Power iof prayer isn’t discounted by me. I will continue to pray to the Creator and not the created.. unless it is believed Mary was there from the beginning ...
They are not. "Pray" means "entreat," and can be used in relation to any person, although the usage is now in the US associated only with trial proceedings ("Plaintiff prays this honorable court," etc.)and, of course, Shakespeare ("I pray you, tarry. Pause a day or two")
When we so entreat any fellow creature, whether Mary, an angel or archangel, or a saint, we are entreating their intercessory prayers.
That's it.
If you don't have a problem with intercessory payers, it shouldn't surprise you that those who love us in heaven, do not cease to pray for us.
If I may ask: pray for me.