Have you ever stopped and wondered, “Who exactly should I pray to: the Father, the Son, or the Spirit?”
Since God is Trinitarian in nature—one in substance and three in person—that can inherently leave room for some complications when it praying to someone. And certainly, because God is both one and three, if you pray to either of the three, you will inevitably be praying to God per se, because each is God, and yet God is one.
Nevertheless, is there a ‘right way’ to pray when we address our prayers? Are we being too technical here, or is there actually a way that is more doctrinally precise after all?
It seems the Bible does give us a general idea of whom we should pray to in specific. In actuality, I think most of us are probably addressing our prayers correctly anyways, that is, if we are keeping to the Christian tradition of beginning our prayers with, “Dear Heavenly Father…” and ending them with, “…in Jesus’ name, amen.”
It seems that this tradition has its roots in biblical theology, and I think we can see that it ultimately stemmed from Jesus’ teachings on prayer and what other passages of Scripture have to say on the subject, too.
For example, in one of the most famous passages of the Bible, “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus tells his disciples to address their prayers like the following:
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’”
(Matthew 6:9)
In another place of Scripture, when Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer, he again tells them that their prayers ought to be directed to the Father, but in Jesus’ name.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)
Hebrews 4 echoes this same idea as well, encouraging us to direct our prayers to God the Father because God the Son is our mediator and our means of doing so.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. … Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14,16)
And furthermore, Scripture also tells us that the God the Spirit, whom we receive by union with Christ, compels us to pray to the… Father.
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)
Overall, the Scriptures generally seem to communicate that prayer should have its trajectory towards the Father, even though it’s certainly mediated and made possible by the Son and the Spirit. The Son functions as our positional mediator by whom we can approach the Father, standing in our defense. And the Spirit functions as our personal discerner and communicator, helping us to pray with greater clarity and enabling us to experience greater intimacy with God through prayer.
But I also think we should follow this format of ‘to whom we should pray,’ specifically because it aligns most closely with the nature of the gospel and the type of relational dynamic we share with the Trinity now that we have been redeemed. Therefore, by praying in this way, we are affirming what the gospel means and what it has accomplished for us.
In essence, we should pray to the Father, by the Son, and in the Spirit.
For the sake of an analogy, think of beginning a prayer insofar as you might address an email, with the To: and the Cc: filled out accordingly:
To: Father
Cc: Jesus; Holy Spirit
Maybe that’s not precisely theologically accurate, but hopefully this quick story might help illustrate this idea a bit more:
I know someone who just landed an incredible job at one of the most prestigious digital marketing agencies in Raleigh, and possibly the entire state of NC. And can you imagine how she got the job? Was it her education? Talent? People skills? Sure, she did attend a great university; and yes, she is extremely talented; and indeed, she does have good people skills.
So what made her email and attached resume stand out from the other 50+ applications that are sent every single day? It was whom she CCed in the email. She knew someone from inside the office. So when the boss was mindlessly scrolling through yet another set of 200 new applications at the end of the week that are all relatively competitive, her email stood out because the boss recognized a connection that verified credibility.
And so it is when we pray to God the Father, in God the Spirit, by God the Son. Jesus is our ‘insider’ who appeals to the Father, and the Spirit is our ‘Microsoft Outlook’ as it were, except he sends our prayers successfully every time—without fail, disconnection, or crash.
And this is just a glimpse of the beauty of the Trinity’s role when we pray; we are utterly hemmed in, listened to, and loved in every way as we pray. So when we pray, let us direct our prayers to the Father—knowing that we can only ever approach him because of the Son, and resting assured that every prayer is heard and cherished, because of the Spirit.
“Pray to God the Father in the power of God the Spirit, in the name or by the authority and the merit of God the Son.”
–John Piper
