Praying for the JP part Duex

I keep hearing on the radio how everyone is holding mass and praying for John Paul II. I'm not a big religious guy, so maybe I'm misunderstanding the reason to pray for people, but it seems to me that the Pope would be the very last person who would need to be prayed for.

Am I wrong? Isn't the point of praying for someone to increase their chances of getting into heaven? After they're done praying for the Pope they can switch to praying for Jesus. I hear he may be having some trouble slipping by St. Peter.