Is any saint going to influence God into allowing something that HE wouldn’t give us anyway?
And besides, many of the prayers to saints are prayers to them for something. It is NOT merely asking them to pray for us. They are direct prayers asking for strength or protection for example, FROM the saints.
A cursory reading of those prayers demonstrates that very easily.
Believers here on earth are commanded to pray for other believers here on earth and are encouraged to pray for other believers here on earth and there are examples in Scripture of them doing that.
What is not seen or commanded is prayer directed to anyone who is dead, who has passed on from this life here on earth.
Jesus gave us the pattern by which we should pray in Luke 11 and His command is to pray to the Father.
Now if someone wants to disobey that and not trust the promises Jesus made that the Father would hear and answer our prayers HIMSELF, then obviously, I can’t stop them.
But there are two problems. One is that it is not Scriptural and no one can even pretend that it is. There is zero Scriptural support for the practice.
And the other is that people can be easily deceived and led astray by it.
Prayer offered to saints is prayer not offered to God.
In fact, there are passages that described people trying to worship angels, and the angels admonishing them not to do that.
Other than Revelation 5:8, I’d agree there’s no support, except to say that throughout our lives we are encouraged to pray for each other. It is not illogical, nor do I believe it is immoral, for one to ask one who already stands before God to pray on our behalf. Prayer from the unworthy is one thing, but a prayer from one in the presence of God on behalf of the unworthy.
Clearly, asking saints for stuff is wrong. Asking the saints to carry our prayers to God for stuff probably isn’t, and Revelation 5:8 is evidence perhaps that is indeed what might be happening with those prayers.
How many Christians out there now pray exclusively TO Jesus, instead of THROUGH Him? It’s not just a nuance, but there are plenty of people out there doing just that.
And not everyone who is gone are dead. Enoch and Elijah ‘walked with God’ and we’ll probably see them in the not too distant future if things keep going the way they are going, since eventually, they are going to have to die.
I wouldn’t do it, but you could pray to either of them to pray on your behalf and be on the ground you’ve staked out.
You commented, “Prayer offered to saints is prayer not offered to God.” It is if the prayer is to pray for them to God. God’s the intended target in either case.