But you are praying directly to Mary.
Where does it say, anywhere that intercessory prayer is forbidden?
If you were to pray to Mary it would assume three things:
1. She has the ability to hear your prayers. If people all around the world are praying to her, how can she hear all of them at the same time unless she had the power to be everywhere at once?
As shown in Revelation, those in heaven do hear our prayers. How is a mystery, which I would love to experience when I get there, assuming I get there.
2. She has to have the wisdom to best respond to everyone's prayers.
Revelation also shows us that those in heaven have the wisdom of God. Besides, we ask Mary to intercede for us. God is the one answering them...
3. She has to have the power to respond to everyone's prayers
She has the power to bring our prayers to God, that's all that really matters. Mary doesn't have any power not given to her by God.
There is only ONE being who can do this and I don't think it is her. Also, let's look at what the bible says about praying to the dead.
Yes, only one who can do this, and Mary knows right where to go with our prayers. And if she goes to God with our prayers, that tells us she's not dead.
Deuteronomy 18:11 tells us that anyone who “consults with the dead” is “detestable to the Lord.” The story of Saul consulting a medium to bring up the spirit of the dead Samuel resulted in his death “because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance” (1 Samuel 28:1-25; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14). Clearly, God has declared that such things are not to be done.
Consulting with the dead is different than asking the living to pray for us.
Consider the characteristics of God. God is omnipresent—everywhere at once—and is capable of hearing every prayer in the world (Psalm 139:7-12). A human being, on the other hand, does not possess this attribute. Also, God is the only one with the power to answer prayer. In this regard, God is omnipotent—all powerful (Revelation 19:6). Certainly this is an attribute a human being—dead or alive—does not possess. Finally, God is omniscient—He knows everything (Psalm 147:4-5). Even before we pray, God knows our genuine needs and knows them better than we do. Not only does He know our needs, but He answers our prayers according to His perfect will.
God does know what we need before we do. That doesn't mean we shouldn't pray. But again, I would point you to Revelation, where those in heaven are alive, worshiping God and listening to our prayers.
So, in order for a dead person to receive prayers, the dead individual has to hear the prayer, possess the power to answer it, and know how to answer it in a way that is best for the individual praying. Only God hears and answers prayer because of His perfect essence and because of what some theologians call His “immanence.” Immanence is the quality of God that causes Him to be directly involved with the affairs of mankind (1 Timothy 6:14-15); this includes answering prayer.
We pray for the dead, but not to them.
Even after a person dies, God is still involved with that person and his destination. Hebrews 9:27 says so: “…Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” If a person dies in Christ, he goes to heaven to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-9, especially verse 8); if a person dies in his sin, he goes to hell, and eventually everyone in hell will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).
A person suffering in agony will not be able to hear or answer a prayer, nor will a person who is living in heavenly bliss with God. If we pray to someone and he is in eternal agony, should we expect him to be able to hear and answer our prayers? Likewise, would a person in heaven be concerned for temporal problems on earth? God has provided His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the mediator between man and God (1 Timothy 2:5). With Jesus Christ as our mediator, we can go through Jesus to God. Why would we want to go through a sinful dead individual, especially when doing so risks the wrath of God?
You're right, those in hell will not be able to hear or answer our prayers. But those in heaven do care, and just as we can console Jesus, and he us, so can those in heaven.