When one of the disciples of Jesus asked Jesus to teach them to pray, the greek word in the text (Luke 11:1) is "proseuchomai" (Strong's 4336) meaning "to pray to God, i.e. supplicate..." Jesus then gave an example prayer starting with "Our Father in heaven".
Since the disciples had such a close relationship with Jesus, a natural question is "to whom should we pray?" (i.e. supplicate or ask). There does not seem to be any confusion about this in the NT. With one exception, prayer is typically addressed to God without any attempt made to single out a specific member of the God-head (Father, Son, Spirit). When a member of the God-head is singled out it is the Father (Col 1:3).
An exception is when Stephen was being stoned and Stephen saw the heavens opened and Jesus standing on the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). Stephen then said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:59-60). In this case Stephen was speaking to the one he saw in the vision (Jesus). This is much like the case of Ananias who addressed Jesus directly (after the death of Jesus) while seeing Jesus in a vision (Acts 9:10-15). When seeing someone face to face this is normal, and while Jesus was on earth his disciples asked him many things (John 14:14). These are exceptions based on exceptional circumstances of seeing Jesus in a vision and speaking with him.
This is different from what Jesus taught about prayer.
Jesus always pointed men to the Father:
He consistently acknowledged that he was the pathway for men to come to God the Father:
While Jesus was on earth, the disciples asked him many things. However, when Jesus was received into heaven he had left them instructions recorded in John 16. The context is the statement of Jesus about his coming death where he said (John 16:16) "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." In a short time Jesus would be crucified and buried (you will not see me), but he would be raised (you will see me) and then he would ascend to the Father.
When the disciples questioned Jesus about this cryptic saying, Jesus only responded with an acknowledgement of their sorrow (v22), but that he would see them again and they would rejoice (i.e. after the resurrection and ascension).
In that context, Jesus said (John 16:23) "In that day you will ask Me nothing" and then he immediately put this in context by saying "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." He consistently pointed men to pray to God the Father.
The catholic concept of prayer to Mary is that she will then carry petitions to the Father (Hail Mary ... pray for us...). The words of Jesus dealt with this concept when he told his disciples (John 16:24) "ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;..." -- in other words, you pray directly to the Father and I will not pray to the Father for you."
Multiple times in this context Jesus focused on the same theme -- "ask the Father in my name".
Ignatius (writing in the first century) used this same pattern in his epistle to the Ephesians (chapter 5) saying "how much more will the prayer of the bishop and of the whole Church, ascending up in harmony to God, prevail for the granting of all their petitions in Christ"
Multiple times in the NT, prayer is addressed to "the Lord":
| Mt 9:38; Lu 10:2 | "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers..." | Father |
| Acts 1:24 | "they prayed and said, 'You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen" | (not specified) |
| Acts 8:24 | Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me...." | (not specified) |
Since the term "Lord" can be applied to the God-head in general (see section below "Who is Lord?"), there is no indication here that Jesus is being exclusively addressed (Acts 1:24; 8:24). In the other two passages, the "Lord of harvest" is God the Father, since it is Jesus who is urging the disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest (i.e. someone other than himself).
The greek word "kurios" is translated "Lord" in the New Testament. Its meaning (from Strong's 2962) is "supreme in authority and by implication, Master..."
In the NT, the word Lord is applied equally to God the Father and God the son.
| God the Father | Lu 1:32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. |
| God the Son | Ac 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." |
The statement made by Peter (Ac 2:36) saying that Jesus is declared Lord and Christ is consistent with the description often repeated in the NT of "the Lord Jesus Christ" (Ac 11:17; 15:11; 15:26; 16:31; 20:21...). This description is varied in some places as "Christ Jesus our Lord". It acknowledges that Jesus is both Christ (greek equivalent of Hebrew Messiah) and Lord (has supreme authority).
If the question is raised "who is our Lord?" -- the answer is the same as "who is our God?". We have "one Lord" and "one God". Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we have (Eph 4:5) "one Lord, one faith, one baptism {6} one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all"
Since Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth (Mt 28:18), he is Lord (supreme) over all. However, God the Father is also Lord (supreme) over all for it was he who gave this authority to the Christ (Eph 1:22).
The passage commonly given to support this assertion is John 14:14. In some translations (e.g. the NIV) based on older manuscripts, the text reads (NIV) "John 14:14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." In other translations (e.g. KJV, NKJV) the "me" is omitted.
The disciples asked Jesus many things while he was on earth as is normal in interpersonal relationships. However, there is no indication in the text of John that this was a blueprint for prayers after Jesus ascended to the Father. Jesus stated just the opposite, saying in John 16:23 "In that day you will ask me nothing."
When Paul prayed that the "thorn in the flesh" be removed, some argue that Paul made this prayer to Jesus (2 Cor. 12:8 "I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me").
The term "Lord" is used for the god-head in general or can be used specifically for Jesus or the Father (see discussion above under "Who Is Lord?"). The argument is that this reference to the Lord must be Jesus, since after the promise "my strength is made perfect in weakness", Paul responds with the statement that "I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me".
The statement of Paul about the power of Christ resting upon him does not conclusively prove that he prayed to Jesus, but this is conjecture. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Christ is the "power of God" (1 Cor 1:24) and then said that when they were gathered together that they were gathered "with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 5:4). Peter wrote that the apostles had made known to believers the power of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pe 1:16), and John in the Revelation (Rev 12:10) wrote about the "power of His Christ have come".
To desire that the power of Christ rest on us, is to desire to have a right relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ. The power of Christ was exhibited in the resurrection (Act 4:33) and we have received the promise of walking in newness of life by that same power (Rom 6:4) - "... that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
1 Thess 3:10-11 contains the desire of Paul -- "Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you." Some argue that this amounts to a prayer to both the Father and Jesus. The phraseology of "May our God..." expresses a desire, not a prayer. If a person says to another "May God bless you", it is an expression of desire that God would bless the other. A desire that Jesus will act is a desire that God will act, for it is God who sent (John 8:16) and God who works (John 14:10), and it is not reasonable to separate them - they act together.
Even if this is considered as an expression of a prayer that Paul prayed, that Jesus would "direct our way", it is not necessarily a prayer to Jesus exclusively and separately from the Father.
Some argue that the "Lord" of Ephesians 5:19 (speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ...) is Jesus, and that singing to Jesus amount to praying to him. However, there is nothing in this passage to require "Lord" being applied to Jesus exclusively instead of to God in general. In fact, the phrase that follows repeats the usual pattern (Eph 5:20) "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". This is the same pattern Jesus gave in John 16:
The NT teaching and pattern is that Christians are to pray to the Father in the name (by the Authority) of Jesus.