First off, I want to thank Faith for requesting that I tackle this question (in Faith’s words):
“On your blog you should explain the difference between Jesus and God… it always confuses me! Are we praying to Jesus or God?”
It’s a great question, and one that I hope to handle with deep respect for the profound mystery that it represents. I’d like to take Faith’s question and broaden it to a discussion on the Trinity.
First off, I want to give a disclaimer. The trinity can’t be explained. It’s far beyond our human mind’s ability to comprehend. But that’s good, because that fact testifies to how mind-blowing God is. I mean, who wants a God that can be explained? If I can explain God, that means I can understand everything about him. If I can understand everything about him, then that means we’re on the same level. And I don’t need or want a God who’s on my level! I need a God far above and beyond where I am! I can trust a God like that!
St. Augustine once said, “…anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing his salvation, and anyone who tries to understand it is in danger of losing his mind.” So true!
But there ARE things that we can grasp.
First off, we believe that our God is ONE God. Read Deuteronomy 6:4. (By contrast, Mormonism teaches that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are 3 gods, not one. Hinduism has over 300 million gods.)
Second, we believe that there are 3 persons that make up the trinity. “Trinity” is literally “tri-unity” and it tells us that there are 3 distinct persons who dwell perfectly together in one God.
The “Triune” God is:
God the Father: The Father points to the Son, Jesus. The Father is fully pleased with Jesus, who is the incarnation of God to mankind. Jesus came to earth to live, die, and be raised again so that all of humanity can be reconciled to God.
God the Son: Jesus came to earth to connect us with the Father. He also came to show us what a holy life in a human life looks like. Jesus is fully God and fully man (known as the “hypostatic union”), another concept beyond human capacity to understand. Jesus departed earth so that the Holy Spirit can come to us.
God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God alive within us. This is taught in Romans 8 and in other places in Scripture. The Holy Spirit has many roles; teacher, joygiver, convictor, guide, among many others.
I was reading in Genesis yesterday, when God created Adam. Check out Gen. 1:26:
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”
You see that in the same verse is both “singular” (God) and “plural” (our image, our likeness).
Some have tried to analogize the Trinity, explaining it through a shamrock, water, or even an egg. All of these are understandable human concepts trying to grasp a non-understandable spiritual/divine truth. The fact is, the Trinity isn’t “like” anything. And that is why we find it so hard to understand.
So, when we pray (to get more toward Faith’s original question), we pray to God. That’s it. And all three persons of the one God are participating in that conversation. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit helps us pray. The Bible teaches us that God the Son intercedes on our behalf. The Bible teaches us that God the Father hears and answers our prayers according to His “good, acceptable, and perfect will.”
Thanks for the question! It was a good one!
jerrythinks. 
I still have a question… so when Jesus came to earth he was praying to himself?
The best answer is no.Jesus spoke with His Father while on earth. He maintained intimate communication with God the Father. Its recorded that Jesus often got alone to pray and drew strength from those times. We also know that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Jesus knew the role of the Father, he knew his own role, and He knew the Spirit’s role. When Jesus prayed, He was speaking to the person of God the Father. Yet they are all one God.But let me reitirate that if this is confusing, that’s because it’s nearly impossible for our finite minds to comprehend.
Greetings urntjerryOn the subject of the Trinity,I recommend this video:The Human Jesus Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you to reconsider “The Trinity”Yours In MessiahAdam Pastor
Hey Everyone!I really love writing here at imdiggingdeep and I hope that you enjoy it! I always like to hear from people who have questions and answers and even some who have differing viewpoints than mine. I consider it a joy to be a lifelong learner. I want to always keep learning and being open to growing, that’s for sure!And so it is with the utmost due respect that I share my heart with you regarding the comment posted by “Adam Pastor”. He has posted a comment with a link on it that will take you to a place of teaching that, in my understanding of God’s Word, is unbiblical and is, to put it bluntly, theologically wrong. I am NOT a dismissive person. Anyone who knows me know that much about me. I have read his blog and have a good understanding of his stance. As a lover of the truth, I simply must disagree with him as strongly as I can. His understanding of Scripture is skewed, and he has posted a comment in an effort to teach me a theology that isn’t based on the Bible. I’m an extremely teachable person. But I have honestly found that the teaching he espouses is not in line with Scripture, even though he cites Scripture extensively. If verbosity were the gauge for truth, he might be onto something. But no matter how long his discourse, it still remains incorrect.I want to reitirate the due respect I have for anyone who comes and shares comments here, as long as they do so with respect, and he has. However, I cannot simply let his comment stand without giving you my own thoughts on it. I will gladly debate many things, but I will not waver on the fact that Jesus is not merely the Son of God, but IS a person of the Trinity.