Christ Is God IV: God The Father Prays To The Son

    Before we get into the topic of this article I want to go over a 'Biblical Definition' of the word, Pray/Prayer/Praying. When we hear the word, prayer, we normally think of when someone is in deep thought and meditation to God, thinking about His promises and Word; praising God and glorifying Him and asking Him for His mercies and protection and strength; prayers for the sick to be healed. We see instances where prayer like this is found in places like: 1Kings 8:35-40; 1Kings 17:20-22; 1Kings 18:36-39; Acts 12:5. 

    Now this is not necessarily the entire definition of the word prayer. Prayer also means communion, fellowship, and to simply talk with. Yet it seems Jehovah witnesses do not know the second set of meanings for prayer, they willingly choose to accept the first half of the meanings and in extent they choose to be ignorant. They will use the first half of the meaning to argue with Trinitarians saying: 'If Jesus is God why did He pray to the Father? Who was He praying to if He is God?'  

    If you then look at when Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days after He was baptized(Luke 4:1-13), not only battling satan who dared to tempt Him, but prayed(talked with; had fellowship; and went into communion with the Father) to His Father. So why would that contradict His deity as God, if He was on earth talking to the Father who is Heaven? 

    Now let us get into the meat of the matter in the Holy Scriptures now that we have went over the 'Biblical Definition' of Prayer.

• Mark 1:11 

    11  And a voice came out of the heavens: “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.”

    The Father spoke down out of the Heavens at Christ's baptism and praised Him saying 'You are my Son my beloved'. Is praising not a partial meaning of prayer? 

• John 8:54 Part I

    54  Jesus answered: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, the one who you say is your God.

    Here Christ is talking to the Jews and says that He cannot glorify Himself because It would be nothing, But His Father glorifies Him. Similar to when you accomplish something and you congratulate yourself, it means nothing, but when someone else congratulates you then it has meaning to you. Is not glorifying praying? Then notice how Christ words the ending of verse 54, 'the one who you say is YOUR GOD' Why did Christ not say 'our God'? Why did He single out God the Father as the God of the Jews? Let us look at the previous verse then the verses after verse 54 because this encounter with Christ and the Jews proves Christ is God.

• John 8:53 Part II

    53  You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are you? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?”

    As you read, the Jews are questioning what Christ is, what his role is. Now go back up and read verse 54 again then read this next point.

• John 8: 56-89 Part III

    56  Abraham your father rejoiced greatly at the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57  Then the Jews said to him: “You are not yet 50 years old, and still you have seen Abraham?” 58  Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.” 59  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid and went out of the temple.

    Christ tells the Jews that were present there who had just questioned who He was back in verse 53, that Abraham had seen His day. The Jew's response shows us that they took what Christ said literally saying that Christ claimed to see Abraham but Christ did not appear old at all. Then Christ tells them that before Abraham was born, that 'I am'. Christ called Himself God who the Father glorifies(prays to) and with this the Jews picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy. Click this link to see my explanation of John 8:56-59 on how the Jehovah witnesses try to hide it's meaning: https://answeringarianism.blogspot.com/2024/08/blog-post_07.html#:~:text=John%208%3A56,on%20Mount%20Sinai

• John 13:31-32 

    31  When, therefore, he had gone out, Jesus said: “Now the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in connection with him. 32  God himself will glorify him, and he will glorify him immediately.

    Christ here, says that when the Son of Man is glorified, Himself, God the Father is also glorified because He is in connection to the Son of Man. So when they glorified Christ who was before them, their glorification also went to God the Father. How is that So if they are not of the same deity? Then Christ says that God the Father will glorify the Son of Man and then Christ says in a way that sounds demanding, that God will glorify Him immediately. Again, glorification is prayer, and so when praying is done to Christ it also goes to God the Father. Then Christ says the Father will pray(glorify) to Him and will do it immediately. 

• John 17:1-5

    Jesus spoke these things, and raising his eyes to heaven, he said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son so that your son may glorify you, 2  just as you have given him authority over all flesh, so that he may give everlasting life to all those whom you have given to him. 3  This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4  I have glorified you on the earth, having finished the work you have given me to do. 5  So now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory that I had alongside you before the world was.

    Christ here prays (talks to) the Father saying that He needs to glorify Him so that He may glorify the Father. Notice how Christ says that to have everlasting life means people know God the Father and the one who the Father sent which is Christ. So to have everlasting life not only means you know the Father who is God, but also (according to Jehovah witnesses) someone else who is not God? Then Christ confirms His deity by saying in verse 5 that the Father is to glorify Him with the same glory that He had alongside the Father before the world existed. Christ was along side God the Father before creation, meaning He is not a created being. Who is not created that is not God?

    Now comes the passage that is very damning for Jehovah witnesses' beliefs.

• Hebrews 1:8-12 

    8  But about the Son, he says: “God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. 9  You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your companions.” 10  And: “At the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. 11  They will perish, but you will remain; and just like a garment, they will all wear out, 12  and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as a garment, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never come to an end.”

    Here God the Father is praising the Son for CREATING THE HEAVENS AND EARTH and praising Him for how Just and righteous Christ is. If I say the same thing about God the Father, it would be called a prayer, so this in turn is a prayer from the Father to the Son.

"The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn His face toward you 

and give you peace." ☦