Who do you pray to... the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?

[newcreature]

I attended small group meeting tonight and much of the discussion was centered around the Holy Spirit. One question that seemed to get multiple answers was who do we pray to? I would like to know what my PB brothers and sisters feel about this. Any scripture references would be helpful.

 

[Andres]

The Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray to "Our Father who art in heaven..."

 

[SolaScriptura]

Angela,

As Andrew has pointed out, the Lord's Prayer instructs us to pray to the Father.

Yet one of the classic "proofs" of the deity of Christ is that we have in Scripture instances and examples of prayer being offered to Jesus. Not the least of which is the word of Jesus himself in John 14:13-14 in which he says:
"Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:13-14 ESV)

This encouragement, coupled with the instances of prayer being offered to Jesus, indicates that it is indeed ok to pray to Jesus.


That said, I am not aware of any biblical examples of people praying to the Holy Spirit nor am I aware of any commands or encouragements to do so. Though I confess that I pray "fully Trinitarian" prayers in which I address each member of the Trinity. The Nicene Creed says that the Holy Spirit, together with the Father and the Son, is worshipped. I find it hard to conceive of properly worshipping someone without addressing that person.

If you, like me, have thanked the Holy Spirit for regenerating you in accordance with the will of the Father... guess what! You've addressed the Holy Spirit in prayer. But again, we are never told to bring our petitions to the Holy Spirit. So maybe I, and the Nicene Creed, are wrong.

 

[a mere housewife]

I eagerly await more learned answers to this; but I think there is something very special in prayer in the love of the members of the Trinity for one another. The Father loves the Son and makes him the fullness of all we receive. The Son loves the Father and honors Him and reveals Him to us that we can approach and worship Him. The Son as fiercely loves and honors the Spirit too: I think there is that beautiful aspect of love for the Spirit behind His words about the 'unpardonable sin'. But the Spirit, as proceeding from the other two and being (I don't want to speak amiss: please forgive me if I do) in a special way the Person that has Being in that bond of love between them, seeks especially to bring glory to the Father and the Son, and is the more 'silent' member of the Trinity. Yet we could not cry out to God at all if it were not for His crying out within us. Every time we pray to either Father or Son, we are worshipping *in* the Spirit. And I love to think of how gentle and mild the Holy Spirit is to take up residence in me and dwell with me every day, polluted and offensive as I am. No mother on earth, not even my own dear mother who only raised her voice (that I remember) once to me in anger, could possibly dwell with their children in more enabling love (because apart from that love on His side, there would be no living with/within me). Sometimes I do cry out to the Holy Spirit to pray for me what I don't know how to pray for myself, and thank Him for living in me when I couldn't (and often can't) bear to live with myself. But I no longer feel so conflicted about not seeing Him so clearly as I see the Son and the Father. It is precisely by means of His presence with me and His work in me that I see the Son and the Father more clearly: that is His special work of love to them in my heart. I am not somehow leaving Him out. True prayer itself is being caught up in the love of all Three Persons -- by nature it cannot 'leave any of them out'.

James Durham says, my husband adds (I often run my posts by him first: I'm very nervous of saying the wrong things in this public place. If I've said something horribly offensive here, perhaps the other mods can infract him! :

'We would beware of dividing the Object of Worship, or separating the Three blessed Persons in our worshipping of them, even in our imagination; as if when One is named, we were not praying unto, and worshipping both the other; and as if the Son were another God than the Father or Spirit, etc. But still this would be remembered, that what ever Person be named, He is God, and that same One God, Father, Son and Spirit, that are but One God. We Worship the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; but we do not worship the Father, or the Son, or the Spirit, as if He who is not named were less worshiped than He who is named: and seeing the Son and holy Ghost are the same God with the Father (the former ground being laid) it's all one thing whatever Person be named, though in Scripture sometimes respect is had to their order of subsisting and operating; and so the Father is only named: sometimes to the ground upon and by which we have access to God: and so the Son only is named.

 

[HaMetumtam]

This is a prayer taken from "The valley of Vision" a book of puritan prayers. You may find it helpful or insightful ?

Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,
I adore thee as one Being, one Essence,
one God in three distinct Persons,
for bringing sinners to thy knowledge and to thy kingdom.

O Father, thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;

O Jesus, thou hast loved me and assumed my nature,
shed thine own blood to wash away my sins,
wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness;

O Holy Spirit, thou hast loved me and entered my heart,
implanted there eternal life, revealed to me the glories of Jesus.

Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise thee,
for love so unmerited, so unspeakable, so wondrous,
so mighty to save the lost and raise them to glory.

O Father, I thank thee that in fullness of grace
thou hast given me to Jesus, to be his sheep, jewel, portion;

O Jesus, I thank thee that in fullness of grace
thou hast accepted, espoused, bound me;

O Holy Spirit, I thank thee that in fullness of grace
thou hast exhibited Jesus as my salvation,
implanted faith within me, subdued my stubborn heart,
made me one with him for ever.

O Father, thou art enthroned to hear my prayers,

O Jesus, thy hand is outstretched to take my petitions,

O Holy Spirit, thou art willing to help my infirmities,
to show me my need, to supply words, to pray within me,
to strengthen me that I faint not in supplication.

O Triune God, who commandeth the universe,
thou hast commanded me to ask for those
things that concern thy kingdom and my soul.

Let me live and pray as one baptized into the threefold Name.

 

[Berean]

This is a prayer taken from "The valley of Vision" a book of puritan prayers. You may find it helpful or insightful ?

Thanks, JJ. I was just thinking of that and was going to mention it when I saw that you'd already posted it. That prayer is titled, "THREE IN ONE, ONE IN THREE, GOD OF MY SALVATION".