Praying to Jesus

[Christian2]

I need some help answering a question from a Muslim.

When Jesus called people to pray to the father, does it mean he called people to pray to a diff being other than himself? Why didn't he simply say pray to me? He is God incarnate after all. So he is FULLY GOD right?

The first sentence is easy. No, the Father is not a difference Being, but I need some help with the second one.

Since Jesus was fully God, why didn't Jesus instruct His disciples and us to pray directly to Him and not to the Father?

I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone.

Thank you.

[Canuckster1127]

I need some help answering a question from a Muslim.

When Jesus called people to pray to the father, does it mean he called people to pray to a diff being other than himself? Why didn't he simply say pray to me? He is God incarnate after all. So he is FULLY GOD right?

The first sentence is easy. No, the Father is not a difference Being, but I need some help with the second one.

Since Jesus was fully God, why didn't Jesus instruct His disciples and us to pray directly to Him and not to the Father?

I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone.

Thank you.

My thoughts.

Jesus on earth was fully God, but He was also fully Human. The Trinity is a mystery with Father, Son and Holy Spirit all fully deity. There is some differentiation in roles.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit both seek to give Glory to God the Father and that itself is explanation enough, in my opinion as to why Jesus directed prayer to God the Father.

However, Jesus did not make it an exclusive formula. I believe we can pray to Jesus.

Jesus does indicate in other passages as well that the disciples are to pray in His name and the answer will come from Him or from God (an indication of deity too by the way.)

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" John 14:13-14

"...that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you" John 15:16

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" John 16:23-24

Jesus never indicates we are only to pray to God, or never to pray to Him.

It's not either/or, it is both/and.

Another good example of prayer in the NT to Jesus is in 1 Corinthians 16:22 where Paul uses the Aramaic phrase "Maranatha" which is usually translated "O Lord, come." It is a prayer directly to Jesus used in the early Church.

John uses a similar formula in Rev 22:20.

It's not as clear in terms of the Holy Spirit being prayed to, as it is above with Jesus. But as that is outside the scope of your question, I'll leave that for now.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Bart

[FFC]

I need some help answering a question from a Muslim.

When Jesus called people to pray to the father, does it mean he called people to pray to a diff being other than himself? Why didn't he simply say pray to me? He is God incarnate after all. So he is FULLY GOD right?

The first sentence is easy. No, the Father is not a difference Being, but I need some help with the second one.

Since Jesus was fully God, why didn't Jesus instruct His disciples and us to pray directly to Him and not to the Father?

I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone.

Thank you.

My thoughts.

Jesus on earth was fully God, but He was also fully Human. The Trinity is a mystery with Father, Son and Holy Spirit all fully deity. There is some differentiation in roles.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit both seek to give Glory to God the Father and that itself is explanation enough, in my opinion as to why Jesus directed prayer to God the Father.

However, Jesus did not make it an exclusive formula. I believe we can pray to Jesus.

Jesus does indicate in other passages as well that the disciples are to pray in His name and the answer will come from Him or from God (an indication of deity too by the way.)

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" John 14:13-14

"...that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you" John 15:16

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" John 16:23-24

Jesus never indicates we are only to pray to God, or never to pray to Him.

It's not either/or, it is both/and.

Another good example of prayer in the NT to Jesus is in 1 Corinthians 16:22 where Paul uses the Aramaic phrase "Maranatha" which is usually translated "O Lord, come." It is a prayer directly to Jesus used in the early Church.

John uses a similar formula in Rev 22:20.

It's not as clear in terms of the Holy Spirit being prayed to, as it is above with Jesus. But as that is outside the scope of your question, I'll leave that for now.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Bart

Thank you, Bart. This issue has been troubling me for quite some time. I have always prayed mostly to Jesus, but there are a few people at my church that say we are commanded to only pray to the Father. The use the Lord's prayer is used as the template. Something about that bothered me because if Jesus is one with the Father and God then where would be the harm? As you said we are praying in Jesus name anyway. It seems like a form of legalism to me.

[Christian2]

Thanks Canuckster1127,

You made sense of it all. I will give him your explanation and hope for the best.

[Christian2]

Another good example of prayer in the NT to Jesus is in 1 Corinthians 16:22 where Paul uses the Aramaic phrase "Maranatha" which is usually translated "O Lord, come." It is a prayer directly to Jesus used in the early Church.

John uses a similar formula in Rev 22:20.

I have always thought that Maranatha was a prayer to Jesus.

But there are other translations of the word "Maranatha."

"our Lord comes," or is "coming" or "Lord is Here" or "Lord has Come" or "Our master has come" or "Our master is coming."

How do we know for sure how Maranatha was used by the early Christians and it was a prayer directly to Jesus?

Thanks.

[BavarianWheels]

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FIrst of all, I don't think there is a real issue here to debate whether to pray to Jesus or God. I believe that we don't know what to pray for anyway and that Romans 8:26,27 teaches that the Spirit intercedes for us...

I grew up with my parents teaching me that the correct manner in which to pray is to pray TO GOD the Father and ask all things in Jesus name. Because of this up bringing, I find myself cringing when I hear adults pray, "Dear Jesus..." simply because it makes no sense to pray to Jesus and then at the end of the prayer ask it all "in Jesus name...". I don't mind much when children pray to Jesus, but at the same time I FEEL they should be taught "correctly". Is my way correct? In light of Romans 8:26,27 it may not be a point of contention with God or Jesus how we construct our prayers.
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[Christian7]

Whenever I pray I Am directing my intention on the person I am praying for to God, through Jesus Christ. There's nothing wrong with multi-tasking in your mind of how your request is "transmitted". You can easily pretend you are literally by the power of the Christ Mind/Heart sending your loving intent to God through Jesus Christ, and by this things will manifest. Do we have to confirm we are doing this every time we pray? Not nessesarily. Some people ask that all their actions turn out for the greater good of all; and the only way one can accomplish this is through Christ. Christ came into existance for a purpose we share with Him, and that is to act as the bridge between our selves and ouw own hell. God made us perfectly incorruptible and wouldn't have us any either way. Christ came to our awareness to set a goal for our minds to accomplish in our lives, insteaD OF WANDERING THIS ILLUSORY WORLD BLINDLY, WE ARE LED BY A GENTLE UNSWAVERING HAND THAT KNOWS WHO WE TRULY ARE AND WOLD ONLY LEAD US TO THIS HOLY REMEMBERANCE. But i digress.
Anyway, I feel that intention is imensely a contributing factor in prayer, and for those who have a strong mind, who are intellectually gifted, who may be labeled "mentally intuitive", can easily pray through Jesus Christ just by seeing it happen in his or her mind. When you work with Christ, you attain abilities; it's destined to happen. One starts realizing that it is not the words that matter, which are but symbols of symbols, but the thoughts behind those words and subsequent actions that are the motivating force for positive results from a divine Source. Telepathy, as it is often referred to as, is the mode of communication in Heaven, and therefore the connecting link between Their world and our "world".

What if that every time you prayed, even without saying it in Christ's name, it didn't matter because you couldn't help but pray in the name of Christ, as if it were a universal law. To knock on the door is to anticipate the face of Christ. The inevitability of Christ's involvment would mean that anyone who ever calls upon God, regardless of what their religion or ethnicity is, must go through Christ first. But how can someone be before God? They can't. Why? Because true Reality, Heaven, has no time. Therefore, there are no firsts, and there areno seconds. In eternity, all life is the same. All members of the Trinity are the same. It is only in our world that we see them as having separate values. Right? So, being that Jesus is the same as God, I would have to say that every time we pray, as long as our thoughts are fixated on Christ through God in some way, we are praying in His Most Holy Name through to God. The Holy Spirit has also the perception and Mind of Christ so to pray through Him is beneficial as well. Peace and Love all ways.

Robert Shane