When people ask, “Why did Jesus pray to God if He is God?” it is usually done because they are confused about why an all-knowing, all-powerful God would need to pray, or they want to undermine the deity of Christ.
To understand why Jesus prayed to God, you must know the following:
- What is a prayer in Christianity?
- The concept of Trinity in Christianity.
- All three persons, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the Godhead pray.
- The two natures of Jesus.
This short article explains all these concepts clearly, and after reading it, you will understand that it is nothing strange that Jesus prayed to God even though He is God.
Contents
What is a prayer in Christianity?
When you pray to God, you are in communion and communication with God. Simply put, you are “talking to God.” We confess our sins, express our faith, intercede for others, ask for help, engage in fellowship with God, and glorify, praise, worship, and thank Him.
As you can see, praying is not only worshiping or asking for something. Prayer is a way to draw near God and maintain a relationship with Him.
Jesus prays to the Father – the Trinity in Christianity
The question of why Jesus prayed to God, despite being God, is rooted in the Christian understanding of the Trinity.
The Trinity teaches that God exists as three distinct persons—Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit—who are of one essence and have infinite love toward one another.
Let’s explain the Trinity with a short analogous example from the Scripture:
- In Genesis 5:2, the Bible says that on the day God created Adam and Eve, He called them both Adam, which means man or humanity.
- Both Adam and Eve are “Adam,” yet they are two distinct persons. Also, after Adam and Eve had their first child, Cain, they were the total of humanity at that time. They were all called “Adam,” but they were three distinct persons.
So, to continue, Jesus and the Father in the Godhead are distinct persons. Jesus is not the Father. Jesus is praying to the Father. Yet, Jesus and the Father are one God.
So, when we have God, who is three infinitely loving persons, it is not surprising that they converse and communicate with each other. We should expect them to do so.
The Father prays, the Son prays, and the Holy Spirit prays
The Bible shows that all three persons in the Godhead pray.
From the below Scriptures, you notice that not only does Jesus pray to the Father, but
- the Father talks, i.e., prays, to the Son, Hebrews 1:8-12
- the Holy Spirit prays for us, Romans 8:26-27
- the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus John 16:13-14
- The Son glorifies the Father, and the Father glorifies the Son, John 13:31-32
- the Father honors the Son, John 8:54
In John 17:1-2, Jesus prays to God to glorify Himself so that He can then glorify the Father and give eternal life to His followers. The prayer is yet another proof that Jesus is God since only God can give eternal life.
Since praying means glorifying, honoring, praising, asking, invoking, and communicating, all three persons in the Godhead pray to each other. This is how they are, have always been, and continue to be eternally, in loving fellowship with one another.
If Jesus can’t be God because He is praying, then the Father can’t be God since He prays, and the Holy Spirit can’t be God because He also prays.
The two natures of Jesus
The above three sections should be enough to convince anyone that there is nothing surprising or strange that Jesus, as God, prays to the Father, who is also God.
Unpacking the idea of the hypostatic union can further solidify the argument that Jesus can pray to God even if He is God.
The concept of the hypostatic union in Christianity states that Jesus has two natures: a fully divine nature and a fully human nature.
Jesus’ humanity and divinity are not mixed but united without losing separate identities. Sometimes, Jesus operated within the limitations of His human nature, and other times in his divine power. Jesus got hungry, ate, and slept but also did miracles that only God could do.
We have already demonstrated that all three persons of the Godhead pray. God prays. However, we can add that, in the limitations of His human nature, Jesus relied on the Father and prayed to the Father. This doesn’t mean that He isn’t or has ceased to exist as God, just like His eating or sleeping doesn’t change the fact that He is God. Praying, eating, and sleeping are what humans do, and that’s what Jesus, in His 100% human nature, also did.
Jesus’ prayers reflect His genuine human experience and are a perfect example of how believers should relate to God. They also demonstrate the intimate relationship within the Trinity.