both Mary and Jesus, creating a theological connection between mother and Son while maintaining the clear distinction between them.

The early church father Irenaeus wrote that "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith" (Against Heresies, III, 22, 4).

When we pray with Mary, we are not merely reciting words but participating in her faith journey—seeing Jesus through the eyes of one whose "yes" to God reversed the trajectory of humanity's "no." 

 

Mary's Intercessory Role: The Queen Mother Paradigm

Does the Bible provide precedent for Mary's intercessory role? The answer emerges from an often-overlooked pattern in the Davidic kingdom structure.

In 1 Kings 2:19, when Bathsheba approached her son Solomon with a petition, "the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand." This gesture of profound respect—the king bowing to his mother—establishes the queen mother (Hebrew: גְּבִירָה, gebirah) as a position of unique honor and influence within the royal court.

The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gebirah) appears in several Old Testament passages referring to the mother of the king who served as an advocate for the people. This prefigures Mary's role in the kingdom of her Son, who is repeatedly identified in the New Testament as the Son of David and rightful heir to the Davidic throne (Matt 1:1; Luke 1:32-33; Rom 1:3).

Revelation 12:1 presents "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." The Greek στέφανος (stephanos, "crown") here signifies royal authority. While this image has multiple layers of meaning (including Israel and the Church), the early Church Fathers consistently identified this crowned woman with Mary in her role as Queen Mother in the kingdom of Christ. 

This understanding of Mary's role doesn't compete with Christ's unique mediation but rather flows from it. Just as the queen mother in the Davidic kingdom derived her authority entirely from her son's kingship, Mary's intercessory role exists only because of and through her Son's definitive mediation. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5)—yet within this framework, the members of Christ's body participate in His mediatorial work through prayer and intercession. 

 

Uniting Our Prayers with Mary's: Biblical Precedents

Why would uniting our prayers with Mary's enhance our spiritual lives? Scripture provides compelling insights.

Acts 1:14 tells us that after Jesus' ascension, the apostles "with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus." The Greek phrase ὁμοθυμαδὸν (homothumadon, "with one accord") emphasizes the unity of the early believers in prayer, with Mary specifically mentioned among them.

This first Christian community recognized Mary's unique perspective. She alone had witnessed the entirety of Jesus' life from conception to resurrection. Her prayer, therefore, carried a distinctive comprehensiveness—informed by thirty years of daily observation, conversation, and contemplation that no other disciple experienced.

When Elizabeth greets Mary in Luke 1:43 with "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" the Greek term κυρίου (kyriou, "Lord") carries immense significance. Elizabeth, as the wife of a priest, would have understood the theological weight of this term, which was used in the Septuagint to translate the divine name YHWH. Her recognition of Mary as "mother of my Lord" represents an acknowledgment of Mary's unique role in salvation history.

When we pray with Mary, we participate in her contemplative knowledge of Christ's mysteries—from the joyful moments of His incarnation and birth to the sorrowful events of His passion and the glorious triumph of His resurrection. She provides not merely historical information but spiritual illumination, having pondered these events in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51).

 

The Pierced Heart: Sharing in Mary's Sorrows

Simeon's prophecy to Mary that "a sword will pierce through your own soul also" (Luke 2:35) finds its fulfillment at the cross, where Mary witnesses her Son's crucifixion. The Greek term ῥομφαία (rhomphaia, "sword") indicates a large, broad sword—suggesting not a minor pain but a profound, devastating anguish.

This prophetic word reveals something essential about Mary's journey of faith: it would include suffering so intense that it would feel like a sword piercing her very being. Her discipleship would not exempt her from pain but would intensify it through her unique connection to the suffering Savior.

John 19:25-27 places Mary as witness to Jesus' suffering: "But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."

Mary's presence at the cross exemplifies faithful discipleship in its most difficult form—remaining present when every instinct might urge flight. Her steadfastness becomes a model for believers facing their own moments of spiritual desolation and apparent divine absence.

What can contemporary believers learn from Mary's experience at the cross? Perhaps most significantly, we learn that authentic faith doesn't shield us from suffering but rather provides the strength to endure it. Mary's example teaches us to stand firm rather than flee when confronted with life's inevitable sorrows.

When I'm praying the Rosary, and I'm meditating on the crucifixion in the "sorrowful mysteries," the more I pray it, the more I feel what it must've been like for Mary to be there. She stands there with us. When the sword pierces her heart, by praying with her in the Rosary, it pierces our hearts, too.

 

Prayer as Request, Not Worship

A common misunderstanding concerns the nature of prayer itself. The Greek word προσεύχομαι (proseuchomai, "to pray") and related terms are used in Scripture for various forms of petition, not exclusively divine worship. For example, Acts 8:34 uses ἐρωτάω (erōtaō, "to ask") when the Ethiopian eunuch "asked Philip" a question about Scripture—the same verbal concept underlying our "asking" Mary to pray with and for us.

The biblical practice of requesting intercession from others is well-established. Paul frequently asks believers to pray for him (Rom 15:30; Eph 6:19; Col 4:3; 1 Thess 5:25), and James 5:16 explicitly encourages Christians to "pray for one another." The communion of saints extends this practice beyond death, as Revelation 5:8 portrays the saints in heaven offering "the prayers of the saints" before God's throne.

This distinction between worship (latria) and intercessory prayer is crucial in understanding the role of Mary in the life of believers. The Catholic Church does not and has never permitted the worship of Mary. In fact, it explicitly condemns it as idolatry in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In fact, the Church condemned the practice of the Collyridians in the 4th/5th centuries because they were actually making sacrifices to and worshipping Mary as a goddess. The Church has always opposed this practice, and warned against it as the gravest of sins.

To believe that Mary and other people who've died in the faith can and want to pray with us is based on several key beliefs that most Christians readily accept.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? Absolutely.

Are we believers now the body of Christ, united to Him in faith? For sure.

That means we’re also united to each other (Paul talks about how the body cannot be divided against itself). 

Death no longer has hold on Jesus’ body, because He rose from the dead. Because of that his body—the church—is not divided by earthly death, either. We’re still connected to those believers who have passed on precisely because we are members of the same body.

That means, when Catholics or other Christians pray with the saints (it’s less confusing to put it that way than to say “to” the saints) they’re praying like we would pray with our fellow believers in church. It’s a radical statement of faith in the reality of the resurrection, and our union with the body of Christ! 

After all, Jesus made it clear:

Luke 20:37-38 (NIV): "But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 

John 11:25-26 (NIV): "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”" 

In other words, the “dead” in Christ aren’t really dead at all. In a sense, they’re more alive than we are! Though they are spearated from their earthly bodies, they remain alive, they remain embodied in Christ’s body!!!

Just as we ask fellow Christians on earth to pray for us, we can also ask Mary, the mother of Jesus and Queen Mother in the kingdom of God, to intercede on our behalf. That was the role of the Queen Mother in the Davidic Kingdom!

You see, it’s not that we can’t "go straight to Jesus.”

Of course we can pray straight to Jesus!

But that doesn't mean uniting our prayers to our fellow believers is without merit. In fact, it's what Jesus wants us to do. There are several reasons:

(1) the prayer of a righteous person avails much; (James 5:16)

(2) when we pray with other believers, even those who’ve passed on, we’re praying as the body of Christ, we’re praying as the bride who is one-in-flesh with the bridegroom, we’re praying together and that’s a unity Jesus prayed for in John 17 and...

(3) ...when our faith is lacking, it’s like our fellow believers whose faith has been perfected join their confidence to what’s lacking in ours, so that even our faith is strengthened when we pray.

In uniting our prayers with Mary's, we are not elevating her to a position of divinity or worship. Instead, we are acknowledging her unique closeness to Jesus and her powerful intercessory role as the Queen Mother.

We're also recognizing that our prayers are strengthened in faith and also in love when we pray as the body of Christ, with the profound unity and communion we have with Jesus by virtue of our communion with each other.

Just as Solomon honored Bathsheba and recognized her influence in the Davidic Kingdom, we honor Mary and seek her prayers knowing that she desires nothing more than to lead us closer to her Son.

There are dozens, and dozens, of passages associated with the restoration of the kingdom of David in the New Testament (and interestingly enough, a lot of those references surround the texts dealing with Mary in the Gospels as well).

These are all the reasons why the "Rosary" isn't the kind of abomination that a lot of people assume it to be. It's actually a very beautiful expression of some of the most fundamental dimensions of our faith.

And it's not really about Mary. Because Mary doesn't bring glory to herself. She wants nothing more than to show us Her Son.

It's all about Jesus.

Now, having said all of that, some of you still might not convinced. I'm okay with that. But hopefully you have a better understanding about this practice so that you don't feel compelled to mis-judge or falsely condemn other Christians who've found the practice fruitful.

 

In Jesus' name,

Judah

 

Here's a good resource for those of you interested in trying it: How to Pray the Rosary (Hallow) 

Here's the one I use, but there are cheaper ones: AMAZON