Miss Kitty, thank you for sharing.
A true believer of Jesus finds very little value in having a prayer or worry catapulted up the chain. There is no one above or below anyone in their ability to talk directly with Jesus.
You are so correct that many "religions" advocate a hierarchy, but few remain that actually hold to the belief that there is greater power in the prayer of a bishop over a peasant. And of course such a belief is not biblical and as you say invented by men.
With that said, there is a great deal of healing simply by sharing ones difficulty and of course there is great power in prayer, thus sharing so that others might also pray is of great value.
Blessings to both of you.