Praying

The Apostle Paul often opened his letters with the phrase God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us who study the Bible may become confused about our relationships with the Father and Jesus. The confusion can stem from Jesus’ command in John 16:23. In this verse, Jesus tells us to ask of our Father, in the name of Jesus, when we pray.¹

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

John 16:23 ESV

So, does John 16:23 mean that Jesus has somewhat stepped aside, and now our relationship is with the Father alone? No! Jesus is our Good Shepherd², our Brother³, our Lord⁴, and God⁵. We are under the Lordship of Christ Jesus⁶.

First, we must remember that Jesus said, “I and the Father are one⁷.” There is no competition between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three persons (triune) God. Each person of the Godhead⁸ is of the same essence⁹, not autonomous persons. Remeber, Jesus prayed to the Father, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one¹⁰.”

There is a “oneness” in God that does not exist in the world. There are shadows of it and words that tell us about it, but in our nature that we have inherited from Adam, the first man, God’s Oneness is missing. Is this truth hard to understand? Yes, but isn’t that what we should expect from the one true God? How can we fully understand God, whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways¹¹? The truth is that if we could know all of God, He would be a very small god.

So, let’s return to our topic of praying for a moment. We pray to our Father, in the name of Jesus, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our Lord (owner), yet he calls us His friend¹². The Holy Spirit is both the One who helps us (Greek: paraclete¹³) and the One who leads us into all Truth¹⁴. So, we can and should show reverence while having an active relationship with each Person of the Godhead while knowing that each Person is the same essence: the One True God. And when we pray, we use the structure (template) that Jesus taught us: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name¹⁵.”

** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **

Footnote

1. Ephesians 1:3 – Spiritual Blessings. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/ephesians/1-3.htm. ↩︎
2. John 10:11 – Jesus the Good Shepherd. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/10-11.htm. ↩︎
3. Romans 8:29 – God Works In All Things. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/romans/8-29.htm. ↩︎
4. 2 Peter 3:18 – Final Exhortations. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/2_peter/3-18.htm. ↩︎
5. John 20:28 – Jesus Appears to Thomas. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/20-28.htm ↩︎
6. Romans 10:9 – The Word Brings Salvation. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/romans/10-9.htm ↩︎
7. Bible Gateway passage: Philippians 2:9-11 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202%3A9-11&version=ESV. ↩︎
8. John 10:30 – The Unbelief of the Jews. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/10-30.htm. ↩︎
9. Colossians 2:9 – Alive in Christ. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/colossians/2-9.htm. ↩︎
10. Bible Gateway passage: John 17:23 – King James Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 17, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2017%3A23&version=KJV ↩︎
11. Editor, B. N. (2023, June 26). The Full Text of the Nicene Creed. Bibles.Net. https://www.bibles.net/the-full-text-of-the-nicene-creed/. ↩︎
12.  John 15:15 – No Greater Love. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/15-15.htm. ↩︎
13. Strong’s Greek: 3875. παράκλητος (paraklétos) — called to one’s aid. (n.d.). Biblehub.Com. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/greek/3875.htm. ↩︎
14. John 16:13 – The Promise of the Holy Spirit. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/16-13.htm. ↩︎
15. Matthew 6:9 – The Lord’s Prayer. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 17, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-9.htm ↩︎