Pray to Whom?

This short article has been floating around in my head for a while now, so I finally decided to get it on paper.

Here is the problem:  I have heard people praying to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit, and also hear them ending a prayer “in your name.”  

If we are praying to God the Father, how does it make sense to end the prayer with, “In your name”?  This is saying we are going through God the Father to talk to God the Father!  Even if we were to pray to Jesus, would that even make sense to end the prayer “in your name”?  Of course not.  And why is it that the only people I’ve heard praying to the Holy Spirit are charismatics?

Here’s the question:  Biblically speaking, to whom do we pray?  God the Father? Jesus? The Holy Spirit?  Is there a distinction — after all, aren’t they all the one God?

In the Trinity there are different roles for the different persons: Jesus is the mediator between man and God, and the Spirit is the indwelling counselor.  While they are all God, our prayers are not directed to all persons.

Let’s look at “the Lord’s Prayer,” which is what Jesus used to teach the disciples.  To whom does he pray — the Father or the Spirit?  The Father.

Look at Paul’s letters; in some of them he begins by saying that in his prayers for the readers he thanks God.  Notice he never says he thanks Jesus.

The clincher is Colossians 3:17.  Paul says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  (NIV)

So, our prayers should always be to God the Father, through Jesus our mediator; which is why we end our prayers with, “In Jesus’ Name” (although I maintain we don’t need to say that in order for our prayers to God be through Jesus, since Jesus is our mediator and high priest who allows us to go directly to God the Father).