25th August 2017 - To whom are we to pray, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?

25th August 2017 - To whom are we to pray, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?

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  "To whom arewe to pray, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?" – 25th August 2017 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”(Romans 15:30). The Bible teachesthatwe can pray to one or all three,because all three are one whomwe refertoas triune God—Father,Son,andHolySpirit. Fromthe bible we canobserve thatat differenttime’speople have prayedto one or the other.We can observe aprayerto the Fatheras found inPsalm5:2, “Listento my cry for help, my Kingand my God,forto youI pray.” As Christianswhatwe needtoknow isthat a Prayerto one memberof the Trinityisprayerto all. For example we canreadfrom Acts 7:59, “While they were stoninghim,Stephen prayed, “LordJesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen directedhisprayerin the name of Christ. We can also learnfromwhere Paul exhortedthe Ephesian church:“…alwaysgiving thanksto Godthe Father for everything,in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(Ephesians5:20). Jesus assuredHisdisciplesthatwhatevertheyaskedinHisname—meaningasperHis will—itwouldbe grantedas statedin John16:23, “ In that day youwill no longer askme anything.Very trulyI tell you, my Father will give you whatever you askin my name.” We are toldto pray in the Spiritandin Hispower. Prayinginthe Spiritdoesnotrefertothe wordswe are saying.Rather,itreferstohowwe are praying.Prayinginthe Spiritisprayingaccordingto the Spirit’sleading.Itisprayingforthingsthe Spiritleadsusto pray foras we can readlearn Romans8:26, “Inthe same way,the Spirithelpsus in our weakness.We do not know what we oughtto prayfor, but the Spirit himselfintercedesfor us throughwordless groans.” The SpiritHimself intercedesforuswith groans thatwords cannotexpress. The Spirithelpsustopray,evenwhenwe donotknow how or what to ask for.Perhapsthe bestwayto understandthe role of the Trinityinprayeris that we pray tothe Father,through(or inthe name of) the Son, bythe powerof the HolySpirit.All three are active participantsinthe believer’sprayer. Equallyimportantiswhomwe are not to pray to.Some non-Christianreligionsencourage their adherentstopray to a pantheonof gods,deadrelatives,saints,andspirits.RomanCatholicsare taught to pray to Mary and many saints.Suchprayersare notscriptural and are,infact, an insulttoour heavenlyFather.Tounderstandwhy,we needonlylookatthe nature of prayer.Prayerhas several elements,andif we lookatjust twoof them—praiseandthanksgiving—we cansee thatprayeris,at its verycore,worship.Whenwe praise God,we are worshippingHimforHisattributesandHis workinour lives.Whenwe offerprayersof thanksgiving,we are worshippingHisgoodness,mercy,andloving- kindnessto us.Whenwe worshipGodwe give gloryto the Tribune whodeservestobe glorified.The problemwithprayingtoanyone otherthanGod isthat He will notshare Hisglory.In fact,prayingto anyone or anythingotherthanGod isidolatry. “Iam the LORD; that ismy name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah42:8). Thisisclear whenwe readfromthe Ten Commandments of God as statedin Exodus20:5, “Youshall notbow downto them or worshipthem; for I, the LORD your God,am a jealousGod,punishingthechildrenfor the sin ofthe parentsto the third andfourth generationof those who hate me…”
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  Otherelementsof prayersuchasrepentance,confession,andpetitionare alsoformsofworship tothe Tribune.Forexample we repentknowingthatGodis a forgivingandlovingGodandHe has provideda meansof forgivenessinthe sacrificeof HisSonon the cross. We confessoursinsbecause He is faithful and justand we worshipHimforit as we can learnfrom 1 John 1:9 “Ifwe confessour sins,he is faithful and justand will forgiveus our sinsand purifyus fromall unrighteousness.” We come toHimwithour petitionsandintercessionsbecausewe know He lovesusandhearsus,and we worshipHimfor His mercyand kindnessinbeingwillingtohearandanswer.Whenwe considerall this,itiseasyto see that prayingto someone otherthanourtriune Godis unthinkablebecause prayerisa form of worship,and worshipisreservedforGodand God alone. The answerto the questionasto whoare we are to pray to: The answerisGod. Prayingto God isfar more importantthanto whichPersonof the Trinitywe addressour prayers…because theyare one.We can understand thisfurtherwhenwe readapostle Paul’sadvise found inRomans15:30, “I urge you, brothers andsisters, by our Lord Jesus Christand by the love ofthe Spirit,to joinme in my struggle by prayingto Godfor me.”