(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Catholic doctrine dictates that prayers must go through saints in heaven
first, not straight to God through humans. Saints are praying for us. One
may say, “those are only prayers of those on earth!” In Revelation 5, the
context is heaven. At God’s side there are 24 elders in heaven. They represent
the Church in heaven, since they are with the Lamb. In verses 9-10, we
see that not only are they receiving prayers from those on earth, but they
are vitally concerned with what is happening on the earth. The prayers
of the saints are only for those on earth praying. Those who do not pray
are not represented. Thus, prayers are coming from those on earth, going
directly to the saints in heaven, and they in turn present prayers to God.
Thus, regardless of how this passage is interpreted, this passage reflects
Catholic doctrine.