To the Father, Through the Son, & In the Holy Spirit
Something disturbed me a while ago while I was listening to Christian talk radio and I heard someone praying over the air waves. As they were praying, it became clear who they were addressing. They did not go to their Heavenly Father in prayer. They repeatedly addressed Jesus as the one whom their prayer was directed to. Immediately my red flags went up when I heard this. From my studies of Scripture I have come to the conclusion that the Bible presents a Biblical model for prayer in which all three persons of the Trinity take part. The believer-priest is to pray to the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. What really gets under my skin is when someone who is in the role of authority over theological matters like prayer uses flippant terms and phrases. If we claim to be Biblicists, which I hope all do, then we must adhere to the Biblical model for prayer.
First, and probably foremost, we are to pray to the Father. Christ Himself affirms this in His model prayer for the believer. Matt. 6:6, Christ says, “When you pray…pray to your Father.”[1] Verse 9 repeats this idea: “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father…’” Paul confirms this idea that prayer is directed to the Father in places like Rom. 1:8, Eph. 3:14, 5:20, Col. 1:3, 12, & 3:17. Hebrews 4:16 speaks of the believer approaching God at the throne of grace. Who is on the throne but the Father?
Secondly, we must remember that Christ’s current ministry right now is our High Priest, our mediator, our advocate, & our intercessor. All these terms imply that it is not Christ that we make our petitions to, but rather it is through Christ that the Father will hear our prayers. Paul summarizes this point quite well in writing that “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” If the buck stops with the Father, then why would someone seek to go any lower?[2] Christ speaks of His role in prayer as being the channel in which we are to gain access to the Father. This is a truth judicially as well as familially. Christ claims to be the way to the Father in John 14:6. Christ also claims that we go to the Father in the name of Christ in John 15:16. That is the way in which a Biblical Christian should pray – in the name of Christ. For it is because of Christ and His shed blood that the Father can even hear our prayers. Here again in John 15:16 we are told that prayer is directed to the Father and through the Son.
The Holy Spirit’s ministry in a believer’s pray life is often overlooked or avoided. Since Christians are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit[3], then that should take place in all facets of our Christian walk including prayer. Praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18) simply means that the Spirit is in control of what we say. He guides and leads us because He knows what we need to pray for according to Rom. 8:26. The need for believers to pray in the Spirit is great. This is the only way to seek God’s will. Obviously, the Holy Spirit being God knows the mind of God and therefore we should allow Him the control over our lives, even in prayer.
Now some might say that I am being too picky. Others might say that this is unimportant. But Biblical Christians must not be bound to plead ignorance for the mistakes we make all the time. While this might be minor among the major issue of prayer, nonetheless, proper pray should be practiced by Christians no matter what. This is something that, though basic, is overlooked and untaught in churches. Thus we have a generation of ignorant Christians that know no better than to pray to Jesus. This isn’t a matter of right and wrong, though when confronted with the truth, one is bound to abide by it. This is a matter of following the Biblical model which God presents in His Word.
Here is something to really rattle your brain. I can think of 2 occasions (which I will post later after some discussion) where prayer is directly made to Christ. These are extreme circumstances which must be kept within their context and are not set as the precedent but the exception. Can anyone give an example of a prayer that was made to Christ in the Bible?
[1] All Scripture quoted is from the NASB unless otherwise noted.
[2] Obviously I am speaking in human terms, although positionally this is a theological truth within the Trinity.
[3] Noting the context of Eph. 5:18, the idea is not that we are to get more of the Spirit, because we have got all of the Spirit that we are ever going to get at salvation. The context indicates a matter of control. Thus the command is made to “be continually filled.” It is a matter of the Spirit getting more of us.
