To Whom Should We Pray?

Post by **_TK** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:34 pm

Hey everyone--

Whenever I post questions like this, I am fearful that it is so simplistic or elementary that the great majority of you will think the question is foolish. However, this came up for discussion recently among some friends and I would like your take on it.

Who should our prayers be directed to? The Father? The Son? The Holy Spirit? Any of the above? All of the above? Any combination of the above?

Jesus prayed to the Father. This we know. He instructed his disciples to pray to the Father. He also said that they should pray to the Father in His (Jesus's) name. Obviously Jesus wouldnt pray to Himself. I dont believe He is recorded as praying to the HS.

Did the apostles ever pray directly to Jesus after His ascension?

Many people, including me, pray to Jesus directly. I have heard people address the HS directly in prayer as well. Is this appropriate?

If it IS appropriate and even commendable to pray to all three members of the trinity, is there scriptural support for this? Or is it something that we (or at least some of us) just do?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

TK

Post by **_Christopher** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:16 pm

Hi TK,

It's not a foolish question, it's quite legitimate.

Although I have no objection to someone praying to Jesus or the Holy Spirit (I do myself sometimes out of habit), I think the precedent in scripture encourages us to pray to the Father. Jesus Himself said:

John 16:23-24
23 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
NKJV

And later in the same chapter....

John 16:26-28
26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
NKJV

Jesus made us a "kingdom of priests" that we may come "boldly before the throne of grace"

The only times I think Jesus is prayed to is when Stephen was dying in Acts 7:

Acts 7:59
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
NKJV

And in the epilogue of Revelation:

Rev 22:20
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
NKJV

There may be others, but I can't think of them right now. I can't recall any instances of praying to the Holy Spirit. I do recall someone lying to Him though.

Acts 5:3
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
NKJV

In any case, I wouldn't think God is offended if we get this wrong. The heart to pray to Him and relate to Him is probably what matters IMO.

Lord bless.

Post by **_TK** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:10 am

thanks, christopher, for the references to prayers directed toward jesus-- i should have remembered Stephen's prayer.. perhaps he prayed this way because he actually SAW Jesus-- right before he took several rocks to the skull.

i agree that the Father is likely isnt offended, but i wonder if Jesus is still urging us to pray to the Father.

thx again,

TK

Post by **_SoaringEagle** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:53 am

1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Post by **_schoel** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:13 am

SoaringEagle wrote:1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Does the phrase call on the name of Jesus Christ refer to :
- praying to Jesus
or
- that calling on the name of Jesus is to submit to the Lordship of Christ and therefore be included as a part of the body of Christ?

I think the latter. What points you to the former?

Post by **_SoaringEagle** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 11:11 am

Does the phrase call on the name of Jesus Christ refer to :
- praying to Jesus
or
- that calling on the name of Jesus is to submit to the Lordship of Christ and therefore be included as a part of the body of Christ?

Good question Schoel. I lean towards understanding it to mean the first- praying to Jesus. What points me to this is that we have the group of believers in mind who are currently sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, joined together with all who in everyplace call on the name of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

Post by **_Gregg** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:02 pm

Hi everyone,

What do you guys make of John 14:13-14?

Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Seems like Jesus was calling His disciples to pray to Him, as well.

By the way ... this is my first post, but I've been around for ages reading and learning from all of you. Thanks for your zeal for the truth and for your integrity in approaching the Word.

Gregg

Post by **_TK** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:47 pm

welcome, gregg! Its about time you posted something! j/k

regarding the verses you quoted, i just did a quick check and the KJV and the NKJ versions of the verse leave out the "me" after the phrase "if you ask."

now, i am no greek scholar or otherwise regarding the original texts, but others here are indeed just that, and hopefully can provide some guidance.

but great call on finding that verse! we shall await someone's cogent response.

regarding the "calling on the name of the Lord Jesus" discussion between SE and schoel up above, i tend to agree with Schoel that that may not be referring to prayer per se, but rather that "calling on the name of the Lord Jesus" means to put your trust in him. of course i could be dead wrong about this.

TK

Post by **_livingink** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:26 pm

Also, what is the significance of "in my name"?

Post by **_brody_in_ga** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:49 pm

livingink wrote:Also, what is the significance of "in my name"?

Hi Brother,

Regarding the phrase "In my name", I think the emphasis is on authority. Take for example Act 4:7 "And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?"
The greek word for name is Onoma and according to Strong's, it means 2) the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.

For example, if a cop is chasing someone for breaking the law, he can say "Stop!!..in the name of the law!"

This view seems to make the most sence to me.