To whom do you address your prayers? I am taking a course on Grace, Christ and the Holy Spirit. I was asked to think of my image of Jesus Christ and my understanding of the origin of this image. The discussion with my classmates led to a discussion about who we address our prayers to daily.
I have always prayed to God. I have known God from a young age and felt a comfort with talking to him daily like I would talk to a friend, because he is my friend. I have seldom been able to address my prayers to Jesus Christ. I completely believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, the savior of the world, my personal redeemer and the only one who is both 100% human and 100% divine. I have no doubt that Jesus Christ will be there to greet me on the other side and that He is the one I need to emulate daily. However, I have never felt comfortable praying to Jesus. I am not sure why.
In the Catholic Church most prayers as a community are addressed to God and end with “In Jesus name we pray”. Maybe that is where it came from, but I am not sure.
So, to whom do you address your prayers and where did that originate? I would love to hear your story.
Which person of the Trinity that I address in prayer depends on what I am praying for/about/in need of/thankful for/ etc.
It wasn’t until I read THE SHACK did I realize that when I pray to one of the three persons in God, did all three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) hear my prayer simultaneously…I just never thought about it.
My formula when asked to pray for a group is: Address one person of the Trinity, name an attribute, name the present group and thank Person of God, then ask for need of group..(e.g.).Dear Holy Spirit, font of wisdom and knowledge, we thank you for gathering us together to ___(task)___, be with us as we __(task)___ and send us forth to spread the good news.”