Who do We Pray To and The Trinity.

[mortensen]

The Father, The Son, or The Holy Spirit.

The Trinity is certainly a difficult concept for anyone to understand, It is a mystery how God can be one God in three persons, so the best we can do is accept what the Bible says about God's nature, even if we don't fully comprehend.

To which person of the Trinity should we pray? Certainly, there is no question that we can pray to God the Father. The Old and New Testaments are filled with examples of prayer to the Father, and Jesus Himself taught us to pray to the Father in Matthew 6:9-13.

There is no question that we can pray to Jesus. As an example, in Acts 7:59, Stephen prays "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Jesus told us that we would be able to pray to Him after he had gone to the Father, He said, "...I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:12-14)

Having said that, the Holy Spirit does play a special role in interceding for us when we are praying to the Father or to the Son. Many times in the New Testament we are told to pray "in the Spirit."

In Ephesians 6:18, Paul tells us "...pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests", while Jude recommends, "...Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." (Jude 1:20)

The issues with the Holy Spirit is more complicated. There are no examples of anyone praying to the Holy Spirit in the scripture, nor is there any guidance that we should or should not do. As a person of the Trinity and one who is fully God, there is no obvious reason why we should not pray to the Holy Spirit if we are led to do so. For me personally, I pray to the Holy Spirit whenever I feel stress or unease and I am seeking peace and comfort. I am not sure why I do this, but it seems appropiate.

Paul gives us some clarification about the role of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:26. Paul writes, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

So, although it is perfectly acceptable to pray to the Holy Spirit, scripture suggests that we pray "in the Spirit", which means we permit the Holy Spirit to guide our prayer and give us the right words to say.

There is no right or wrong. You may address your prayer to the Son, the Father or the Holy Spirit with confidence depending on how you feel at that moment.

Reference:

God's Magnificent Creation, Christian Outdoors Forum

The Holy Spirit will help you pray the perfect will of God:

Holy Spirit Will Help You Pray The Perfect Will Of God | Bummyla

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit."

Edited December 26, 2012 by mortensen

[Ravin R10 man]

We are to pray to God in Jesus name, as He is our intercessor, the Holy Spirit is sent to us as a comforter and to guide us.

[mortensen]

I agree with you Mathews XT man. I pray the same way. My prayers are directed to God in Jesus name and as you mentioned I will use my Holy Spirit as my guide, especially when composing new prayers.

[wtnhunt]

Dunno, guess my view on this topic is that God hears all prayers regardless of whether you pray in Jesus name or it be a prayer as Catholics to the Rosary and he hears them whether you say them out loud or if you think them in your mind. He hears them all and knows where the person who is praying has their heart, which really is what matters.

As far as the trinity goes, your initial comment on it being difficult to understand is probably pretty accurate since different denominations and even some within certain denominations do not all agree. Think a lot of overthinking has lead to further confusion of something that was probably intended to be pretty simple. jm2cfwiw.