Last week we looked at an attitude of humble submission as the first ingredient to effective prayer - with an important note that there is more for each person to discover face to face with God than I can ever know or share because I am also in this ongoing process! Nevertheless, today I will move on to another fundamental for your consideration:
(2) Prayer is properly and confidently addressed to God the Father, through Christ Jesus.
I do not believe that it is wrong to talk to Jesus or to pray to Him in a real sense. This is not to become a point for religious legalism and condemnation to enter your prayer life! But in terms of heavenly protocol, prayers are properly addressed to the Father. It is a privilege to pray to God the Father for this is why Jesus came - to reconcile us back to the Father.
One of the most amazing verses that were ever opened up to me by God is found in John 20:17,'Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”' and 2 Cor. 5:19 makes it clear that 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.'
I find that in getting to know the word of God better and in knowing (by the Scriptures) what roles Jesus now fills in terms of His present heavenly ministry of Great High Priest, King, Saviour etc. I can better know what matters to address to Him. In intercession for example, I have asked Jesus for help, knowing that His word says that He ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).
I have heard prayers, made by well-meaning Christians who love God, which sound very confused. They go back and forth simply substituting 'Jesus', 'Lord', 'Father', 'God', 'Holy Spirit' and various other combinations within even the same sentence. Now while this should never be made a point of condemnation or a religious straight jacket for anyone, we ought to have it clear in our own minds that while God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the One and the same God, they are not one Person. In fact, God Himself refers to these three Persons of the Godhead as “Us” such as in Genesis 1:26, and Isaiah 6:8. The Father is in heaven (Matt 6:9), the Son is at His right hand (Rom 8:34), and the Holy Spirit is in and with believers (John 14:16,17).
In the popular prayers of Paul in his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians and other verses in Thessalonians, Timothy etc., as well as in the prayers of Jesus, we know that prayer was addressed to God the Father. Most importantly however, this is how Jesus taught the disciples to pray, referring to their relationship with God through Himself:
Matt. 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matt. 6:9
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name
John 16:23-28
“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
For me personally, there is great clarity and confidence in knowing that God has reconciled me to Himself through His Son and I can now come boldly before Him, the Father, in Jesus’ name. I come knowing that I am loved and accepted by the Father because I love and accept His Son - just as Jesus assured His disciples in John 16: 26-27.
Notes
1: While we know that there is communication between the Holy Spirit and God’s people (He guides us into all truth, He comforts us, He teaches us (John 15:26, John 16:13); He partners with us in God’s work and directs and instructs (Acts 8:29, Acts 11:12), we have no examples in Scripture of prayers being addressed to Him in the way that they are to God the Father.
2: In NT Scripture the word 'Lord' is used to address Jesus the Christ and sometimes it speaks of God the Father. This is evident in Acts 4:26, 'The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.’ The word 'Lord' simply means 'Supreme Ruler', 'Master'; see also Rev. 11:15
3: There is a similar relationship between the Three Persons of the Godhead in answering our prayers as revealed in the process of creating the heavens and the earth. In various scripture verses we read “God created the heavens and the earth”, “God said Let there be…and there was…”, yet “without Him (Jesus) was nothing made that was made (John 1:3)” (See also Colossians 1:14-20) and the “Spirit of God hovered over the waters”, “You send forth your Spirit and they are created (Ps 104:30)”.
Jesus said we were to pray to the Father in His own name, and that whatever we ask the Father in His name, the Father would grant/give and He Himself as Son would do (John 14:13,14).
[This is the sixth post in a series on the subject of prayer. Last week we looked at an attitude of humble submission as the first ingredient to effective prayer - with an important note that there is more for each person to discover face to face with God than I can ever share since I am also in this process! These posts are interspersed among other blog topics so for the easy identification of related posts, look for the label 'praying effectively - series' in the sidebar. If you are just now joining in I recommend that you read the first post where I shared my reason for doing this series. I hope to share practical keys and insight into praying effectively, in bite-size blog posts which you can easily follow.]
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