[Iowegian]

If I ask Mary or anyone else to pray for me, I am not making them the "middle man".

You can only ask them to pray for you, by praying to them, hence the problem. Jesus is a sure thing, stick with Him (unless you would like to explain why someone else would be more effective than Christ himself).

[Titanites]

You can only ask them to pray for you, by praying to them, hence the problem. Jesus is a sure thing, stick with Him (unless you would like to explain why someone else would be more effective than Christ himself).

So it doesn't do any good if I ask you to join me in praying for the safety of our armed forces tonight. I don't buy it. Speaking of armed forces, I'm off to watch Band of Brothers.