One question we have found that many Christians have on their prayer life with the Lord is who exactly should they be directing their personal prayers to – God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit?
As you will see in the Scripture verses I will give you in this article, Jesus Himself makes it very plain and very clear that we are to direct all of our personal prayers direct to God the Father.
We are not to pray direct to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or any dead saints who are now living up in heaven.
Here are 5 very good clear verses spelling all of this out for us:
- “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do.For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:6-13)
- “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God …” (Philippians 4:6)
- “Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” (Psalm 65:1-2)
- “… Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24)
- “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
Notice several key things from these verses, along with how Jesus interacted with His Father when He was walking down here on our earth in the flesh:
1. In the very first verse listed above, Jesus tells us to specifically pray direct to God the Father. He does not tell us to pray direct to Himself, the Holy Spirit, or to any dead saints who will be up in heaven once He dies on the cross for all of us.
If Jesus wanted us to pray to either Him or the Holy Spirit, I believe He would have included that directive in this verse. This verse is very specific in that we are to pray only to God the Father if we have any specific prayer requests that need to be met.
2. In the second verse above, the apostle Paul once again tells us to make all of our prayer requests be made known direct to God the Father, not to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or any dead saints who are now up in heaven by the time Paul makes this statement.
3. The third verse above is from King David. Notice that he is addressing God the Father direct, and then makes the statement that God the Father is the One will actually “hear prayer.” Again, he is only addressing God the Father on this issue, not Jesus or the Holy Spirit.
4. The last two verses from Jesus are now going to give us one more key piece of revelation. Not only must you pray direct to God the Father, but Jesus now wants those prayers to be done “in His name.” In other words, pray direct to God the Father in the name of Jesus.
Praying direct to God the Father in the name of Jesus means you recognize and realize that it is only through Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross that we now have direct access to both Him and His Father in heaven. Here are two main verses that will tell us that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal salvation with God the Father:
- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
- “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Either we come direct to God the Father in prayer through Jesus and the blood that He has personally shed for all of us on the cross or we do not come through at all. Only a true born-again Christian has direct access to God the Father in heaven.
This is why we must always approach God the Father in prayer in the name of Jesus – as a constant reminder that it is only through Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross that we now have this incredible direct connection established with Him.
By telling God the Father that we are now praying to Him in the name of His Son Jesus, I believe He is really moved and touched by that statement, and it then puts us on a very good solid footing with Him in the prayer room.
I personally like to start out all of my prayers in the name of Jesus at the beginning of my prayer to God the Father, and depending on the length of the prayer, also include it in various parts of the prayer.
You will see us do this in all of the battle prayers that we have listed in the Spiritual Warfare and Stories and Testimonies sections of our website.
5. If you study very carefully how Jesus interacted with the Father while He was walking down here on this earth, He was always praying direct to God the Father. There is not one instance where He prayed direct to the Holy Spirit. Jesus was obviously doing all of His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, but all of His actual prayers were always directed to God the Father, not to Himself or to the Holy Spirit.
I believe all of the above verses should be interpreted very literally. And if Jesus and the apostle Paul are telling us to direct all of our prayers to God the Father, then we should do exactly that and not try to direct our prayers to either Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or any dead saints who are now in heaven.
If Jesus wanted us to direct any of our personal prayers to either Him, the Holy Spirit, or to any dead saints who are now up in heaven, I believe He would have personally put that kind of revelation into the Bible.
Jesus knew full well that God was going to orchestrate that His Word and testimony would all be put into this one Holy Book. He knew this Holy Book would eventually be read by millions of people in the future, with everyone looking for spiritual guidance on how to live their lives in Him and His Father. As such, I believe that Jesus has laid out for us exactly who we are to pray to and exactly how we are to pray to Him.
I believe we can commune with, fellowship with, talk to, and worship and praise both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We can develop good communication and best-friend type relationships with the both of Them. But when it comes down to direct serious prayer, I believe Jesus wants all of us to direct those kinds of prayers direct to His Father, not to Himself or to the Holy Spirit.
I know some people have had some of their prayers answered when praying to Jesus. One prayer in particular is when people yell out, “Jesus,” right as they are getting ready to have a car wreck, and then God moves to save them just in the nick of time.
I believe that God does answer some of our prayers to Jesus, especially if the person does not have this knowledge that we should be praying direct to God the Father.
I believe there is some “slack” with God on this issue and that He will still help us out, even if we are not doing things quite the right way. But I still believe the above verses should be interpreted very literally – and if Jesus Himself is telling us to direct our prayers only to God the Father, then I believe we should do it that way.
Conclusion
I have seen numerous testimonies from other Christians who were not having much success in their prayer life with the Lord, as many of them were directing their personal prayers to Jesus instead of direct to God the Father.
Then once they were given this basic prayer principle from Jesus Himself, and then started to direct all of their personal prayers direct to God the Father in the name of Jesus, then many of them started to get a lot more of their personal prayers answered.
If there are any of you out there who have not had much success in your personal prayer life with the Lord, and you did not now about this particular prayer strategy from the Lord, try directing all of your personal prayers direct to God the Father instead of to Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or to any dead saints you were trying to reach up in heaven.
This one simple change in prayer strategy could completely open up the door for you in your own personal prayer life with God the Father and thus cause a lot more of your personal prayers to get actually answered by Him, since you are now following a direct specific command from His Word – the Bible!
- Introduction to the Prayer Secrets
- Prayer Secret #1 Your Personal Relationship With God
- Prayer Secret #2 The Will of God
- Prayer Secret #3 God Will Hear the Prayers of the Righteous
- Prayer Secret #4 Stating Your Case Before God
- Prayer Secret #5 Ask – Seek – Knock
- Prayer Secret #6 The Prayer of Agreement
- Prayer Secret #7 The Power of Intercessory Prayer
- Prayer Secret #8 Praying For Something More Than One Time
- Prayer Secret #9 Do Not Lose Heart
- Prayer Secret #10 The Intercessory Ministries of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
- Prayer Secret #11 Mighty Prevailing Prayer
- Prayer Secret #12 Prayers of Thanksgiving
- Prayer Secret #13 Pray to God the Father in the Name of Jesus
Hi Sumit, my name is Michael Basumatary and I’m from India(Assam) too, I believe God purposely made me run through your comment, I would be very glad to help you know more about God our Father and His son Jesus Christ our saviour. If you respond to my comment, I will give you my contacts. God bless.
ok i will do that…from now on
yes i need help like when i first met you despritley
Thank you to all those who continue to contribute to these articles, may the good Lord continue to bless all of you.
1)You say that we must pray direct to Father! then why Jeus say thet nobody can go to the Father but only throw Him?
2)If you believe that there is only one God and Jesus is the God (not a God) then why you dont feel like your prayers go directly to the Fther throw Jesus?
He said no one goes to the father except through me; it means that you must receive salvation by believing in John 3:16
He was sacrificed on the cross for us, for our sins… in order for us to have a way back to the father.
@Peter, because there is a succession in Authority, Jesus, is of God because he was pulled from Gods bosom and made flesh. A son was born. Also, since there are many Gods, coming to the Father in Jesus name clarifies that you are addressing the right God. Also, we follow scripture dont we. The author here is scriptually correct.
You say Jesus never said to pray to Him directly ? You musta missed John 14:14
Keith, great observation.
Also we can worship him but someone says not to pray to him.
Matthew 14:33
Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Brother you must read the text in reference to the context and in the light it was written. John 14:10 You must include this. Otherwise it is only ones own private interpretation.
2 Peter 1:20.
Not calling you out brother. Maybe we can help each other and others. My Fathers love and blessings to you
A very good article. Just wanted to add one more verse. 1Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
He is human by flesh,but the Holy Spirit is in Him. or God’s Spirit is in Jesus Christ. anyway, God bless you,and you ask God that the Holy spirit will lead and teach you the whole truth. the work of God is really mystery.
Father son and the holy Spirit are ONE
Jesus is God
no all our prayers are been fulfilled. If it is in the Will of the Father and only in His Will, then we can expect answers to our prayers. Not long ago a young girl by the name of Kena, had to undergo a very difficult operation in the brain. we all pray the Father in the name of Jesus, she was well for one month then she passed away.
I Myself ask the father in the Name of Jesus and since 36 years to have a spouse, but no answer, nothing ….and it seems strange or it seem to caontradict the scripture when the Lord said that it was not good that man stays alone ????? or ask and yu will receive, ?????
john
Just, because you want marriage doesn’t mean God wants you to be married. Our wants are not always Gods wants, also you might get married in old age. Just, because we pray dpesjt mean God will say yes.
Thanks for an explanation, however one has to expound on the Word of God. The scripture below give us clear instruction as Jesus explains to Phillip. We have direct access to God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. However . . I would urge to forget about the dead saints . . . . . it is foreign to Scripture. Be blessed.
The Father Revealed:
7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
The Answered Prayer:
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask[c] anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises Another Helper:
15 “If you love Me, keep[d] My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
I believe we can pray to Jesus. Isaiah 9:7 tells us that His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We can also take from Acts 16:7 that the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Jesus.
I also believe that Matt 28:18 best defines the completeness of Christ when it states, “All authority in heaven & on earth has been given to me.” A quote like that tells me he can do anything because he is the great I Am.
I fully agree with the author. Let’s be open minded. If Jesus taught us to pray to God the father, why are we hesitant to do so? I do agree with the suggestion given by Mike the idea of ‘dead saints’. It’s, according to me, non-biblical. Sheryl has added a beautiful verse from 1 Tim 2:5 to stress the need of praying to God the father.
Just be totally yourself when you pray to the Lord. Do not try and imitate the way other people may pray to Him. I am sure you have all seen pastors and some of our leaders really belt out some real powerful prayers to the Lord. And when you see some of these very eloquently worded prayers from some of these leaders, you will find yourself getting a bit intimidated and dismayed since you may not be able to use the same kind of language they are using.
I like this one
if you have the Holy Spirit you need no one to teach you. Whether Jesus or the Father is still the same. You believe in the Son because he is from the Father. The Scripture is our guide and our Lord is able to make us stand. I pray using any because both God the Father and Jesus Christ are one.
Colossians 2.9 • Isaiah 9.6 • Hebrews 1.8
So…praying to God is praying to Jesus Who is also God. He has showed us how He can present Himself in different formats, hence: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. The name Jesus means Jehovahah is Salvation, while Jehovah means Jesus is Salvation. There is one God.
Well, how about the part that john14vs13-14.i will do whatever u ask for in my name so that the fathers glory will be shown through the son.if u ask me for anything in my name I will do it.. Well I think from this verse Jesus Is telling us that he answers prayers and we can pray to him directly too. May be u can have a better explanation. I don’t understand
For me a teenager, John 3:16,
God loves us so much and Jesus Christ loves us also so much for they are One with the Holy spirit.
I pray to God Father (through Jesus Christ) by the power of The Holy Spirit that is within us.
My prayer is To God Father because Jesus said that in Bible, I Claimed Jesus in Myself as my redeemer so that by The Blood of Jesus, God Father will not see myself during prayer but Jesus Christ. For I myself is sinner. I pray to The Holy Spirit to Guide me while praying.
And when I feel led to pray to Jesus or Holy Spirit I also make for they are one .
This is the correct order or Worshipping God.thanks to God himself the revealer
You are reading NIV. KJV does not have it worded as such. It is changed in the NIV to “ask me anything”. Please take a look.
John chapters 14:13,14 15:16. 16:23,24. 17:23-27. Reveal who we pray to and why. We end all prayers to the Father in Jesus’ name-thus honoring the Father who sent Him and Jesus who was sent.
I’m praying to God, the heavenly Father in Jesus christ’s name. Sometimes I talk to Jesus Christ as a friend to direct my life and also to strengthen Holy Spirit’s presence.
My questions are:
* Should I talk and pray only to God, the heavenly Father?
* Talking with Jesus Christ is right or wrong?
No Dinesh Ramakrishnan, I do the same, All prayer should be directed to our triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that we can pray to one or all three, because all three are one. To the Father we pray with the psalmist, “Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray” (Psalm 5:2). To the Lord Jesus, we pray as to the Father because they are equal. Prayer to one member of the Trinity is prayer to all. Stephen, as he was being martyred, prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). We are also to pray in the name of Christ. Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers to always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Jesus assured His disciples that whatever they asked in His name—meaning in His will—would be granted (John 15:16; 16:23).
We are told to pray in the Spirit and in His power. The Spirit helps us to pray, even when we do not know how or what to ask for (Romans 8:26; Jude 20). Perhaps the best way to understand the role of the Trinity in prayer is that we pray to the Father, through (or in the name of) the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. All three are active participants in the believer’s prayer.
Don’t confuse yourself Jesus is the father Jesus is Lord Jesus is king when you pray to your father in heaven you are praying to Jesus who is in heaven Father son and the holy Spirit are one ☝️ one God
Finally, a website that has it right!
No it’s not right !!!!!
Father son and the holy Spirit are ONE God
The Son of God is the ACTUAL Son, the only one BEGOTTEN of the Father. And those who know it and acknowledge it have both the Son and the Father. Those who do not acknowledge the Son, don’t have the Father also.
May the sacred heart of Jesus be praised glorified, and adored in the worl now and forever Amen . Say this prayer fir nine days. Ask St. Claire for any three favours too impossible with a lighted candle and publish this prayer on the ninth day. Believe or not your wish will be granted . Thank you for listening to my prayer lord.
I believe that whatever you ask to God in Jesus name, it shall be granted.
But the fact that there is “holy trinity in one God” makes this quit unfathomable. In the sense that it is a mystery..
Prayer itself is a privilege given to us by God because of his love for us. The holy spirit itself is a mediator between God the father and the son. So we must engage these trinity in every aspect of our prayer to make it complementary.
Thanks..
Actually, we need to do bible study and look up a lot of supporting scriptures. I am not saying you are wrong, by far. We need to look further into it. I too miss a lot and I always have someone pin point things out to me and there I go, more research. lol I know this is long, but this is what I found. I hope it helps? You can always correct me. I love learning things that I don’t know.
I too believe in the Trinity, God the Father, the son of God, Jesus Christ who is God, the Holy Spirit is also God, but they are one (they all three links together, all three think the same, all three have great feeling, all three can’t do enough for each other).
In the beginning, not of the eternity, but of the creation of the Heavens and the world that we live in, as described in Genesis 1:1, now it talks about the (strong one, mighty leader, supreme Deity God), the true God. Notice the singular word “God” and then in V2 says the Spirit of God (who is the Holy Spirit, making Him a God). Now, Genesis 2:4 the Lord God (YHWH pronounced Yahweh, it is the most significant name for God in the O.T.).
Now, let’s trip over to Psalm 102:25-27 talks about the unchangeable of the eternal God, believed to be Jesus Christ. Let’s go further, Hebrew 1:1-14 it talks about the superiority of the person of Christ, and that Christ is Superior to the Angels.
Go to John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. V2 He was in the beginning with God.” In the beginning, before time began, Christ was already in existence with God the Father and God The Holy Spirit. This is what is meant by the term “the pre-existent Christ.” There you have it, the Word is Jesus Christ, he was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. All three God’s working together, that’s why they considered themselves One.
1 John 1:1-3 “Was” “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life—v2 and the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—(again, talking about Christ), v3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. Remember, John the disciple wrote Revelation, so he seen firsthand, who the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is. John is the eye witness to it all.
A lot of Christian and non-Christian usually do forget the Father and the Holy Spirit and pay more attention to Christ in our prayers or no prayers. Our God the Father should have all claims like Michael Bradley has been saying all along, but each one has a role to play and we all must follow the Lord’s Commandments and Laws. We all must learn to study on each of our Godhead’s in what their roles are in our Life, because it does matter, I don’t want the Lord to say “You say ‘Lord, Lord”, and Jesus says ‘I don’t know you, get away from me, you evildoers.’ Luke 13:27.
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I wrote to a few fellow believers; but now I’ll write to all of you at the same time.
You can agree or disagree, it’s okay with me, because I love to do research in the bible for my own benefit..
I too believe in the Trinity, God the Father, the son of God, Jesus Christ who is God, the Holy Spirit is also God, but they are one (they all three links together, all three think the same, all three have great feeling, all three can’t do enough for each other).
In the beginning, not of the eternity, but of the creation of the Heavens and the world that we live in, as described in Genesis 1:1, now it talks about the (strong one, mighty leader, supreme Deity God), the true God. Notice the singular word “God” and then in V2 says the Spirit of God (who is the Holy Spirit, making Him a God). Now, Genesis 2:4 the Lord God (YHWH pronounced Yahweh, it is the most significant name for God in the O.T.).
Now, let’s trip over to Psalm 102:25-27 talks about the unchangeable of the eternal God, believed to be Jesus Christ. Let’s go further, Hebrew 1:1-14 it talks about the superiority of the person of Christ, and that Christ is Superior to the Angels.
Go to John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. V2 He was in the beginning with God.” In the beginning, before time began, Christ was already in existence with God the Father and God The Holy Spirit. This is what is meant by the term “the pre-existent Christ.” There you have it, the Word is Jesus Christ, he was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. All three God’s working together, that’s why they considered themselves One.
1 John 1:1-3 “Was” “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life—v2 and the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—(again, talking about Christ), v3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. Remember, John the disciple wrote Revelation, so he seen firsthand, who the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is. John is the eye witness to it all.
A lot of Christian and non-Christian usually do forget the Father and the Holy Spirit and pay more attention to Christ in our prayers or no prayers. Our God the Father should have all claims like Michael Bradley has been saying all along, but each one has a role to play and we all must follow the Lord’s Commandments and Laws. We all must learn to study on each of our Godheads in what their roles are in our Life, because it does matter, I don’t want the Lord to say “You say ‘Lord, Lord”, and Jesus says ‘I don’t know you, get away from me, you evildoers.’ Luke 13:27.
“I believe we can commune with, fellowship with, talk to, and worship and praise both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We can develop good communication and best-friend type relationships with the both of Them. But when it comes down to direct serious prayer, I believe Jesus wants all of us to direct those kinds of prayers direct to His Father, not to Himself or to the Holy Spirit.”
That doesn’t make sense to me.
When addressed to a member of the Godhead, how are communing with, fellowshipping with, talking to, worshiping, praising, and good communication NOT PRAYER?? And what do you mean by “direct serious prayer?”
When you commune with, fellowship with, talk to, worship, praise, or communicate with the Father, I guess you call that prayer; but if it’s with Jesus, it’s not?
And your communication with Jesus cannot be “direct” or “serious?”
I’m at a loss as to how to even phrase my question. Your concept of prayer just seems so foreign to me. It’s as if speaking to the Father must be a liturgical performance, while speaking to the Son is a candid chat. Am I missing something?
Hello everyone! Was just thinking…when we pray in tongues there’s no confusion…when I pray in my earthly tongue I start out with “Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus….” when I just sit and talk to the Lord…I address Him as Lord and I believe I’m speaking to Jesus and I had a lot of my prayers answered…is it not all about our relationship with God and communicating with Him All the time? I do believe in intersession prayer (I do that in my heavenly tongue) yes, I do believe in praying in tongues!
Thank you.
This site clearly explains how to pray to God in the Name of Jesus Christ, His Son and our saviour.
The purpose on how the trinity God The Father, Jesus The Son and The Holy Spirit can help us and are “all God” are clearly explained in the Scriptures.
I admire Saints and love and pray that I could have the conviction and the courage to live as they live their lives. They are Saints for a reason.
It is man that tells us to pray to Saints.
It is both God and Jesus who tell us to pray to God in the scriptures.
It is clearly documented.
Nowhere is it documented in our Bible which is the Book of the Law to Pray any other way.
Thank you, this is a fantastic site.
The information is clearly articulated.
Jesus is God when you ask your father in heaven you are asking Jesus who is in heaven only by believing in Jesus the father you will be saved Jesus is king of kings Lord of Lords father of all
Let’s all humble ourselves and keep in mind the bible principle: “Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.” God is not the author of confusion and we should not be confused either in how or who to pray to, Amen!
Jesus says Himself, as it is written in John 14:14; “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
Moreso, we can find many scriptures of people asking Jesus to do things in both the New Testament and the Old Testaments. See: Matthew 8:5-7,15:28, Genesis 18:1-3 and many more times from those who were all visited by the Son of God in ages past and those who saw Him during His earthly ministry.
I am sure if one is a disciple of Jesus Christ and He is that persons Lord and he/she abides in Him and asks Him in His name, He’ll answer, do it or or say; “my grace is sufficient”. See 2 Corinthians 12:8-9
May the Truth be in us and with us – Amen!
“Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.” <– so we should always throw out any knowledge as if we are fools, including the knowledge of Christ and of God? Paul says: "15Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already [e]attained, let us walk by the same [f]rule, let us be of the same mind." He repeats the focus of his intent with the word "mind". What you have attained is in both mind and walk. We are not to act as if we have not attained the measure of the knowledge of Christ that we have in fact attained. For in this are the riches of the treasure of God! And out of these treasures we walk in knowledge and truth. We must speak from the Spirit's viewpoint, not that of the world, which does not KNOW God. Paul also says that if the mature think differently on a matter, God will reveal this to you. It is not our place to argue and bicker, but neither should we live a lie as if we had not already attained the measure of maturity in the knowledge of Christ and of God that we have. We live in Spirit and in truth, knowing that those who diligently seek God are taught and corrected by Him as His children.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians1 Cor 1:2 , said that Christians everywhere “call upon the name of the Lord Jesus In Romans 12:10 it says that the Lord (Jesus)is rich to them that call upon Him. Could it be that the Holy spirit teaches us here in the letters of Paul that we can pray to Jesus and that he will answer our calling to Him?
The Greek verb where it says “call upon” is epikaleo and it means to call all about, closer to call out to, but not knowing if they will hear you, but calling in such a way that it goes all out, almost in desperation. It is not prayer TO Jesus. It is calling to the Father in Jesus’ name all about you in desperation that you will be heard. In the Gospels Jesus clarifies that when it says calling on His name it is to the Father (John 16 esp, 23-24 and other places).
Wow I thought we had to pray to Jesus. I had no idea we had to pray to god in his name. Let’s see if the prayer works.
Jesus is God when we say our father who art in heaven we are speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ see the father son and the holy Spirit are one Jesus is the father
I’ve been so stressed. I feel extremely close to God the father and “know” He is always with me, same as I feel about the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus feels distant and this worries me. It makes me doubt that I’m saved. I’m desperate to know that I know, that I know.
Ruth Cross, the fact that you are worried for your salvation is actually a good sign as you have the Holy Spirit within you prodding you to desire closeness to God. Pray to the Father, you state you feel close to Him, and tell Him how you feel. Understand this, though: your salvation is not based on transient feelings. His Truth is there with or without our feelings. Know that if you are in an ongoing relationship with Him, forever desiring His love, and attempting to love others (even if imperfectly), you are saved. I suggest you read His Word regularly searching for what salvation means. Please find comfort in His love, and know this sister in Christ is sending prayers on your behalf. God bless.
It is really impossible to have a relationship with God the Father without having one with Jesus. Firstly, they are One being – a three part trinity- and Jesus says that He is the way and no one get to the father except through him. John 14:6. The disconnect many times comes through a lack of understanding of the Word. Without Jesus (the Word) there is no salvation.
I believe that Jesus referes to “in his name” literally because his name means God saves, salvation, so, maybe we are to pray to God the father as he was teaching us, knowing the what we ask is already given, knowing that if we ask for salvatin is already given, so praying in His name is knowing that we are already saved. If we do not believe that, we are not really believers and the prayer will not be answered until we understand that even if as a human being we are sinners, in The spirit we are untouchable and pure and already saved, childrens of God the father as He Jesus is. This is how I understand all this. Sorry for my english:)
This information has given me clarity on how to pray now. I was basically all over the place praying to both. Jesus and God. I just want knowledge and wisdom . I’ve gotten a book on how to learn how to study the Bible, But still questions some of the base thing like who I should be praying to. So many unanswered prayer. I even felt like giving up. I so desperately want to learn how to be a servant of the Lord and understand his word. It has been a very challenge.Please pray for me.
After getting saved I wondered whom to address in prayer.After reading the bible I got surprised even up to today people have never made Jesus Christ there personal friend.Mary Magdalene made Him so.After ressurection She nelt down and worshipped Him(mat.28:8).Am sure she didn’t begin by saying Father in the name of Jesus.The wise men say “we have come to worship Him'(mat.:2:2).Phillip said show us the Father and we shall be contented.Jesus asked him” have I stayed with you this long yet you do not know me?’john 14:8-9. Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus Christ everlasting Father.Satan hates our freindship with Jesus Christ.To him we had better adress God in prayer other than the name above every name lest he be compelled to kneel down.Jesus when on earth could not tell people to pray using His name straight for He had not yet been Glorified.Jews would only have revolted against Him by then. Talk to Jesus Christ as a dear freind and you vill be surprised my dear christian.
I believe this is so spot on…by praying to Jesus we go against Gods word…he is the shepherd who teaches us about God the father so that we can pray to him alone ….and leads us to know the Father..in the churches they pray to Jesus as God and do supposed works in his name, yet never knew him…and this is why…the churches worship jesus as God doing works he never asked the churches to do…so they healed fed the poor but never knew the jesus that did not want to be worshipped as God…this is another Jesus another spirit that worships him as God which is contrary to his words…that’s why billions don’t know the shepherd who wants us to pray to the Father
I read your article and I read the comments and I strongly believe in this day that we live in its of utmost important to always pray in Jesus name. Some people are ignoring the fact that other people have other gods. We as Christians serve the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob who sent His Son to die for us on the cross. People with other believe don’t believe this. People are sending blessing everyday in the name of God which God???
I appreciate your post as well as using the Bible to explain everything. Thank you. I have one correction for you. You said,
“If Jesus wanted us to direct any of our personal prayers to either Him, the Holy Spirit, or to any dead saints who are now up in heaven, I believe He would have personally put that kind of revelation into the Bible.”
The truth is, God does want us to pray to Jesus and Jesus Himself taught His disciples to pray to Himself. This instruction is right in John 14:13-14. Read it carefully. Jesus says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14 ESV). Notice that Jesus is instructing His disciples to pray to Him (Jesus) directly. This is the only time Jesus instructs His disciples to pray to Himself. Therefore, because of the verses you have listed above (including John 14:13-14), I see it safe to conclude we are directed from the Holy Scriptures to pray to God the Father AND God the Son. Please feel free to email me and we can chat about the verse. This is a great resource, thank you for all you do.
Jesus is God…The Son of God..
The Father,The Son,The Holy Spirit is One..
Meaning…Jesus Christ is God…The Holy Spirit is God…thank you..God bless us all..
Thank you so much for the insight the Spirit of God has given you. Live forever ! He helped me so much as I am preparing to teach on this subject, along with 1 Timothy 2:1-8. I did not seek commentary first, but I sought the leading of the Spirit of God in prayer first, and I believe I was lead to this article to confirm what He had already taught me . Thank you again.
You have quoted scripture to support the importance of praying to God, our Heavenly Father. That’s absolutely right. However, there’s no scripture to support your point that the dead saints are presently up in heaven. The Bible clearly says that the dead are in the graves it wherever, awaiting to be brought back to life by the soon coming Kong of kings , Yehoshua (Jesus). Also Jesus himself clearly said that his Heavenly Father is the only True God(John 17:3).Trinity is not scriptural. There is only One True God and He is Almighty God, the God and Father of our lord Yehoshua.
“I believe we can commune with, fellowship with, talk to, and worship and praise both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.”
Do you have any scriptural evidence that this was done by any of the apostles as an example for us to follow? If we were supposed to converse with the Holy Spirit, wouldn’t it be done by them and then memorialized in scripture for us to follow their examples? I know this is common practice by most Bible teachers today, but like you used as an argument against praying to the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t it equally apply to conversing? I’m just trying to understand why this is a common practice even though there’s no examples of it in the scriptures.
I only pray to God in the name of Jesus as instructed. I dont understand your distinguishing God from the Holy Spirit. Torah never teaches that Holy Spirit is a person. Do the research. Holy Spirit is always talking about in His action. It’s not a separate person. Most Christianity is wrong on this but if you study Holy Spirit in Torah you will understand it before you ever read NT. I’ve also done more research on what Logos is and what it is not. Christians are in the dark on this one too. So I no longer believe in a Trinity which came into the church by pagan converts. Do your research. I pray to one God. If God acts we call that the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. I don’t call Jesus God. NT never does. I’m sorry Christianity went this way a long time back but it makes Christianity kind of a polytheistic religion. And many Jewish Christians I have known accept Jesus as Messiah but not as God nor do they believe in a Trinity. I just let God be God and Jesus be Jesus. And try to follow Jesus’s examples. I dont belong to a cult either.
@john desmond, God is the Father, Jesus the Son, with God at the beginning, sent to earth to be a sacrifice for our sins and the path to God. The Holy Spirit sent to help us. All different roles to put it crudely but parts of God.. I praise Jesus for what he’s done on the cross to save me from my sins. The Holy Spirit is given me through my salvation via Jesus Christ and my spiritual strength and God is who I pray to in the name of Jesus.