ved in the flesh, is their power with God diminished
now that they reign with Him in heaven?

We are moved by the children of Israel sending their pious petitions to
their brethren in Jerusalem. They recalled to mind, no doubt, what the
Lord said to Solomon after he had completed the temple: "My eyes shall be
open and My ears attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this
place."(203) If the supplications of those that prayed in the earthly
Jerusalem were so efficacious, what will God refuse to those who pray to
Him face to face in the heavenly Jerusalem?

Third--But you will ask, are the saints in heaven so interested in our
welfare as to be mindful of us in their prayers? Or, are they so much
absorbed in the contemplation of God, and in the enjoyment of celestial
bliss, as to be altogether regardless of their friends on earth? Far from
us the suspicion that the saints reigning with God ever forget us. In
heaven, charity is triumphant. And how can the saints have love, and yet
be unmindful of their brethren on earth? If they have one desire greater
than another, it is to see us one day wearing the crowns that await us in
heaven. If they were capable of experiencing sorrow, their grief would
spring from the consideration that we do not always walk in their
footsteps here, so as to make sure our election to eternal glory
hereafter.

The Hebrew people believed, like us, that the saints after death were
occupied in praying for us. We read in the Book of Maccabees that Judas
Maccabeus, the night before he engaged in battle with the army of the
impious Nicanor, had a supernatural dream, or vision, in which he beheld
Onias, the High-Priest, and the prophet Jeremiah, both of whom had been
long dead. Onias appeared to him with outstretched arms, praying for the
people of God. Pointing to Jeremiah, he said to Judas Maccabeus: "This is
a lover of his brethren and the people of Israel. This is he that prayeth
much for the people and for all the holy city, Jeremiah, the Prophet of
God."(204) Then Jeremiah, as is related in the sequel of the vision,
handed a sword to Judas, with which the prophet predicted that Judas would
conquer his enemies. The soldiers, animated by the relation of Judas,
fought with invincible courage and overcame the enemy. The Book of
Maccabees, though not admitted by our dissenting brethren to be inspired,
must, at least, be acknowledged by them to be a faithful historical
record. It is manifest, th