# Praying to the Triune God



## Shaffer (Jul 21, 2006)

One thing I've noticed lately is that so many churches will almost always pray to Jesus during corporate worship, but I never hear any prayer directed to the Father. I'm not going to pretend like I fully understand this issue, but I'm just wondering, when we pray to God is there a particular Person that our prayers should primarily be directed to? I know that 1 John 1 says that our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. Does that mean that we only pray to our heavenly Father and His Son? What about when Jesus told us how to pray by giving us the Lord's prayer? Does that mean that we only pray to the Father? And also, do we pray to the Holy Spirit as well? 

I myself mainly pray to the Father, through the Mediator Jesus Christ, with the Spirit helping me and teaching me what things to pray about. However, I also pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well. Is this the Biblical way to pray?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 21, 2006)

See this thread and this.


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## Shaffer (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks you sir! That was very informative. I also saw that many people were mentioning "Communion with God" by John Owen and I just started reading that book a little while ago!


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## jaybird0827 (Jul 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Shaffer_
> Thanks you sir! That was very informative. I also saw that many people were mentioning "Communion with God" by John Owen and I just started reading that book a little while ago!



I also recommend _A Method for Prayer, with Scripture Expressions_, subtitled "Directions for Daily Communion with God." by Matthew Henry.

_J. Sulzmann_


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## Contra_Mundum (Jul 21, 2006)

God, is Triune. Father, Son, & H.S.--these three are One God. God is the acceptable being to pray to, all three Persons are capable of hearing prayer by Divine power; ergo, it is legitimate to pray to every person of the Trinity.

We may have different reasons to address each divine Person, for each Person has distinct economic functions he performs toward us (albeit in concert and harmony with the other Persons). It is reasonable for us to pray that each do his particular work regarding us or others.

Still, we should proportionately address the Persons of the Trinity first according to our need, and also according to the relative address that each receives in Scripture. As we might expect, the Father is directly addressed more often than any of the other two Persons.

Jesus (worthy of divine worship himself) advised his disciples to pray to "the Father," in both the "Lord's Prayer" and in the upper room. In Jn 14:14 (NU text), just after he tells his disciples (by implication) to pray to the Father, Jesus actually says "ask Me." Even if the "Me" isn't there, it can be inferred just as readily from the tenor of the discussion: 1) why repeat himself regarding asking the Father when he just said so, and 2) he is _present_ then to be petitioned, but he's _going away_ yet the disciples should still be able to speak to him.

It is hard to find direct address of the Holy Spirit, in the NT (or the OT). But 1) there is inferrable data (see below, 2nd example); and 2) he is a Person, and prayer must be done by his agency (and see below on the inseperability of the Persons)

Examples:
----Acts 7:59--Stephen prays to Jesus, n.b. Acts 1:24, 9:10-17; 2 Cor. 12:8; 1 Thess. 3:11; 2 Thess. 2:16.

----NT is replete with references to *invoking* the Person of the Holy Spirit; it is implausible that we are to suppose that the apostles, who know they are praying entirely in dependence upon that Spirit, are not speaking to him but only about him to one of the other two (sending) Persons (note especially Rom. 8:26-27). And when the Spirit speaks to men, is it unreasonable they should speak to him? (e.g. Acts 13:2) And if you can blaspheme the H.S. (Mt. 12:31-32), can you not also bless him?

Finally, we must note the inseperability of the Persons. We can address one of them, but we cannot do so to the excusion of the others. Thus when we pray "our Father," we are addressing the fount of the Divine will and of Providence, the Originator; yet while we pray IN the Spirit, and BY the Son, we cannot avoid addressing them _indirectly_ in our address to the Father. It is unavoidable. And it should not trouble us, but we should rather pray in full Trinitarian awareness, comprehending all three Persons.



p.s. I cannot forbear to warn that if the above is unconvincing (esp. re. H.S.), there are defintely certain hymns you ought not to be singing--e.g "Spirit of the Living God," "Come Thou Almighty King " (v. 3, TH), "Come, O Come, Thou Quickening Spirit," etc.

[Edited on 7-21-2006 by Contra_Mundum]


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