I had a thought at work last night.

[rogsr]

If you ask 100 faithful Christians to explain the trinity, you will get at least fifty different answers. If you ask 100 faithful Christians if Jesus Christ is God the Father, you will always get at least two answers. And so on and so on. I don't think God wants us to know anything, I think He wants us to believe without really knowing. Either that or we have complicated something simple. Probably a bit of both. I am personally in a rut, and it's strange to be here because I really shouldn't be. I don't know who to pray anymore. Am I supposed to pray to Jesus or to the Father? I have always prayed to Jesus, but I have heard soooo many different people say different things that it has led me into confusion. What does it mean when someone ends a prayer by saying "in Christs name." Are they praying to the Father or the Son? I asked someone this one time and they told me that it was invoking His Name. Why do I have to invoke His Name if He is already in my heart? Maybe I'm just stupid or something, but this is really aggravating. Don't even tell me to pray about it because I do that everyday and will be some more in about 10 mins., and that aggravates me too because I spend the whole time trying to figure out who I'm praying too! Insight would help..thank you.

[Polycarp1]

The implications of the orthodox formulations of Trinitarian and Christological dogmas have real practical applications -- for example, Jesus was, not a plaster saint on a pedestal, but a real human being who went through the same emotions that many of His followers go through. And because He Himself was God the Son, that means that God Himself knows what it is like to doubt, to hurt, to see man's inhumanity to man and be angered by it as a man. "He became as we are, in order that we might become as He is." The formulations get extremely intellectual and abstract in their language -- but they are always pointing to the reality of human experience, in avoiding the errors implicit in the heresies. Another orthodox fundamentalist member of CF got very upset with me, on another board, for pointing out that "Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet did not sin" means that He felt these particular temptations that her church was dead set on condemning as sins. But it's orthodox doctrine. And it matters greatly that He "has been there" long before we ever have to confront some particular problem -- He knows how we feel; He's felt it Himself; and He can therefore be compassionate and just at the same time.

Regarding directing one's prayers to God/Jesus/the Father, I happened to respond to a thread in the Non-Denom. Forum just yesterday on this topic:

You can pray to "God" meaning the whole Trinity, or to any one Person of the Trinity. Most people, I've seen, tend to address their prayers to God the Father, "through Jesus Christ our Lord" (both intentionally and as a phrase said just before the close of the prayer).

Prayers addressed to Jesus, I've seen, tend to be much more "heart prayers" than those addressed to the Father, which tend to be "head prayers" (if you see the distinction I'm making).

Since we Anglicans tend to use formal, written prayers a lot (though of course we pray extempore as well), I did a survey of our Prayer Book once to find out to Whom prayers were addressed.

There were several hundred prayers in the book. The overwhelming majority were to "God" meaning the Father, as witnessed by "through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord" or similar wording at the end.

Ten were to "God" with no specification of person.
About 20 were to Jesus, and they were very much the "heart prayer" style of devotion.
A couple were to the Holy Trinity explicitly identified as such.
None of the written prayers were directly to the Holy Spirit.

And there was one beautiful, long prayer, for the dedication of a new church, which was said in parts. First the Bishop addressed prayer to God the Father, then the Rector (Pastor) continued the same prayer but addressed to Jesus Christ, then the Senior Warden (Lay Leader) directed another piece of the same prayer at the Holy Spirit, and finally the Bishop concluded the prayer addressing the Holy Trinity together. (And the congregation of course echoed Amen! to it.)

[rogsr]

Thank you very much. Yesterday when I finished writing my original post I began to pray like I ussually do before I go to sleep. It kind of hit me all of a sudden that I pray to God the Father ussually to thank Him for things and for Jesus, and I pray through out my day to Jesus and we just kind of talk..I geuss you could say :) I really feel like I am back on track again. Reading your post and seeing that you are saying the same things that I am thinking makes me feel even more confident. Thanks again.

[Colabomb]

Thank you very much. Yesterday when I finished writing my original post I began to pray like I ussually do before I go to sleep. It kind of hit me all of a sudden that I pray to God the Father ussually to thank Him for things and for Jesus, and I pray through out my day to Jesus and we just kind of talk..I geuss you could say :) I really feel like I am back on track again. Reading your post and seeing that you are saying the same things that I am thinking makes me feel even more confident. Thanks again.
Also, remember that He is One God.