Growing up in a Catholic family, I remember asking saints to pray for us. From my understanding, saints were holy people who died and are now in Heaven so they have direct contact with God.
When I started studying the Bible, I read that all believers of Jesus are saints. The Greek word that is translated saint means holy or set apart for God. The apostle Paul greets the believers as saints in most of his letters. He also ends some of his letters with a final greeting to all the saints in Christ Jesus.
According to Paul in Ephesians 1:1, saints are those who are faithful in Christ Jesus. In the book of Acts, Paul had done evil to the saints in Jerusalem. We know that he was sending them to jail and voting for their deaths because they followed Jesus.
Followers of Jesus are called saints because they are set apart and called to be like Jesus who is holy. We don’t have to die first in order to be saints. We are already saints becoming holy with the help of the Holy Spirit who gave us gifts to do God’s work.
Prayer
Almighty God in heaven,
Thank You for allowing us to pray to You directly without having a priest or saint to speak for us. Help us to use the gifts You’ve given us to build up Your kingdom. May whatever we do bring You glory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Verses
Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2 Paul greets the brothers and sisters at a city as saints
Philippians 4:21-22 Paul and the saints in Rome send final greetings to saints in Philippi
Acts 9:13 Paul has done harm to God’s saints in Jerusalem
Acts 26:10 Paul locked up saints in prison and voted for their death sentence
1 Corinthians 1:2 To those who are set apart in Christ Jesus and called saints with those who call on the name of Jesus Christ
1 Peter 1:15 Just as God called you is holy, you be holy in all conduct
Ephesians 4:12 To equip the saints for God’s service in order to build up the church
Song
“I Sing A Song Of The Saints Of God” by Lesbia Scott is a hymn about the saints of God and wanting to live like them. It seems the hymn number is different for different books so it might not be #293 in your hymn book. A more updated version is in hymn #712.
Call To Action
If you have already prayed, looked up the verses in your Bible, and listened to the suggested song, then try to figure out which saints the hymn is referring to. Please share your answers, we would love to know, too.