No. That just does not work.
Even the final sentence structure : "your friends to pray to God for you" makes clear that the prayer at issue here is a prayer to God. Incorporating a meaning that is not supported by scripture simply doesn't work. I will try to find time to go through a concordance, but exegesis will likely support my reading on this. The reading you suggest collapses a wholly secular meaning of prayer (any request or supplication) into the sacred meaning of prayer (communication with God in praise, worship, repentance, intervention, or guidance). The word is the same but the senses are entirely different.
YOPIOS. By what authority do YOU interpret scripture?
When Catholics say that they pray to the saints they are using the legitimate meaning of making a request, i.e. for the saints to pray to God for us. To suggest that Catholics mean anything else is to bear false witness.