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Post by elizabeth on Sept 23, 2016 3:22:47 GMT
I was surprised to hear that a friend of mine prays to the Holy Spirit. I didn't think this was really scriptural. Does anyone here want to venture their opinion on this? I'm fully prepared to be considered wrong on this, gotquestions says I am.  |
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Post by Benjamin on Sept 23, 2016 10:14:18 GMT
There is no Scriptural precedent for anything like this. That's not to say that your friend is an evil heretic who will burn in hellfire, of course, but it's not what we're called to do. We're told to pray "in the Spirit" in Ephesians 6:18, which means that our prayer should be in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the character and leading of the Spirit... we're told to pray in Jesus' name, which means praying through the power of all that Jesus accomplished on the cross - "in the name" really meaning "in the character of", again... and we're told to pray to the Father. That's the pattern. There's a good response to this question here: www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-i-pray-to-the-father-the-son-or-the-spirit...which basically says that while neither praying to the Son nor the Spirit is "wrong", it's not the pattern we're called to follow, and given that we should be mindful of praying with the character of Christ, we should follow His example and the pattern He set forth, which is praying to the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. |
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Post by Gr8tful on Sept 23, 2016 17:59:56 GMT
Elizabeth and I have talked about this before also, there are a few things we don't agree on, but that's what's so neat. We can disagree on some things but still have great fellowship and friendship. I do not think its being a heretic who will be burning in hellfire, on the contrary!  I believe that the Holy Spirit IS God, who remains in us. And I think one can pray to the Spirit of God w/o fear or worry of giving their soul to anyone but the Lord. (Again a smiley becuz the comments are not offensive. I think this is a good discussion!!) I pray to the Holy Spirit at times, for help in praying. I will say something like, "Holy Spirit, I ask that You would pray that which I know not to pray" type of prayer. I ask that He show me, teach me the way to pray when I don't know how to put into words how I am feeling. I also pray for guidance from Him. To me, that is the Spirit of Christ Himself, who lives in me and as the Word says, He is my counselor. And so I believe, He is right here with me, to not just intercede on my behalf and work on/in me, comfort me, etc. But to go to also. It's like, to know the Spirit, is to know Jesus, to know Jesus is to know the Father...to know the Father, is to know the Spirit, who is Jesus, who is the Father....and so on and so forth. Say that 3 times fast!!!! hahaha The really funny part is many years ago when I first became a Christian, the church I went to was extremely conservative. Didn't believe in the gifts, clapping, drums or other instruments beside the organ or piano, KJV ONLY, etc. It was the pastor at that church who told me about praying to the Holy Spirit. I was afraid to do it for yrs but realized it wasn't 'selling my soul', opening the door or anything like I had been afraid of. Anyway....that's my thoughts on this. Thanks Elizabeth for posting this. I think it's an interesting question and can't wait to see what others think. And whoever's wrong, it's okay, we're all still learning and growing. |
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Post by elizabeth on Sept 23, 2016 20:21:21 GMT
Thanks Ben for your answer on this, and the link to that site. That site looks like it is pretty good - I just posted another page from it in the article section. And Teri, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. |
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Post by shiloh on Oct 1, 2016 17:03:02 GMT
I have to agree with Gr8tful on this. There are times I have prayed for guidance to the Holy Spirit and also in cases that she mentioned like how to pray for something specific even though I know He prays through us when we don't have the right words. After all, The Triune God is one. All are in agreement. I know we are instructed to pray to the Father, but we have to really be careful with this b/c in an instant legalism can creep in.
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Post by Gr8tful on Oct 1, 2016 17:27:08 GMT
Thank you Shiloh! And good point about legalism creeping in. That is very true and it can be so subtle. I assume it's something we all need to be aware of and sensitive to, b/c it is so sneaky! Not saying anyone here is being legalistic; it's something I have to watch out for myself. I was legalistic for years so I know the bondage and don't want to 'go there' again if at all possible! I guess that's another topic tho, huh?! |
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Post by shiloh on Oct 1, 2016 17:45:51 GMT
I have fallen into that trap too, Gr8tful. I now catch myself (God does, actually) and I think, "Wait! Rethink that. That's legalistic of you."
Now, as I said, we're going to be burned at the stake.
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Post by Gr8tful on Oct 1, 2016 17:56:26 GMT
I don't think we'll be burned at the stake, they love us too much! hahaha |
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Post by shiloh on Oct 1, 2016 18:56:39 GMT
You'd better rethink that one slowly, Gr8tful. We'll be called "Blasphemers" "Heathens".......
You never know who's going to come at you. Walk the fine line when communicating.  |
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Post by shiloh on Oct 1, 2016 19:11:32 GMT
Is it biblical to pray directly to the Holy Spirit?
Many years ago, John R. Rice was preaching at a conference when he opened his address with this prayer: "Oh Father, breathe on me. Lord Jesus, help me to preach tonight. Holy Spirit, give me power." Immediately afterwards a young preacher chastised Dr. Rice saying "You made a serious mistake when you prayed. The proper procedure is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Spirit." Dr. Rice looked at him with a sheepish grin and replied, "Son, I've been in that family a long time. I know them all personally."
The problem with the young man's comments is that he betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Scritpure. Notice his statement: "Pray to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. While that is a nifty use of English prepositions, it doesn't really square with the Biblical evidence.
When we look at the biblical data, we must immediately admit we have no example or command in Scripture to pray to the Holy Spirit. Of course, there is no verse that says we cannot either. Yet we should understand that the default pattern of prayer for a New Testament believer is to address our prayers directly to the Father. Jesus even teaches us that we should pray this way (see Matt 6:9-13). But the New Testament does give many examples of believers praying directly to Jesus.
As Scripture allows us to pray to two members of the Trinity, many assume that it is therefore equally appropriate to pray directly to the Holy Spirit. Scripture never actually forbids prayer to the Holy Spirit, so calling it an "unbiblical" practice is essentially an argument from silence, which is not very convincing. Also, from a theological and Trinitarian point of view we must understand that the Spirit is fully God, and therefore worthy of our worship and prayer. Thus, forbidding this practice outright perhaps displays a distorted view of the Trinity. We probably even see allusions to this type of prayer in Isaiah 6:3 (cf Rev 4:8) where the angels sing "Holy, holy, holy". Most interpreters of Scripture see the three "holy's" as a reference to the Trinitarian nature of God. The prayers of believers are, ultimately, received by the Trinitarian God.
But if we take the biblical record seriously we must admit that the Spirit's divine power relating to prayer is most clearly displayed by aiding and empower our prayer life...even to the point of uttering prayers on our behalf (cf Romans 8:26). In similar fashion, Jesus' divine power is displayed by serving as the mediator between us and the Father. However, though Jesus takes us to God in prayer, we are still clearly allowed to pray to Jesus. Many apply the same argument to the Holy Spirit.
So, the greatest argument in favor of praying to the Spirit is appeal to the clear biblical witness that we can and should pray to Jesus. While not the most convincing evidence, it does suggest we go too far by openly declaring such a practice to be 'unbiblical'. We dare not forbid what God hasn't forbidden...though I would suggest caution on a spiritual practice on which Scripture is silent.
We should follow the pattern of prayer set by Jesus and the Apostles in Scripture. In general, our prayers should be directed to the Father in Jesus' name. Yet it is clearly appropriate and expected that we would also pray to our Lord Jesus. Perhaps the same is true of the Spirit.
www.joshgelatt.com/2012/04/is-it-biblical-to-pray-directly-to-holy.html |
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 1, 2016 19:17:10 GMT
Thanks for your input Shiloh and Gr8tful. Interesting discussion! |
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Post by Gr8tful on Oct 1, 2016 19:22:36 GMT
Oh that laughing emoticon is toooo cute!! I love those things! My dear, I'm not worried...just be good at tight rope walking and wearing flame retardant clothing!  |
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Post by Gr8tful on Oct 1, 2016 19:33:03 GMT
Good article Shiloh!! Thanks for posting it. It is funny that it was a young preacher who chastised him! You know the zeal in young Christians who mean well. This is a good discussion. |
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Post by shiloh on Oct 1, 2016 22:39:20 GMT
The main body is the same point that I tried to make above that post. Yes, good discussion.
That's some mighty fine and fancy tight rope walkin' ya got goin' on there, sister. I'm still trying to gingerly master this..
and then we have to tackle this.....
WOOPS. Obviously I'm too late. It was YOU who already crushed them. Right Gr8tful?
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 2, 2016 6:41:04 GMT
Oh Shiloh, please don't feel like you had to walk on egg shells - I don't take stuff that personally. Just ask Gr8tful, we fight (not really) over stuff all the time. We do think each other are bossy though. |
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I believe that the Holy Spirit IS God, who remains in us. And I think one can pray to the Spirit of God w/o fear or worry of giving their soul to anyone but the Lord. (Again a smiley 
