²³ In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

Just before Jesus goes to the cross, He establishes a whole new paradigm for prayer. This is to take place “in that day.” Jesus is speaking of the day after He has risen and gone back to the Father, in which He sends the Holy Spirit. To the Hebrew mind, the capacity to have a personal relationship with God was not possible. He spoke to the people through the prophets or the priest.

Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV)

¹ “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,…”

Now, look back at what Jesus tells them, “whatever you ask of the Father;” “for the Father himself loves you.”

Jesus introduces to His disciples the possibility of a personal loving relationship with God the Father.

And He says all you have to do is come in My name.

Believers have struggled as just exactly who are we to pray to. In this passage, Jesus says, ASK THE FATHER. But, in John 14:13-14, He says, ASK ME.

John 14:13–14 (ESV)

¹³ “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

And, in Romans 10:13, we are to call upon the name of the Lord. In the context, it is Christ upon whom we call.

Romans 10:13 (ESV) “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In Acts, Stephen clearly prays to Jesus upon his death:

Acts 7:59–60 (ESV)

⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

In 1 Corinthians 1:9 we read:

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The word “fellowship” is the Greek word koinonia, which is also translated as the word “communion.” 

So, this verse says that we are to have an intimate fellowship with Jesus. That is fine. But, how can we have fellowship with someone with whom we never talk? 

Look what Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:16–17 (ESV)

¹⁶ “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. ..¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.”

And what about the Holy Spirit? Is it alright to pray to the Holy Spirit? Well, Paul speaks of having fellowship with the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Jesus tells the disciples,

John 14:16–17 (ESV)

¹⁶ “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

In some translations, the word for “helper” is translated as “comforter.” The idea of the Greek word is of someone who walks alongside of us, like a lawyer in the court. Does this not sound like someone that you have a relationship with?

Well, let me just share some of my own convictions.

It seems to me that we need to distinguish between petition and fellowship. We certainly can sense a connection and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. So in that light, it seems that we can pray to the Holy Spirit, who is also God. Nevertheless, we never see an instance in the Bible where anyone prays to the Holy Spirit. 

Why is that? The answer is that the Holy Spirit does not bear witness of Himself. He bears witness of the Son, as John 15:26 (ESV) says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

But still, it seems we can pray to the Spirit because we are also called into fellowship with the Spirit.

Tomorrow, we will draw some conclusion about the appropriateness of our prayer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.