To whom are we to pray, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?

1. "To whom are we to pray, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?" – 25th
August 2017
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join
me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”(Romans 15:30).
The Bible teachesthatwe can pray to one or all three,because all three are one whomwe refertoas
triune God—Father,Son,andHolySpirit. Fromthe bible we canobserve thatat differenttime’speople
have prayedto one or the other.We can observe aprayerto the Fatheras found inPsalm5:2, “Listento
my cry for help, my Kingand my God,forto youI pray.” As Christianswhatwe needtoknow isthat a
Prayerto one memberof the Trinityisprayerto all. For example we canreadfrom Acts 7:59, “While
they were stoninghim,Stephen prayed, “LordJesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen directedhisprayerin
the name of Christ. We can also learnfromwhere Paul exhortedthe Ephesian church:“…alwaysgiving
thanksto Godthe Father for everything,in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(Ephesians5:20). Jesus
assuredHisdisciplesthatwhatevertheyaskedinHisname—meaningasperHis will—itwouldbe
grantedas statedin John16:23, “ In that day youwill no longer askme anything.Very trulyI tell you,
my Father will give you whatever you askin my name.”
We are toldto pray in the Spiritandin Hispower. Prayinginthe Spiritdoesnotrefertothe wordswe
are saying.Rather,itreferstohowwe are praying.Prayinginthe Spiritisprayingaccordingto the
Spirit’sleading.Itisprayingforthingsthe Spiritleadsusto pray foras we can readlearn Romans8:26,
“Inthe same way,the Spirithelpsus in our weakness.We do not know what we oughtto prayfor, but
the Spirit himselfintercedesfor us throughwordless groans.” The SpiritHimself intercedesforuswith
groans thatwords cannotexpress. The Spirithelpsustopray,evenwhenwe donotknow how or what
to ask for.Perhapsthe bestwayto understandthe role of the Trinityinprayeris that we pray tothe
Father,through(or inthe name of) the Son, bythe powerof the HolySpirit.All three are active
participantsinthe believer’sprayer.
Equallyimportantiswhomwe are not to pray to.Some non-Christianreligionsencourage their
adherentstopray to a pantheonof gods,deadrelatives,saints,andspirits.RomanCatholicsare taught
to pray to Mary and many saints.Suchprayersare notscriptural and are,infact, an insulttoour
heavenlyFather.Tounderstandwhy,we needonlylookatthe nature of prayer.Prayerhas several
elements,andif we lookatjust twoof them—praiseandthanksgiving—we cansee thatprayeris,at its
verycore,worship.Whenwe praise God,we are worshippingHimforHisattributesandHis workinour
lives.Whenwe offerprayersof thanksgiving,we are worshippingHisgoodness,mercy,andloving-
kindnessto us.Whenwe worshipGodwe give gloryto the Tribune whodeservestobe glorified.The
problemwithprayingtoanyone otherthanGod isthat He will notshare Hisglory.In fact,prayingto
anyone or anythingotherthanGod isidolatry. “Iam the LORD; that ismy name! I will not give my glory
to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah42:8). Thisisclear whenwe readfromthe Ten Commandments
of God as statedin Exodus20:5, “Youshall notbow downto them or worshipthem; for I, the LORD your
God,am a jealousGod,punishingthechildrenfor the sin ofthe parentsto the third andfourth
generationof those who hate me…”

2. Otherelementsof prayersuchasrepentance,confession,andpetitionare alsoformsof worship tothe
Tribune.Forexample we repentknowingthatGodis a forgivingandlovingGodandHe has provideda
meansof forgivenessinthe sacrificeof HisSonon the cross. We confessoursinsbecause He is faithful
and justand we worshipHimforit as we can learnfrom 1 John 1:9 “Ifwe confessour sins,he is faithful
and justand will forgiveus our sinsand purifyus fromall unrighteousness.” We come toHimwithour
petitionsandintercessionsbecausewe know He lovesusandhearsus,and we worshipHimfor His
mercyand kindnessinbeingwillingtohearandanswer.Whenwe considerall this,itiseasyto see that
prayingto someone otherthanourtriune Godis unthinkablebecause prayerisa form of worship,and
worshipisreservedforGodand God alone.
The answerto the questionasto whoare we are to pray to: The answerisGod. Prayingto God isfar
more importantthanto whichPersonof the Trinitywe addressour prayers…because theyare one.We
can understand thisfurtherwhenwe readapostle Paul’sadvise found inRomans15:30, “I urge you,
brothers andsisters, by our Lord Jesus Christand by the love ofthe Spirit,to joinme in my struggle by
prayingto Godfor me.”