I pray daily for those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior. I am not interceeding for them, I am simply praying for them because of the burden on my heart for them.
My point was that I don't pray to Mary to in turn "step in" for me between me and God or Jesus. I can pray directly to God and Jesus because the Bible specifically says so.
Jesus is specifically spelled out as the one we are to take our prayers to and give the glory to, not Mary or anyone else.
What amazes me is that so many people will read into the Bible what they want it to mean, instead of taking it at face value. Why would God give us his word and then expect us to have to jump through hoops to understand it? The answer is - he doesn't. Read what it says. I understand clarifications of the language, but don't read into what you want it to say.
Simply put - nowhere in the Bible does it say to worship/pray to/ask for favors or grace from Mary. That is a far cry from simply asking others to pray for you.
Actually, there's no difference at all. Asking someone whom you believe to be alive in Christ to pray for you is no different than asking the parishoner in the pew next to you to do so.
And no, I'm not Roman Catholic.