I thank you for your website! “Ask-A-Bible-Teacher” is my homepage and I have learned much as of late. I do have one quick question:
All my life, I was taught to pray both God the Father and Jesus. I recently heard a Bible teacher on the radio (of whom I have great respect and admiration), say that are not to pray to Jesus. He said that when we pray, we pray to God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. I do agree w/ that. But is it wrong to pray to Jesus?
Verses on prayer seem to indicate a Heavenly preference for asking the Father in the name of the Son, as in John 16:23. “I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. “
However, I don’t interpret that to mean it’s wrong to pray to Jesus. For me it depends on how formal I’m being. In ongoing day-to-day conversations I usually address my prayers to “Lord” but I always begin formal public prayers with “Father.”