Prayer to God: Father and/or Son?
If Jesus isn't God than prayers and prayers for the forgiveness of sins should be directed to only the Father, Jehovah God. If Jesus is God than prayers to both father and Son would be reasonable. When I attended a Catholic church, I noticed that they prayed to both the father and the son. When I attended a nondenominational church, I notice they prayed only to Jesus. I think I can confidently assume that if you go to any non-trinitarian church they would only prayer to the Father or Jehovah.
When reading one of the Jehovah’s Witness journal, I read at
Romans 10:13 in the Jehovah’s Witness Bible
- “For everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”
Understanding that the JWs can be biased, I looked at their
Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. and it reads this way,
- “everyone for who likely might call upon the name of Lord will be saved.
We know Jesus has been called Lord in the bible (Rev 19:16, John 20: 28) so I asked myself, "Which is it, Lord Jehovah or Lord Jesus?
Consider these verses of Acts 4:10,12 and 22:16:
- “Let it be known to all of YOU and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Naz·a·rene´, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead… there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.’ ‘…Rise, get baptized and wash your sins away by your calling upon his name.’”
Notice, "...in the name of Jesus Christ...no salvation in anyone else...not another name...by which we must get saved. In the WTS
Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. at John 14:14 it says,
- “If ever anything you should ask me in the name of me this I shall do.”
I quoted the literal English text under the
Kingdom Interlinear’s Greek text because the translators of the Watchtower Bible removed the first “me” in “ask me” from their
New World Translation. In removing the first “me,” we see not only clear dishonesty in the
New World Translation of Jehovah’s Witnesses but we can also notice that Jesus not only proclaims that we are to “ask” Him for an answer to our petition, but He is the one who responds to our prayers: “…Notice that Jesus says "
This I shall do.” He does not say: “…this Jehovah shall do” or “…this the Father shall do.”
This shows that Jesus answers prayers. It also shows that Jesus encourages His disciples to address their prayers directly to Him. In the scriptures, Steven must have known this when he prayed to Jesus. At Acts 7: 59-60, after seeing a vision of Jesus, when he is about to die, Steven prays to Jesus,
- Stephen, calling upon [the Lord], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Not only did Steven prayed to Jesus but Paul also prayed to Jesus. At 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 I read,
- "Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. But his answer was: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me.
Here Paul prayed to the “Lord” Jesus three times and Jesus answered his prayer by saying: “My power is greatest when you are weak.” Paul concluded by saying, “ I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of
Christ's power over me.” So, here again, we see an example of a Christian in the Bible praying to the Lord Jesus with Jesus responding to the prayer with His “underserved kindness” and “power.”
At John 10:27-30, Jesus promised:
- “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them everlasting life, and they will by no means ever be destroyed, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is something greater than all other things, and no one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father. I and the Father are one.”
Analyzing Romans 10:13 in the Jehovah’s Witness Bible and Acts 4:10,12 and 22:16:
- “For everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”
- “Let it be known to all of YOU and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Naz·a·rene´…by this one does this man stand here sound in front of YOU. …Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.’ ‘…Rise, get baptized and wash your sins away by your calling upon his name.’”
A question comes up. If we are to “call upon” Jehovah’s name in prayer for salvation, why do these verses say that we must call upon Jesus’ name and “
not another name” for salvation? If Jehovah’s name must be invoked in prayer for salvation, why would Acts 4:12 say that there is “
not another name” but the name of Jesus
“by which we must get saved”? It is clear from these passages that the “calling upon” of Jesus name is a prerequisite for salvation and the washing away of our sins. Jesus said at John 6:45:
- “Everyone that has heard from the Father and has learned comes to me.”
If you have learned from Jehovah, you are commanded to “come to” Jesus. Have you come to Jesus by asking Him to wash away your sins and to give you eternal life? At John 10:27-30, Jesus promised:
- “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them everlasting life, and they will by no means ever be destroyed, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is something greater than all other things, and no one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father. I and the Father are one.”
How can you “listen to” Jesus voice if you don’t communicate with Him in prayer? How can you receive “everlasting life” if you don’t ask Jesus to give it to you? Jesus said at
John 14:6:
- “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
How can you go “through” Jesus to get to the Father if you do not deal directly with Jesus by first going to Him in prayer for salvation?
- “…with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours… God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” —1 Corinthians 1:2, 9 3.
How can you have a “fellowship” with Jesus if you never pray to Him? One must pray to Jesus and the Father according to the scriptures. And why do Jehovah's Witnesses go door to door only preaching about Jehovah and not Jesus?