Often we Christians get mixed up in how we pray. Do we pray to the Father, to the Son, or to the Holy Spirit? We want to be biblically correct in all that we do, right? So, is it right to thank the Father for dying on the cross, when it was Jesus, the Son, who hung there for us? How do we explain that the Scripture has no explicit mention of anyone praying to the Holy Spirit? Of course, we can remove confusion by simply praying to “God,” but that seems inadequate given that Jesus taught us to begin our prayer with “Our Father …” (Matt. 6:9).

A few things may be helpful to consider. First, there is one and only one God. That is core to the monotheistic teaching of the Bible. Scripture clearly and unambiguously teaches that the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit are God equally. It would be a logical (and theological) contradiction to say there is One Person in three Persons; but there is no contradiction to say (as the great thinkers from the earliest days of Christians wrote), “There is one God in three Persons.” Therefore, to pray to any one Person of the Trinity is to pray to God.

A popular suggestion is to think of prayer in this way: we pray to the Father, through the Son, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. I agree that when we have needs, it is our Father who provides “our daily bread.” However, we also have the example of the first martyr, Stephen, who, as he was being stoned to death, prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Also, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit enables us in our praying (Romans 8:26-27), so it would seem appropriate to ask him for specific help in this.

What does having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ mean if it does not include talking to Jesus in prayer? We worship Him as well as the Father, do we not? Does this not inherently include speaking our thoughts of worship directly to Him? And is it not appropriate to talk to the Holy Spirit about what He is doing in our lives?

Here is an example (from John Stott, a well-known theologian and Christian thinker) of a “Trinitarian” approach to prayer, which directs our thoughts appropriately to the role each person of the Trinity plays:

Good morning heavenly Father,
good morning Lord Jesus,
good morning Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I worship You as the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Lord Jesus, I worship You, Savior and Lord of the world.
Holy Spirit, I worship You, sanctifier of the people of God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in Your presence
and please you more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow You.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day You will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God,
have mercy upon me. Amen.

… and AMEN!