Christ: Our Only Advocate - 1 Timothy 2:5

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," - 1 Timothy 2:5
"When we pray . . . ."
Those opening words should make many of us pale for lack of correct Christology. So many individuals, even entire churches, have a clearly anti-scriptural idea about Christ’s role as our advocate.
I know many who are quick to say a prayer and carelessly throw the name of Jesus into it for good measure despite their lack of true saving faith. They use the holy name of Jesus as though it were some magical incantation. Their highest intellectual understanding of Jesus is that "he was a really good man." Still, others petition the blessings of God through a third agent such as a ‘saint.’ In both cases the prayerful individual is wrong.
You see, proper prayer doesn’t involve a third party. It is between you and the savior Jesus Christ. A proper and reverent prayer goes directly through Christ to the Father. How do I know? 1 Timothy 2:5 tells me so. Were Paul’s admonition not enough, Christ Himself tells us - " . . . Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." - John 16:23. Of course, the corollary here is that you pray for God’s will to be done. If God’s will is not the focus of the prayer there is little doubt; the prayer will not be answered.
Many often say prayers to a saint of their liking - the Virgin Mary, St. Jude. St. John, St. Francis of Assisi, et al., despite the fact that this clearly anti-scriptural method of praying is forbidden. Believe in the veracity of the bible - there is no such thing as ‘trickle-down providence.’ The bible clearly states that these prayers will go unheard. It all goes back to 1 Tim. 2:5.
If Christ is our "one mediator" to God then what possible excuse could anyone have for praying to St. (fill in the blank)? It all comes down to Christ’s role for us. He is described in different verses as being our mediator, our advocate, and ultimately our intercessor.(1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, Hebrews 12:24, among many others).
Prayer to or through anyone else will not be heard by God. Prayers to or through anyone else are blasphemous as per Exodus 20:3-5. And if Christ is our mediator-advocate, then why would we pray ‘through’ anyone else in the first place. It would be like running around to the back of the house to climb in through the window when the front door is already open.
Our supplications are to be brought directly to God through Christ. And even if we don’t add, "through Jesus’s holy name,"at the end of our prayers it is imperative that we understand it is He who we pray through for our thanks and blessings. May God’s blessing be always upon you.