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I'm curious as to whether you address your prayers to God the Father or to His Son, Jesus Christ.
The reason for my question is that I've heard people say that they "ask Jesus" for things. I've also heard people say, "thank you, Jesus." My own prayers are always addressed to God the Father, but I offer them "in the name of Jesus Christ." What about you? Please include an explanation of why, along with your answer.
In the first instance God the father, Jesus if I'm looking for direction, the Holy Spirit for guidance. Seeing as I believe they are part and parcel of the whole then it's God the father, but as God gave us the different facets of himself so I think each has a different aspect to my prayers.
I'm curious as to whether you address your prayers to God the Father or to His Son, Jesus Christ.
The reason for my question is that I've heard people say that they "ask Jesus" for things. I've also heard people say, "thank you, Jesus." My own prayers are always addressed to God the Father, but I offer them "in the name of Jesus Christ." What about you? Please include an explanation of why, along with your answer.
Jesus is the mediator between sinful mankind and Jehovah, who is Holy, Holy, Holy... to the superlative degree. We can approach him on the merits of the sacrifice made by Christ. So all of my personal prayers are directed to Jehovah who is God Almighty, and through Jesus Christ, our ransomer.
The entire Scriptural record testifies that Jehovah is the One to whom prayer should be directed (Ps 5:1,*2; Mt 6:9), that he is the “Hearer of prayer” (Ps 65:2; 66:19) and has power to act in behalf of the petitioners. (Mr 11:24; Eph 3:20) To pray to false gods and their idol images is exposed as stupidity, for the idols do not have the ability either to hear or to act, and the gods they represent are unworthy of comparison with the true God. (Jg 10:11-16; Ps 115:4,*6; Isa 45:20; 46:1, 2, 6,*7) The contest concerning godship between Baal and Jehovah, held on Mount Carmel, demonstrated the foolishness of prayer to false deities.—1Ki 18:21-39; compare Jg 6:28-32.
Scriptures referenced above I have added below..........................
(Psalm 5:1, 2) To my sayings do give ear, O Jehovah; Do understand my sighing. *2*Do pay attention to the sound of my cry for help, O my King and my God, because to you I pray.
(Matthew 6:9) “YOU must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.
(Psalm 65:2) O Hearer of prayer, even to you people of all flesh will come.
(Psalm 66:19) Truly God has heard; He has paid attention to the voice of my prayer.
(Mark 11:24) This is why I tell YOU, All the things YOU pray and ask for have faith that YOU have practically received, and YOU will have them.
(Ephesians 3:20) Now to the one who can, according to his power which is operating in us, do more than superabundantly beyond all the things we ask or conceive,
(Judges 10:11-16) Then Jehovah said to the sons of Israel: “Was it not from Egypt and from the Am′or·ites and from the sons of Am′mon and from the Phi·lis′tines 12*and the Si·do′ni·ans and Am′a·lek and Mid′i·an, when they oppressed YOU and YOU went crying out to me, that I proceeded to save YOU out of their hand? 13*As for YOU, YOU abandoned me and took up serving other gods. That is why I shall not save YOU again. 14*Go and call for aid to the gods whom YOU have chosen. Let them be the ones to save YOU in the time of YOUR distress.” 15*But the sons of Israel said to Jehovah: “We have sinned. You yourself do to us according to anything that is good in your eyes. Only deliver us, please, this day.” 16*And they began to remove the foreign gods from their midst and to serve Jehovah, so that his soul became impatient because of the trouble of Israel.
(Psalm 115:4) Their idols are silver and gold, The work of the hands of earthling man.
(Psalm 115:6) Ears they have, but they cannot hear. A nose they have, but they cannot smell.
(Isaiah 45:20) “Collect yourselves and come. Bring yourselves up close together, YOU escapees from the nations. Those carrying the wood of their carved image have not come to any knowledge, neither have those praying to a god that cannot save.
(Isaiah 46:1, 2) Bel has bent down, Ne′bo is stooping over; their idols have come to be for the wild beasts and for the domestic animals, their loads, pieces of luggage, a burden for the tired animals. 2*They must stoop over; they must each alike bend down; they are simply unable to furnish escape for the burden, but into captivity their own soul must go.
(Isaiah 46:6, 7) There are those who are lavishing out the gold from the purse, and with the scale beam
they weigh out the silver. They hire a metalworker, and he makes it into a god. They prostrate themselves, yes, they bow down. 7*They carry it upon the shoulder, they bear it and deposit it in its place that it may stand still. From its standing place it does not move away. One even cries out to it, but it does not answer; out of one’s distress it does not save one.
compare:
(1 Kings 18:21-39) Then E·li′jah approached all the people and said: “How long will YOU be limping upon two different opinions? If Jehovah is the [true] God, go following him; but if Ba′al is, go following him.” And the people did not say a word in answer to him. 22*And E·li′jah went on to say to the people: “I myself have been left as a prophet of Jehovah, I alone, while the prophets of Ba′al are four hundred and fifty men. 23*Now let them give us two young bulls, and let them choose for themselves one young bull and cut it in pieces and put it upon the wood, but they should not put fire to it. And I myself shall dress the other young bull, and I must place it upon the wood, but I shall not put fire to it. 24*And YOU must call upon the name of YOUR god, and I, for my part, shall call upon the name of Jehovah; and it must occur that the [true] God that answers by fire is the [true] God.” To this all the people answered and said: “The thing is good.” 25*E·li′jah now said to the prophets of Ba′al: “Choose for yourselves one young bull and dress it first, because YOU are the majority; and call upon the name of YOUR god, but YOU must not put fire to it.” 26*Accordingly they took the young bull that he gave them. Then they dressed it, and they kept calling upon the name of Ba′al from morning till noon, saying: “O Ba′al, answer us!” But there was no voice, and there was no one answering. And they kept limping around the altar that they had made. 27*And it came about at noon that E·li′jah began to mock them and say: “Call at the top of YOUR voice, for he is a god; for he must be concerned with a matter, and he has excrement and has to go to the privy. Or maybe he is asleep and ought to wake up!” 28*And they began calling at the top of their voice and cutting themselves according to their custom with daggers and with lances, until they caused blood to flow out upon them. 29*And it came about that, as soon as noon was past and they continued behaving as prophets until the going up of the grain offering, there was no voice, and there was no one answering, and there was no paying of attention. 30*At length E·li′jah said to all the people: “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. Then he proceeded to mend the altar of Jehovah that was torn down. 31*So E·li′jah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Jehovah’s word had come, saying: “Israel is what your name will become.” 32*And he went on to build the stones into an altar in the name of Jehovah and to make a trench, of about the area sowed with two seah measures of seed, all around the altar. 33*After that he put the pieces of wood in order and cut the young bull in pieces and placed it upon the pieces of wood. He now said: “FILL four large jars with water and pour it upon the burnt offering and upon the pieces of wood.” 34*Then he said: “Do it again.” So they did it again. But he said: “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 35*Thus the water went all around the altar, and the trench also he filled with water. 36*And it came about at the time that the grain offering goes up that E·li′jah the prophet began to approach and say: “O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and it is by your word that I have done all these things. 37*Answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that you, Jehovah, are the [true] God and you yourself have turned their heart back.” 38*At that the fire of Jehovah came falling and went eating up the burnt offering and the pieces of wood and the stones and the dust, and the water that was in the trench it licked up. 39*When all the people saw it, they immediately fell upon their faces and said: “Jehovah is the [true] God! Jehovah is the [true] God!”
(Judges 6:28-32) When the men of the city got up early in the morning as usual, why, look! the altar of Ba′al had been pulled down and the sacred pole that was beside it had been cut down, and the second young bull had been offered up on the altar that had been built. 29*And they began to say one to another: “Who has done this thing?” And they went inquiring and seeking. Finally they said: “Gid′e·on the son of Jo′ash is the one that has done this thing.” 30*So the men of the city said to Jo′ash: “Bring your son out that he may die, because he has pulled down the altar of Ba′al, and because he has cut down the sacred pole that was by it.” 31*At this Jo′ash said to all those who stood against him: “Will YOU be the ones to make a legal defense for Ba′al to see whether YOU yourselves may save him? Whoever makes a legal defense for him ought to be put to death even this morning. If he is God, let him make a legal defense for himself, because someone has pulled down his altar.” 32*And he began to call him Jer·ub·ba′al on that day, saying: “Let Ba′al make a legal defense in his own behalf, because someone has pulled down his altar.”
Jesus is the mediator between sinful mankind and Jehovah, who is Holy, Holy, Holy... to the superlative degree. We can approach him on the merits of the sacrifice made by Christ. So all of my personal prayers are directed to Jehovah who is God Almighty, and through Jesus Christ, our ransomer.
The entire Scriptural record testifies that Jehovah is the One to whom prayer should be directed (Ps 5:1,*2; Mt 6:9), ...
The word "Jehovah" is not in the Scriptures in the original manuscripts. Its quite a late invention, English, name and is not found in the original Scriptures. "YHWH" is the name of the Living Elohym/God, found in the Scriptures, and that name means "LIFE/BREATH".
It is a "breathed" word/name. Every living, breathing soul says that name with every breath they intake and expel. From their birth to the time of the death of their body, His name is stamped on every breath they breathe, and that breath is on loan from the Creator.
Jesus -whose name in Hebrew is "Yeshua/Salvation"- and who is the Messiah/Christ come in flesh of second creation human being flesh, is YHWH "SEEN". In John 12:37-41 John states that JESUS is the very YHWH who was seen by Isaiah (in Isaiah chapter 6), on the throne of glory in heaven, and being worshiped by angels as they proclaimed "Holy, Holy, Holy, YHWH ELOHYM of hosts"! That was Jesus/Yeshua, says Isaiah, and that One is come in flesh which is the Firstborn of the New Man name, so as to adopt the lost seed of Adam into His One Living Spirit (which Spirit is "Christ/Messiah") and to transform the fallen nature of each Adam soul who calls on His name to be saved, into His own New Man nature of the "living son of God" of second human being creation.
YHWH, Himself, has come in flesh as our own dear, "Everlasting Father of the New Man creation" (Isaiah 9:6 "...His name shall be called...Mighty God...Everlasting Father"), and has promised not to leave us "orphans" as our first father (in Adam) did by dying as firstborn son of God and as our living father of the human being kind. John 14:18 "I will not leave you (as) 'orphanos/ orphans', I will come to you".
When we are born of His Living Spirit we have His new man nature, and He is our "Everlasting Father", and He is our "Daysman" whom Job longed for, who "lays hand" on the Unseen Living Spirit and on human being flesh, as our "Kinsman/Redeemer".
For that reason, all who are born of His Living Spirit call Him "Abba, Father" and "call on His name". Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Could you please elaborate as to what you mean when you say you're "asking them for a favor"? I mean, what is that, if not praying? If you believe you can speak to someone who died two thousand years ago, that they can hear you and have the power to grant you the favor you're asking for, isn't that really what is meant by "praying"?
NOT the same thing. Saying a prayer to God is saying a prayer, asking Mary to intercede for you is chatting with Mary like I chat with a friend and have asked them for a favor. In my mind two completely different things. That is what I believe and it is right for me which is explanation enough for me.
You may or may not agree, your choice but neither is right nor wrong it is simply the way each of us believes which is different.
Who did Jesus pray to?? I would guess he got it right ..
As for the seal he put on the end what was it??
His life , his obedience..
So if your not in his footsteps don't bother with( in Jesus name ) because if your not in the fathers will with your prayers or your life then your not in his name.
NOT the same thing. Saying a prayer to God is saying a prayer, asking Mary to intercede for you is chatting with Mary like I chat with a friend and have asked them for a favor. In my mind two completely different things. That is what I believe and it is right for me which is explanation enough for me.
You may or may not agree, your choice but neither is right nor wrong it is simply the way each of us believes which is different.
I understand, and I'm sorry you thought I was being critical. It's just that I wonder how a person can know that someone who has died can hear them when they speak. If you were going to ask a friend for a favor, you'd somehow approach that friend directly and not just think, "Sue, would you please do me a favor?" You wouldn't assume that a living person could hear you if you were not in her presence, so I don't understand why you would assume that a dead person could. But I agree with you that we are not to judge one another for worshipping differently.
God, for he is the one that placed me on this earth again. This time, with different rules.
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