Jesus prayed to God...so why did His earliest followers pray to Him?
James-Michael,
I need to know Who am I praying to? Do you specifically pray to GOD or Jesus? Is this a dumb question? Should I know this? I’m sorry if it’s petty, but my prayer life is so weak and I’m trying to be stronger and some how seem to struggle when I get hung up on whom I’m praying to. I sometimes pray to Jesus, say for the things he did while here and the path he made, etc. Then pray to GOD for the world he created, etc. I have so many other prayers and wonder to whom am I praying to both?
Sincerely, T
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This is a great question--and one that many Christians have asked (or wanted to ask)! It also shows the need for strong theological teaching in churches for pastoral purposes.
Many people brush aside any level of deeper theological discussion in favor of a "just-give-me-Jesus" faith that is unreflective and intellectually shallow.
But as T's questions above reveal, there are serious applicational issues at stake when it comes to theology! It is so important that we not run from these questions or try to dismiss them, settling instead for a "folk-christianity" consisting of bumper-sticker slogans and 10-minute devotionals from a book with pictures of flowing streams, cozy cabins, and rosy-cheeked caucasian children from in Norman-Rockwell-meets-Thomas-Kinkade settings. (Okay, maybe that was a little harsh...but hey, at least readers now know my tastes when it comes to Christian paraphenalia!)
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James-Michael's answer:
T, Don't be silly! This isn't AT ALL an dumb question! It strikes at the very heart of the Christian faith!
You're thinking about prayer theologically--and that's a GOOD thing. You're using your mind to try to understand one of the deepest revealed truths in all of Scripture. It's okay if you feel a bit confused at times! That's the beauty of walking together as a community of believers--we can help one another think through these things and by doing so, come to know God better and deepen our relationship with Him. Again, that's a GOOD thing! :)
Here's what we know:
* God is the only one people in the OT ever prayed to.
* God is the only one Jesus Himself ever prayed to.
* Jesus is our model of what a true relationship with God is.
Therefore...
*** God is the only one we pray to.
Sounds good, right? Except...
* Jesus claimed to somehow BE God.
* Jesus' earliest followers sometimes prayed to Jesus.
* Jesus' earliest followers sometimes prayed to the Holy Spirit.
Therefore...
*** We sometimes pray to Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit
Now, how does this not contradict the first conclusion?
Drumroll.....
*** Jesus and the Holy Spirit ARE SOMEHOW God!
Ta-dah! The Trinity!
Now this isn't an iron-clad, mathematical proof of the full-blow doctrine of the Trinity. BUT, it was by reasoning through various thoughts and issues like this that the early Christians gradually were able to put into words the concept of God's Triune nature, or what we call "The Trinity."
Despite being immersed in a Greco-Roman philosophical world of logic and propositions, the early Church was able to hold to the mystery of God's nature as revealed in the Hebrew Bible and the person and work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
They later attempted to verbalize the Biblical concept of God's triune nature with the following:
God is 1 substance (Greek: "ousia") in 3 persons (Greek: "hypostases").
Not 1 substance and 3 substances, or 1 person and 3 persons.
[btw, the words "substance" and "person" don't really capture the idea very well in modern English because of how we normally use them. That's why I'm using the Greek terms.]
Therefore, no matter which "hypostases" you are praying to (God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit), you are always praying to the same "ousia", God. This is why the NT writers could switch between praying to God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit with such ease--it's all God.
I personally usually pray to God the Father, and occasionally address my prayers to Jesus or the Holy Spirit whenever I want to approach God in one of those aspects.
This is such a great question for you to be struggling with because it shows a mature and reflective faith and it goes beyond what most people simply don't ever bother to think about. Be encouraged by this.
"Understanding the Trinity" by Alister McGrath
"Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Theological Objections (vol.2)" by Michael L. Brown
For more on Prayer I recommend the following:
"Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home" by Richard Foster
"Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference?" by Philip Yancey
If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to the Methodist Examiner by clicking the "subscribe" button at the top of the page? And please feel free to invite others to do the same. These articles are made possible by reader support and word-of-mouth buzz! -JMS
Comments
Very nice response. I would like to offer my understanding of the special meaning of the Trinity, of Jesus not just being the Son of God (the Father) but Jesus, as part of the Trinity, being God. This, to me, is our guarantee that God understands our condition, God knows from Personal experience -- that God has felt as Humans do -- the specter of death. This is not to say that God did not understand this before, only that God, by sacrificing Himself as Jesus on the cross, had the compassion to give us proof.
I hope this personal interpretation is not at odds with scripture and I'm not leading anyone down the wrong road.
I have questions about three of your statements: You state that (1)Jesus claimed to somehow BE God. (I do not find this in scripture. I find that others accused him of making himself equal to God, but Jesus always said he was God's son.); You state that (2) Jesus' earliest followers sometimes prayed to Jesus. (Please give me scripture to prove this statement. I've been unable to find any such reference.); and (3) you state that Jesus' earliest followers sometimes prayed to the Holy Spirit. (Again, please, what is the scriptural reference? I cannot locate such a statement.) I have been torn about praying to Jesus as some Christians do and I sincerely want to find verification of your statements in scripture. Thank you.
Hi James-Michael,
This is very interesting and informative. Thanks for the explanation.
Good, clear explanation, JM. Every time I pick up Gibbon's "Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire" and read of the 4th century AD controversy between Homoiousianism, Homoianism & Heterousianism,my eyes usually cross after a few minutes -mostly because the arguments seem to be overly complex nit-picking (not to mention sleep-inducing!). Sometimes I think the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity was its adoption by those nit-picking Greeks!
:)
i just want to say jesus is God and the bible does say everything you do do in my name. so you pray always in the name of jesus just like in acts 2:38 we must baptize in the name of jesus. as u can tell i am an apostolic i dont know if you know what that is it is a belief that there is one God and one God alone. we believe in inward and outward holiness and bibical modesty. thats me and i wont change but im open
becky says:
thats me i won't change, but im open.
That's tough to reconcile, Becky!
Jesus told us to pray to the Father in Jesus' name. In the Old Testament, all prayer was to the Father.
Never was prayer in the Bible directed to Mary or anyone else than God, the Father.
Getting To Know Jesus will help you get very well acquainted with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Go to www.gettingtoknowjesus.org and start your Getting To Know Jesus Bible study small group.
"Never was prayer in the Bible directed to Mary or anyone else than God, the Father."
You're right regarding Mary. But early Christian prayers were absolutely directed to Jesus at times (i.e. the last line of the book of Revelation is one of the earliest and widespread Christian prayers: "Come, Lord Jesus!")
There is only one God-God is jesus Christ who died for our sins-God is Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom and knowlege of God through the Bible-God is the creator of universe. God consist of God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit= three in one. Only way to worship God is to believe the trinity.
Guys, Why take coals to Newcastle, When its really quite simple, Jesus said when you pray you pray OUR Father, then read John 17. The Gospel is simple guys come like a child. Proverbs say lean NOT on your own understanding.
We should be careful not to press Jesus' 'rules' on prayer (the Lords Prayer, Mat 6:9-13) too literally. If we assume he's telling us we ALWAYS have to direct our prayers to God the Father, then why not take it one step further? One could easily argue that Jesus was saying you should ONLY EVER pray the Lords Prayer, but I doubt that's what his intention was. If you back up a few verses you'll see that Jesus was addressing the *intentions* of peoples prayers and actions. His admonition was about the motive of the heart of the one praying, and not the specifics of the prayer itself.
I went to a seminar once where the lecturer kept saying" now don't get ahead", well that is just what I started to do when I began to read your article and I fully intended to take you to task, that is, until I read further. In John Jesus gives us direct access to His Father, God, but we still should ask in the power of Jesus' name. Excellent answer, as always I love reading your blogs.
I think we too often get hung up on procedure as if God were a cosmic bureaucrat who will rule our prayers "out of order" if not presented properly (and in triplicate!). It is important to understand the concept of the Trinity as it is presented in Scripture because in a love relationship you should get to know someone for who they are, as weird as that might sound to apply that to someone who is three-in-one. A rule of thumb I try to keep when reading Scripture or when praying is that where you have one person of the Trinity you have all three. They are in perfect harmony of idea, emotion, intention, and execution at all times. Truly they have the perfect love relationship among the three of them, just as they are perfect in all other things, including their unity. It doesn't matter to God if you pray to just God, to the Father, to the Son, or to the Holy Spirit. It matters most for your own growth to get to know the God you love and serve.
I agree with James in my own practice of prayer. I pray mostly to the Father, but I also try to make it a habit to address the Lord Jesus and also the Holy Spirit. I do this to try to honor God for who He is, three-in-one, and to grow myself in love of Him, in wisdom, and in knowledge. Read Genesis 18:1-15 and pay careful attention to the language. That is one of the simplest and most beautiful passages for describing the Trinity and God's interaction with humanity. By the way, though God is perfect, I am not. That post by 9RA is supposed to be me. I mistook the Name space for the Captcha space. My mistake.
who is the head ,father dad y go 2 anyone else,Jesus spoke on hes dad and how he wants u .jesus says look 4 him seek him find him pray 2 him,trinity is god yes but did jesus pray 2 him no yyyyyyy/?cuz dad is the owner the head,jeus say this how u pray our father.thougfh out the bible they all do .david samuel mary moses .god is a jealious god and the only 2 answer prays but in his sons name,read wat jesus does in prayer that wat we should do.Clearly God has declared that such things are not to be done.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).
WEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME OR THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE OR JESUS CAME ,ALL IN THE BIBLE ITS SAYS THAT THAT SAYD LORD .MASTER AND THERE ONLY ONE.JESUS DONE MANY MIRACLES Y 2 GIVE GOD/DAD THE GLORY AND HONOR.HOLY SPIRIT CAN NOT FOR GIVE ITS SAYS IT I THE BIBLE,JESUS SAY FATHER FATHER FATHER FATHER .EVEN IN DEATH FATHER Y?u always go 2 the best in god claims to be it.so omg forgive me i love u gelp and strengthen(with the holy spirit) me in Jesus name amen
Try praying to the neighbor's cat. You'll find it equally effective.
Crumpet, when the neighbor's cat raises from the dead after being crucified and empowers a worldwide body of believers for 2,000 years and guides my life both inwardly and outwardly for 31 years then I'll start praying to her. Deal? ;)
Lets make it very simple.There is only one God
in any religion and all others are dogmas created by too thoughtful and blindly devoted guys of all religious beliefs trying to justify their philosophies
Saiful Islam,
Why should we think that the nature of God, the most incomprehensible being, should be "simple"?? This seems somewhat arrogant from a human perspective, don't you think?
Dear readers,
Not only Christians so many people are confussed with this same question "Who to pray? God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
Means people thinks Christian prays to three different god's.
Therefore I urged please read the Gospel of John and it will be clear to you about the Godhead or the Holy Trinity. Beacause God is the Father, Jesus is His Word And Holy Spirit is His Spirit. Therefore three is ONE and we believe in ONLY ONE GOD.
tHANKS.
If Jesus is God in human form shouldn't we still just be praying to God? Why would we use Jesus's name if he is the same thing? Why does it say in the Old Testament to only pray to one God but Jesus says to pray through him?
If youre in Heaven, therefore you are God's child. but at that time, He was the only one in Heaven, obviously because Jesus was not born yet. So He was His own child and sent his ONE AND ONLY Son (Himself) to earth.
So how does the trinity differ from the Avatars of Eastern religions?
Who would you call out to in the face of immediate danger or death? God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, or all three? I am calling God's name.
Thanks for your explanation of this issue; it was very informative. (And I know I'm joining the conversation a little late!) But is it actually necessary for most mainstream Christians to go off on some Caucasian-bashing tangent every time someone asks them the time of day? Really! (Yeah, I'm a Southerner too, and I'm also tired of Southerners--or any other currently unfashionable ethnic group--beating themselves up all the time for things that happened before they were born.) I dropped out of my (admittedly WAY liberal) Presbyterian church because my husband and I got tired of being bashed all the time for being heterosexual. It was a double whammy--white, Southern, and heterosexual. Oh, the horror! To be sure, I think there is probably a special place in hell for anyone who paints like Thomas Kinkaide, but that is because I am an artist. It really is not germane to the issue of whom to pray to, as long as you aren't thinking about praying to him or to Norman Rockwell (equally unlikely.) Unless I'm praying about specific children, I promise you I'm not thinking about "cherub-cheeked Caucasians" when I pray. (Okay, once more: I'm a white Southerner. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.)
Oops-- I meant "triple whammy."
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