- Jul 12, 2020
- 19
- 2
Why Christians Don't Pray to Jesus:
Since the Bible teaches very clearly that the first Christians prayed to Jesus as their God (Titus 3:4, John 20:28), why don't we as Christians pray to Jesus as our God today. Just listen to the prayers of the TV Preachers and you will see what I mean. Or better yet, just listen to the prayers of the preachers in your own church. That is to say, while a few are now praying to the Holy Spirit, the vast majority direct their prayers to Father God, in direct opposition to how Stephen and Paul prayed immediately after Jesus' death. And long before many supposed Bible scholars entered the Church and messed things up.
Listen to Stephen's prayer to Jesus in Acts 7, just 2 years after be became saved: "And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And he fell to his knees, shouting, 'Lord (Jesus), don't charge them with this sin!' And with that, he died."
Acts 9 records Jesus' words to Ananias as this: "Go over to Strait Street, to the house of Judas. When you arrive, ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying to me right now. …"
Then in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Paul says: "I asked the Lord Jesus three times to take it away from me. He answered me, 'I am all you need. I give you my loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.' I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
And again, this is what Paul said about our praying to Jesus in 1 Corinthians 1:2: "We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy as Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere-whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our God and theirs." And I ask you, how could they call upon the name of Jesus if they were not, in fact, praying to Jesus.
But today's Christians say, "Since Jesus himself prayed to Father God, he wants us to pray to him, too." But they are wrong! Father God is the God the people have set up in opposition to Jesus.
See, the mistake they are making is not understanding Jesus as God. See, God is a single person like us. (Romans 3:30) That is, Jesus was God long before he made the angels, man, or any other creature. This means that since there was no one else for God to talk to, God counseled with himself, or as we might say, he talked among himself. (Isaiah 40:14, Job 15:8, Ephesians 1: 11) How long this had been going on I don't know. Only the endless ages of the past can shed light on this.
So when Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46), he was not praying to another being, as many think. This was a continuation of the conversation Jesus as God has had with himself by his other name (the Father) from eternity. Jesus explains it like this in John 10: 30, "The Father and I are the same person!" We should understand this because we as people made in his image do this all the time. We say to ourselves "should I go or should I do this," and we answer "yes you should."
To put it in plain English then, God as Jesus asks himself as the Father, "Are you willing for me to do die for these people?" And God as the Father says to God as Jesus, "Yes, I am." And God as Jesus consents and goes to the cross in our place. But God as Jesus, walking on the earth as a man, says it out loud in the form of a prayer. Now just because our preachers don't understand this does not mean it is not true!
Thus the early saints prayed to Jesus in Acts 4:24-29: "O Sovereign Lord (Jesus). You created heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. … And now, O Lord (Jesus) hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done in your name (only)."
So as you can see, the idea of God's people praying to another God besides Jesus was an Abomination to the first Christians, and a horrible offense to God himself. And it should be an offense to us!
To this end, Jesus said this in Matthew 24:15-22 about his people praying to another God: "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the Abomination of Desolation (Another God besides Jesus.) standing in the Holy Place where it ought not to be-reader pay attention! Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. …For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless that time of tribulation is shortened, the entire human race will be lost. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones."
Now we must always keep in mind that the very reason God as Jesus came to the earth was to die on the cross to provide for our salvation. So this can be translated: "In fact, unless that time of tribulation is shortened, praying to this false God will put put the entire human race in danger of loosing it's salvation!"
In verse 29 Jesus says of this time of trouble: "It is as if the sun has been darkened, the light of the moon is put out, and the stars have fallen from the sky." But immediately afterward the light of Jesus will be seen again as he returns to earth from heaven.
Namely, prayers to Father God or any other God besides Jesus (Exodus 20:3) makes the light of Jesus and his Gospel message grow dim. That is to say, all Church people think about now is the new Gospel message of Father God which is: Plant a seed against your need. Or God wants me to be rich. Or I need a breakthrough. Or O Father, thank you for being so good to me. And they forget about Jesus' death on the cross to cleanse our sins, which makes it possible for us to go to heaven.
But God's people have always forgot about Jesus and his salvation. That is to say, we have always tried to put another God in Jesus' place, even in the days of the prophets. Ezekiel 8 says it like this: "Then the Lord said to me, 'Son of Man, look toward the north.' So I looked, and there to the north, besides the entrance to the gate near the altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord (Jesus) so angry. 'Son of Man' he said, 'do you see what they are doing. … He brought me to the north gate of the Lord's Temple, and some women were sitting there weeping for their God Tammuz."
See, people are praying to this other God not because Jesus told them to, but because they like him better. Listen to what some women said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 44:17 about their God: "We will not listen to your message from the Lord (Jesus)! We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like, just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat and we were well off and had no troubles. …"
The Queen of Heaven was a female God (or Goddess) of the Canaanites.
But I submit to you, no blessing in this life can be compared to us knowing Jesus and him taking us to heaven.
Here's the point. For the past 1700 years mainline Church goers have prayed to Father God as the only true God, because as they say, Jesus himself prayed to him. And too, because they think that he is more dear to them than Jesus is. But as I said above, they are wrong. Father God is a God in opposition to Jesus, and as such, an Abomination to Jesus. But still, the effects of their worship can be mesmerizing and their ministers can be spellbinding. Thus, those who attend their services usually find themselves trapped into a form of worship that is very hard to break because they think it meets their emotional needs better or it makes them feel good.
See we are so steeped in religiosity and other strong religious beliefs that we have inherited from those who came before us that we try to maintain it at all coast, even in the face of the plain teachings of the Scriptures. And most of us will keep this false belief system right up to the time of the end. But this, too, was predicted by the Holy Scriptures long ago (Habakkuh 1:5), so we should not be surprised that it is now taking place.
So always remember that Jesus as God loves us very much. He proved this when he came from heaven to earth and died in your place on the cross that Friday afternoon. And he also proves this by giving us life and breath, and rain in due season, and by giving us sunshine to keep us warm and fresh air to enjoy. And by letting us live in a glorious land so we can have a good life. And now he wants to have a personal relationship with us the way he did in the Garden of Eden before the fall, when we pulled away from him. This is the ultimate goal of his Gospel message!
As it says in Revelation 19:10: "...For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
Take Care and Stay safe.
Rev. Autrey
Since the Bible teaches very clearly that the first Christians prayed to Jesus as their God (Titus 3:4, John 20:28), why don't we as Christians pray to Jesus as our God today. Just listen to the prayers of the TV Preachers and you will see what I mean. Or better yet, just listen to the prayers of the preachers in your own church. That is to say, while a few are now praying to the Holy Spirit, the vast majority direct their prayers to Father God, in direct opposition to how Stephen and Paul prayed immediately after Jesus' death. And long before many supposed Bible scholars entered the Church and messed things up.
Listen to Stephen's prayer to Jesus in Acts 7, just 2 years after be became saved: "And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And he fell to his knees, shouting, 'Lord (Jesus), don't charge them with this sin!' And with that, he died."
Acts 9 records Jesus' words to Ananias as this: "Go over to Strait Street, to the house of Judas. When you arrive, ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying to me right now. …"
Then in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Paul says: "I asked the Lord Jesus three times to take it away from me. He answered me, 'I am all you need. I give you my loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.' I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
And again, this is what Paul said about our praying to Jesus in 1 Corinthians 1:2: "We are writing to the church of God in Corinth, you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy as Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere-whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our God and theirs." And I ask you, how could they call upon the name of Jesus if they were not, in fact, praying to Jesus.
But today's Christians say, "Since Jesus himself prayed to Father God, he wants us to pray to him, too." But they are wrong! Father God is the God the people have set up in opposition to Jesus.
See, the mistake they are making is not understanding Jesus as God. See, God is a single person like us. (Romans 3:30) That is, Jesus was God long before he made the angels, man, or any other creature. This means that since there was no one else for God to talk to, God counseled with himself, or as we might say, he talked among himself. (Isaiah 40:14, Job 15:8, Ephesians 1: 11) How long this had been going on I don't know. Only the endless ages of the past can shed light on this.
So when Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46), he was not praying to another being, as many think. This was a continuation of the conversation Jesus as God has had with himself by his other name (the Father) from eternity. Jesus explains it like this in John 10: 30, "The Father and I are the same person!" We should understand this because we as people made in his image do this all the time. We say to ourselves "should I go or should I do this," and we answer "yes you should."
To put it in plain English then, God as Jesus asks himself as the Father, "Are you willing for me to do die for these people?" And God as the Father says to God as Jesus, "Yes, I am." And God as Jesus consents and goes to the cross in our place. But God as Jesus, walking on the earth as a man, says it out loud in the form of a prayer. Now just because our preachers don't understand this does not mean it is not true!
Thus the early saints prayed to Jesus in Acts 4:24-29: "O Sovereign Lord (Jesus). You created heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. … And now, O Lord (Jesus) hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done in your name (only)."
So as you can see, the idea of God's people praying to another God besides Jesus was an Abomination to the first Christians, and a horrible offense to God himself. And it should be an offense to us!
To this end, Jesus said this in Matthew 24:15-22 about his people praying to another God: "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the Abomination of Desolation (Another God besides Jesus.) standing in the Holy Place where it ought not to be-reader pay attention! Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. …For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless that time of tribulation is shortened, the entire human race will be lost. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones."
Now we must always keep in mind that the very reason God as Jesus came to the earth was to die on the cross to provide for our salvation. So this can be translated: "In fact, unless that time of tribulation is shortened, praying to this false God will put put the entire human race in danger of loosing it's salvation!"
In verse 29 Jesus says of this time of trouble: "It is as if the sun has been darkened, the light of the moon is put out, and the stars have fallen from the sky." But immediately afterward the light of Jesus will be seen again as he returns to earth from heaven.
Namely, prayers to Father God or any other God besides Jesus (Exodus 20:3) makes the light of Jesus and his Gospel message grow dim. That is to say, all Church people think about now is the new Gospel message of Father God which is: Plant a seed against your need. Or God wants me to be rich. Or I need a breakthrough. Or O Father, thank you for being so good to me. And they forget about Jesus' death on the cross to cleanse our sins, which makes it possible for us to go to heaven.
But God's people have always forgot about Jesus and his salvation. That is to say, we have always tried to put another God in Jesus' place, even in the days of the prophets. Ezekiel 8 says it like this: "Then the Lord said to me, 'Son of Man, look toward the north.' So I looked, and there to the north, besides the entrance to the gate near the altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord (Jesus) so angry. 'Son of Man' he said, 'do you see what they are doing. … He brought me to the north gate of the Lord's Temple, and some women were sitting there weeping for their God Tammuz."
See, people are praying to this other God not because Jesus told them to, but because they like him better. Listen to what some women said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 44:17 about their God: "We will not listen to your message from the Lord (Jesus)! We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like, just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat and we were well off and had no troubles. …"
The Queen of Heaven was a female God (or Goddess) of the Canaanites.
But I submit to you, no blessing in this life can be compared to us knowing Jesus and him taking us to heaven.
Here's the point. For the past 1700 years mainline Church goers have prayed to Father God as the only true God, because as they say, Jesus himself prayed to him. And too, because they think that he is more dear to them than Jesus is. But as I said above, they are wrong. Father God is a God in opposition to Jesus, and as such, an Abomination to Jesus. But still, the effects of their worship can be mesmerizing and their ministers can be spellbinding. Thus, those who attend their services usually find themselves trapped into a form of worship that is very hard to break because they think it meets their emotional needs better or it makes them feel good.
See we are so steeped in religiosity and other strong religious beliefs that we have inherited from those who came before us that we try to maintain it at all coast, even in the face of the plain teachings of the Scriptures. And most of us will keep this false belief system right up to the time of the end. But this, too, was predicted by the Holy Scriptures long ago (Habakkuh 1:5), so we should not be surprised that it is now taking place.
So always remember that Jesus as God loves us very much. He proved this when he came from heaven to earth and died in your place on the cross that Friday afternoon. And he also proves this by giving us life and breath, and rain in due season, and by giving us sunshine to keep us warm and fresh air to enjoy. And by letting us live in a glorious land so we can have a good life. And now he wants to have a personal relationship with us the way he did in the Garden of Eden before the fall, when we pulled away from him. This is the ultimate goal of his Gospel message!
As it says in Revelation 19:10: "...For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
Take Care and Stay safe.
Rev. Autrey
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