Muslims ask why does Jesus pray to God?

This is a question asked time and time again by Muslims and non Christians as to how Jesus if being God can pray to a higher being so I have decided to do a quick page on this.

The answer can be found in understanding the Triune nature of God and the incarnation of Jesus.

The Trinity is how we understand the three personalities of God, it is not a made up doctrine by the Church but it is how the early Church fathers understood how God reveals himself and so the word trinity was used to describe this nature.

That there is only one God in all existence. This one God exists as three personalities The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are not three Gods, but one God. Each is a separate personality of God, yet each of them is, in essence, divine in nature.

We can define several analogies of the trinity using Science, Time, Nature but they will all fail in the end to really explain God because as humans we only have one World view and anything that is not Worldly we have problem with understanding.

John 8:23-24

We do not have the wisdom to understand the things of above or things of God and that is the reality unless God gives these things to us in the spirit..

Luke 10:21

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

1 Cor 2:14

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Miraculous Birth

The doctrine of the incarnation in Christian teaching is that Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, added to himself human nature and became a man (John 1:1,14) through a miraculous birth.  This is how God intended to redeem us from sin forever for we as sinful humans could not fulfill God's law and holiness.

Let's see what the Bible teaches us on this ...

The Bible says that Jesus is God in flesh, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.....and the word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1,14); and, Jesus, therefore, has two natures. He is both God and perfect human with all the human traits but no sinful nature.

Jesus is completely human, but He also has a divine nature.

As a man, Jesus needed to pray. When He was praying he was not praying to Himself, but to God the Father.

How come Jesus being God did not know his second coming?

The scripture tells us...

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 

People worshipped him and he did not tell them don't pray to me I am not God but he understood the peoples hearts and had compassion and love for them.

He is worshiped (Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9)
He is prayed to (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 1:1-2)

Here again in the Bible it clarifies in 

Phil. 2:5-8, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Col. 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,"

This was salvation of God that people were expecting!

Luke 2:25-33 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

33 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. 

John 21:17-19

17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

Gal. 3:8-9 speaks of this: "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you." 9So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer"

"And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16).

1 cor 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 

The next verse shows that Jesus existed before creation and God loved him

".... because you loved me before the creation of the world.." (John 17:24)

"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the though of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad".. "You are not yet 50 years old" the Jews said to Him, "and you have seen Abraham?".. "I tell you the truth." Jesus answered "before Abraham was born I am" (John 8: 56-58)

"In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God" (John 1:1)

Messiah Jesus is the Word of God" manifest in human form to make atonement for the sins of the world and reconcile us to the One true God who really exists.

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