Who do YOU pray to?

[Rella ~ I am a woman]

There often arises a discussion on who is proper to actually pray to.

Jesus, of course told us to pray to Father God... Mathew 6:9 says

NASB 1995
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

And then it discussion comes around to ... Is it proper to actually pray to Jesus, and there is where the agreements will vary. Many say no... Only to Father God. period.

But how then does one reconcile

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." ...

Does asking for something actually constitute a prayer???

or

1 Timothy 1:12 ....I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, ...

Does this statement of thanks from Paul actually constitute a prayer or it is a statement of gratitude and proper ?

My thoughts , before you all chime in is that prayer is talking to God. And if Jesus is, as the Scriptures present him, the one person who is truly God and truly human (the second person of the Trinity now incarnate—NO MORE SAID )-then how could praying to Christ Jesus be wrong in principle?

What say you?

 

[Lambano]

Does asking for something actually constitute a prayer???

...

Does this statement of thanks from Paul actually constitute a prayer or it is a statement of gratitude and proper ?

Rabbi Marc Gellman once wrote that there are 4 kinds of prayer:

1. Gimme!
2. Oops!
3. Wow!
4. Thanks!

(Requests, confession, praise, and thanksgiving.)

Now, as to whom we talk... you know we're not allowed to discuss the Trinity.

 

[Pearl]

I direct my prayers mostly to my Heavenly Father. I say Father or sometimes Pappa. I also say, thank you Jesus and occasionally I address the Holy Spirit directly.

Over my years as a Christian there has been teaching on how to pray, but because these teaching sessions were all different I became confused by the conflicting takes on prayer and became inhibited and worried if I was doing it right.

Now I just talk to God in my own words, offering praise and thanks as well as requests.

 

[Cyd]

There often arises a discussion on who is proper to actually pray to.

Jesus, of course told us to pray to Father God... Mathew 6:9 says

NASB 1995
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

And then it discussion comes around to ... Is it proper to actually pray to Jesus, and there is where the agreements will vary. Many say no... Only to Father God. period.

But how then does one reconcile

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." ...

Does asking for something actually constitute a prayer???

or

1 Timothy 1:12 ....I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, ...

Does this statement of thanks from Paul actually constitute a prayer or it is a statement of gratitude and proper ?

My thoughts , before you all chime in is that prayer is talking to God. And if Jesus is, as the Scriptures present him, the one person who is truly God and truly human (the second person of the Trinity now incarnate—NO MORE SAID )-then how could praying to Christ Jesus be wrong in principle?

What say you?

Hi Rella,
I loved your post as I was the same as you with a heart to be scripturally correct in directions given by Christ. You bring up great scriptures and questions. I could add as I ask Father why we never have seen these scriptures happen, what are we doing wrong!!
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
This scripture also made me wonder. For me the Messiah wanted to be called Father and made it clear He and the Father were the same, so to me praying to Father is in fact addressing all three with the one word Father. You then bring up the next 2 verses in John14:13-14.
So the question then is where and when did Messiah say to use his name? We find in Mark and Luke it was the casting out of devils Messiah's name was used:

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
The disciples were sent to do this using then Messiah's name:

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Why have we not seen these things? Is it because and most do know the name Jesus is not the Messiah's name being used? This I questioned. Finding out his language then was not Hebrew but Aramaic I kept looking for truth. Plus the fact that people have not been taught to run around casting out devils now have they. Leave it to a child to do this hahaha.

I just found the Aramaic name for the Messiah and it is Eashoa pronounced saying the letter E + show all together how it is said...

The link adding is not showing for me on this but there are some on youtube...how to say this.
Messiah himself gave thanks out loud to Father in public
Mt 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

For me my mind Father wanted along with my heart and soul.. I talk to Father in my mind more than out loud, but I feel all forms of communication to Father is prayer. So to me the word prayer is any and all communication. It is my closet where Satan can't hear.