Question:

  Hi, I have a question that I am hoping that you can answer for me. When you pray, who do you pray to, GOD or JESUS??? Does God get mad if you pray to Jesus? And I also have one more question, when people ask you who is your God, as Christians do we say the Lord Jesus Christ?? If you could I would greatly appreciate it if you could simply explain this to me. Thank you very much.

  Answer:

  Thank you for this great question.

  Just the fact that you are concerned and ask such a question is wonderful, and indicates to me that you do love the Lord!

  Question one: When you pray, who do you pray to, GOD or JESUS???

  ANSWER: We pray to our heavenly Father, in Jesus' name.

    a. We are told to address all prayer to God the Father. Matt 6:9, 1 Pet 1:17, Eph 3:14.

    b. We can only approach the Father in the name of Jesus, the Son, John 14:13 & 14.

    c. All prayer, and Christian activity must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be valid, Eph 6:18.

    d. I do not find where we are authorized to address our prayer to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit. I cannot find anywhere in the whole Bible where anyone ever said one word to the Holy Spirit, but today we even have people on TV praying to the Holy Spirit!

    e. Yes, Jesus is God, but Jesus said to pray to His Father, through Jesus, not to Jesus. I know that there is one God revealed in three co-equal persons, but when I pray, I want to follow the teaching of the Word of God, and do it His way.

  Question two: Does God get mad if you pray to Jesus?

  Answer: No, I can't imagine God getting mad with one of His children trying to communicate with Him, no matter how we did it.

    a. When we pray, we don't always know how to pray, or what to pray for, but Romans 8:26 & 27 says that the Holy Spirit takes our prayers and makes them presentable to God. No, I don't think God gets mad at His children for not praying perfect prayers, but once I found out that God's Word tells us to address all our prayer to the Father, in the name of Jesus, I want to pray the way that pleases God the most.

  Question three: When people ask you who is your God, as Christians do we say the Lord Jesus Christ??

  Answer: Yes, Jesus Christ is our Lord and our God.

    a. The one true God of the Bible has almost 100 names, each one telling us a little more about who God is. "Father", speaks of our "relationship", as "children of God". The Name "Jesus" speaks of the "humanity" of Christ. It is His "humanity" that died on the Cross for us. It is what His "humanity" did for us that authorizes us to access the Father in prayer.

    b. Jesus is not just part of God, or 1/3 of God, Jesus IS God, the visible manifestation (image) of the one omnipresent true God of the Bible.

    c. God is infinite Spirit, eternal, and omnipresent, in other words He is everywhere, there is no where at all where He is not, and He is invisible.

    d. God has revealed himself in 3 co-equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

    e. Jesus is the visible image of God, all humans or angels can see of God. So Jesus is God come in the flesh, as 1 Tim. 3:16 states.

    f. Jesus, as the visible image of God will sit on the Great White throne of Judgement, in Rev Chapter 20, and He is who we will see when we die or go up in the Rapture. Check out BibleFood.com, Page 1 about Jesus, and Page 7 on the Trinity for more information. Please E-Mail me back if you have another question or want to discuss this some more :-) It's a thrill for me to discuss this with you!

  When we get to heaven, we will only see Jesus, the angels, and our saved brothers and sisters.
The Father and Holy Spirit are everywhere and invisible, and will continue to be.

  A quick illustration: I played with big green bugs, called June Bugs, in South Carolina when I was a little boy. I could even tie a thread on their leg and fly them like a model airplane. I always let them go, and they were so big and strong they always flew away. They were very hard to catch, and I often wished I could tell them I loved to play with them, and I just wanted to be their friends, and didn't want to hurt them. You know, the only way I could tell them that I was really their friend and they didn't have to be afraid of me would be for me to become a June Bug. God is His wisdom did just that. He became a human without diminishing any of His Omnipresent Eternal Glory, to demonstrate His love to us, and to save us by Jesus' work on the Cross. When Jesus was about to die on the Cross He said, in John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was".

  I think it is important though, to say that we do not have to UNDERSTAND the Bible to believe it! We must BELIEVE IT FIRST, and then, God will give us an UNDERSTANDING according to His will and purpose, and according to His timing.

  I think it would be an excellent idea to show your pastor at church this question and ask him to preach on this subject, don't you?

  Written In Christian love,

  Eph 1:15-17 ! Your friend "in Christ",

  Bob Jones