Question:  Dear Greg,

            Should we pray to Jesus or God?  Or both?  Is Jesus God?

            Jesus always prayed to God our Father in Heaven.  He typically went off alone in the morning to pray to God.  He taught us the Lord’s Prayer which also starts with “Our Father who art in Heaven…” We speak of the “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  Jesus is His son.  Jesus is without sin.  He shed His blood for our sins, for no one goes to the Father in heaven but through him.

            When we pray, who should we pray to?  Sometimes I lose sight of God as I concentrate a lot on Jesus.

            Thank you and God bless,

            Max

Answer:  Dear Max,

            Our prayers are addressed to God the Father, since that is the example Jesus provided to us (as you note below).  We pray in Jesus’ name, for it is because of what he did, and does, that we have access to the Father.  We come to God the Father through Jesus, God the Son—by his authority, through his name, on the basis of his saving work on the cross on our behalf, because of his righteousness, not our own.

            When we pray to God, we of course address God the Father as just that, for that is one of the earthly relationships that he has used to help us understand his nature and attributes.  Of course, there are many ways that he is not like human fathers, and we are thankful for that!

            When we pray to God, we pray to one God, who exists eternally as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  The Godhead is co-equal, co-essential, yet three separate divine Persona—to address one is to address all, for they experience unity in a way humans do not, and cannot because of the limitations of our human existence.  Jesus is God, he does not represent him, he is God.

            For further information and background on this topic we invite you to look at categories under “Ask Greg”—such as “The Trinity” and “Jesus Christ”—or simply use the feature, “search our site”.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht