What are prayer beads, and should Christians use them? Prayer beads are used by a variety of religions including Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, Catholics, and Muslims, and are used for prayer, meditation, and mantra. There is evidence of various pagan religions using prayer beads dating back hundreds of years before Christ. In fact, there is a statue of a Hindu man holding prayer beads that dates back to the 3rd century BC.

Prayer beads have never been used in Judaism and were not used in Christianity until the 14th century when the Catholic Church introduced the use of prayer beads for praying the rosary.

Each religion uses a different number of beads, but they all use beads for the same purpose, which is to count the number of repetitions in their prayers. Because the beads can be fingered in an automatic manner, it allows the person to keep track of how many prayers have been said with very little conscious effort. This is exactly the kind of mindless prayers that our Messiah warned against when He said,

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
– Matthew 6:7

Pagans were known to use prayer beads to count the repetitions of their prayers. They would chant specific prayers over and over, and use the beads to count how many times they said their prayer. I would say this is the epitome of “vain repetition,” because the focus is not on what you say, but how many times you say it. The Bible condemns this type of prayer as being a pagan practice, and Christians should have nothing to do with such things.

However, praying the rosary is more than simply counting repetitions. It’s also done in vain because those prayers are offered to Mary and the Saints who can do nothing to answer prayer. Mary and the saints are dead and waiting in their graves for the resurrection. They can’t even hear those prayers. But more importantly, they aren’t God, so they don’t deserve such prayers.

Catholics will claim that they are asking Mary and the Saints to intercede for them. Not only is that impossible (because they are dead), but it’s also un-Biblical. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
– Romans 8:26

The Bible also tells us that Yeshua makes intercession for us.

“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
– Romans 8:34

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
– Hebrews 7:25

Don’t pray to Mary. Take your prayers directly to Yeshua, our Great High Priest, who is able to intercede for you. Praying to Mary or the Saints is vain repetition because they can’t hear or help you. But it’s worse than that because praying to the dead is a form of necromancy. Necromancy is the practice of speaking to the dead, and the Bible forbids such pagan practices. We are instructed to direct our prayers to God, not to Mary or the Saints.

Don’t let your prayers be in vain. Speak to your Heavenly Father from the heart, and get to know Him through mindful prayer and contemplation, not mindless repetitions.