JESUS DOES NOT ANSWER PRAYERS!
The Bible is absolutely consistent; all prayers and requests should be directed to our Father in heaven. He is the only One we should directly address, the only one who answers prayers.
1. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus repeatedly commanded His followers to pray only to the Father. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, PRAY TO YOUR FATHER who is in the secret place; and YOUR FATHER who sees in secret will reward you openly. … For YOUR FATHER knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: OUR FATHER in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. …” (Matt. 6:6-9 NKJ). Just a few verses later Jesus said not to worry about food, drink, or clothing, because “your heavenly FATHER has observed that you need all these things” (Matt. 6:32). Again, in the same sermon Jesus commanded, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone asking, receives, and the one seeking, finds, and [for] the one knocking, it will be opened. Or what man is from among you whom his son will ask bread of him? He will not give to him a stone! Or, he will also request a fish. He will not give him a snake! If you, then, being wicked have observed [how] to give good gifts to your children, how much more YOUR FATHER in the heavens will give good things to those ASKING HIM?” (Matt. 7:7-11 LGV).
2. Just before His crucifixion, Jesus told His followers that they would sorrow (because of His crucifixion), but their sorrow would quickly be turned into joy (after His resurrection & the promised Spirit): “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And in that day YOU WILL ASK ME NOTHING. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ASK THE FATHER in My name HE WILL GIVE YOU. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. … In that day YOU WILL ASK IN MY NAME, and I do not say to you that I shall PRAY THE FATHER for you; for THE FATHER HIMSELF loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” (John 16:22-24, 26-27 NKJ)
3. Jesus set the precedent in His own prayers, addressing the “FATHER,” which was the NAME that He declared to His disciples (John 17:1,5-6).
4. James stated plainly that, “EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down FROM THE FATHER of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17 NKJ). Consequently, no good gifts come from the Son in response to prayers to Him, zero, nada.
5. John says this: “For if our heart condemns us, GOD is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward GOD. And whatever we ask we receive FROM HIM, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is HIS commandment: that we should believe on the name of HIS SON Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (1 John 3:20-23 NKJ). It is clear that “GOD” in these verses is exclusively the Father, since Jesus is “His Son.”
6. There are zero examples in Scripture of people “praying” to Jesus (or the Spirit). Jesus was only ever addressed directly when He was present bodily, or after His ascension when He appeared personally to someone and/or spoke directly to them. Since Jesus Himself said that after His resurrection, “you will ask me nothing,” and that requests must be directed to the Father in Jesus’ name (that is, by Jesus’ authority granted to Christians), this is the only pattern that we as Christians must follow if we expect to “receive” when we ask. Of course there are other conditions to receiving from the Father, such as keeping God’s commandments (1 John 3:20-23), and asking for things that are consistent with God’s will for us as revealed in Scripture (James 4:3), and are consistent with advancing His Kingdom (Matt. 6:33).
7. The confusion among Christians regarding proper prayer protocol is due almost entirely to bad Trinitarian assumptions which are not biblical, and/or taking Scripture out of context. The best example of this is when Jesus was still present with His disciples and told them, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (Jn. 14:13-14 NKJ). Yet John 16:22-27 indicated this this was about to change and was their last opportunity for Jesus Himself to do what they asked. When we treat the Bible like a collection of verses from which we can pick and choose and apply without regard for context, we are abusing Scripture. While God may indeed overlook ignorance, He does not overlook “willful ignorance.”
8 thoughts on “JESUS DOES NOT ANSWER PRAYERS!”
Tim,
A few scriptures that agree with praying to the Father:
Matt. 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Luke 23:34 [a]Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
Luke 11:2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our[a] Father [b]in heaven,
John 17:17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You
A few scriptures where they prayed to Jesus:
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
1 Cor:2-3 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are [a]sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us:
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession [a]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
My finite mind cannot understand the infinite mind of God (Father, Jesus & Holy Spirit). The Father has rank over Jesus from scripture:
Matt. 24: 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of [a]heaven, but My Father only.
Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
John 12:49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
I would like to know your thoughts on the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit.
Thanks
Jerry,
“Prayer” is to be directed to the Father alone. Steven was not “praying” when he was being stoned. Jesus appeared to him; Steven saw Jesus and addressed Him directly, “Receive my breath.” Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road and spoke directly to him, and Paul responded, “Who are You, Lord?” These are not “prayers,” but personal interactions where Jesus made Himself apparent and/or was heard audibly from heaven. So unless heaven is opened and we see Jesus, or Jesus addresses us in His own voice from heaven, we must follow what Jesus Himself told us to do when we “pray.” Prayers can be done anytime, in any place, as we “come before the Throne of Grace” (Heb. 4:16) to address the one seated on the Throne who holds both the authority and power to grant our petitions.
Regarding our views on God, Jesus, and the Spirit, these are explained in great detail in the series of articles and videos on this site at the following link: https://www.4windsfellowships.net/blog/pristine-apostolic-monotheism/
Here is a short summary:
1. The Father alone is eternal, without beginning, unbegotten, and He alone is the source of everything that exists. No human has ever seen God the Father.
2. The Son was “begotten” out of God (not created) as “the Beginning of the creation of God,” the “first-produced of all creation.”
3. The Son was God’s Agent through whom He created all things, and through whom He communicated with mankind. All appearances of “God” in the OT were the Son.
4. The divine Son “emptied Himself” of His divine nature to become flesh, being completely transformed into the likeness of man.
5. Like us, Jesus was then powerless to perform any miracles. The Father dwelled in Him by His Spirit, performing the works as Jesus spoke the words the Father told Him to speak.
6. When He was crucified, Jesus was completely dead, without consciousness. The Father raised Him to life again.
7. The “Spirit” is the limited manifestation of the Father which carries both His presence and His power into a particular place for a particular purpose. Jesus described the Spirit dwelling in Him as “the finger of God.” It is not a third person.
Absolutely agree with everyone you’ve said. Would you also agree, I think you would, that sincere prayers to the Son, MAY be honored by the Father due to the sincerity of the one praying despite incorrect doctrine.
Yes, indeed. God has a high tolerance for our ignorance. But relying on that rather than following Scripture when one knows the truth is something I would not bet on.
Hi Tim,
I am a long time reader of your blog posts and articles. I absolutely love your book, The Time of the End, and it is extremely likely that your timeline will actually play out after all. I have also studied the entire LGV (Mark through Revelation) and am well familiar with your doctrinal positions, although I am not 100% in agreement with everything. The topic of “not praying to Jesus” is one such example.
I am very curious to know how you will address the following points:
(1) In John 14:13–14, Jesus says, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do… If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” Here, it appears that Jesus explicitly invites direct requests and affirms His own divine power to answer them. Jesus doesn’t just say He will pass the request along—He says “I will do it.” Answering prayer is an act of divine power.
(2) Regarding his “thorn in the flesh,” Paul writes: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you…'” In the NT, “the Lord” (Kurios) frequently refers directly to Jesus.
(3) In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul addresses the church as “all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Old Testament Hebrew (calling on the name of YHWH), this phrase means prayer and worship.
(4) In Revelation 22:20 the New Testament literally ends with a direct prayer to Jesus: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
I am not comfortable with John 16:23 (“in that day you will ask Me nothing”) being a blanket ban on praying to Jesus. In John 16, the word used for “ask” in “ask me nothing” is erōtaō (to ask questions/interrogate), referring to the disciples asking Jesus clarifying questions while He was physically with them. I do not think this verse forbids prayer to Jesus.
Anecdotally, there were a few times in my life where the Lord Jesus has answered specific requests that I’ve asked Him about. They were undeniably answers to specific prayer that I cannot ascribe to coincidence.
Renier
Renier, Thanks for the questions.
1. John 14:13-14 was in the context of Jesus informing His disciples that He was soon to go away and would not be bodily with them anymore. Before that occurred, He gave them one last opportunity to ask “in My name” (which means to ask the Father privately by Jesus’ authority), and Jesus Himself would do it. Notice what comes next, “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” He had just told them in the previous verses that the Father dwelling in Him was doing all the miracles through Him and that He spoke what the Father told Him to say. That is, He had no power from Himself to do them. Rather, the works that He did was God working through Him. So Jesus gave them this last opportunity to ask the Father privately in prayer (in Jesus’ name) and Jesus would do the works in the same manner that He did all of His miracles. Thus, the “Father” (dwelling in Jesus) would be glorified IN the Son. It was intended to be absolute proof that the Father was dwelling in Him because He would both KNOW what was asked of the Father in private and the Father would do it through Jesus’ speaking the words.
2. The word “Lord” (Kurios) is used frequently for both the Father and the Son. Yet, you are probably correct that Paul was referring to Jesus. But remember, Jesus personally appeared to Paul on several occasions and conversed with Him: on the Damascus road, 14 years later when He was caught up to paradise in a vision, when He was personally instructed by Jesus regarding the “mystery” that He was to proclaim to the Gentiles, and after he was arrested and Jesus told him that he must bear witness in Rome. The fact that Paul received an audible answer to his request, which He quoted verbatim, shows that this was not an ordinary “prayer” to an unseen person but a personal encounter with Jesus who continued to interact with and teach His 12 Apostles via the Spirit throughout their entire ministries.
3. The words, “call upon the name of the Lord” in 1 Cor. 1:2 are a mistranslation. This does not mean either prayer or worship. Here is the LGV: “1 Paul, an invited Emissary of Jesus Anointed by the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother, 2 to the assembly of God, the one in Corinth, having been purified in Anointed Jesus, invited holy-ones together with all those in every place surnaming themselves the name of Jesus Anointed, both their and our Master. 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Master, Jesus Anointed.” In both the OT (LXX) and the NT the word translated “call” is the verb that means to “name” someone (when the word “name” is the direct object {accusative case}), as when a father names a child (when in the active voice). Here “name” is the direct object of “call” (there is no preposition {upon}) but it is in the middle voice. This is used when the subject is both the one doing the action and receiving the action. This clause refers to those who take Jesus’ name upon themselves, that is to surname one’s self with Jesus’ name (as when a bride takes her husband’s name). This is what the commandment refers to, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” It is what 2 Chron. 7:14 refers to, “If My people who are called by My name.” As Christians, we take the name of Jesus Christ upon ourselves in baptism. This is a covenantal term and transaction, taken when entering into a covenant with God or reaffirming the covenant relationship. Notice Peter’s application of Joel’s prophecy in Acts 2:21, “And it shall be [that] everyone who may surname himself the name of the Master will be delivered’.” (LGV). Compare this to Acts 2:38 where this plays out in baptism, but no one said a “sinner’s prayer.” Again, when Paul told the story of his conversion, Ananias said to him, “14 The God of our fathers chose you to know His will and to see the Just One and to hear the voice from His mouth, 15 that you shall be a witness to Him to all men concerning what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why do you hesitate? Having arisen, be immersed and be bathed from all your sins, having surnamed yourself the name of the Master.” (Acts 22:14-16 LGV). This is not repeating a “sinner’s prayer” but rather entering the New Covenant through repentance and baptism. This verb can mean to address the Lord or invoke His name ONLY when the word “name” is the object of a preposition, not the direct object of the verb. Example, “Call IN the name of the Lord.”
4. Rev. 22:20 is not a prayer, but rather an affirmation of what Jesus said, a kind of extended “Amen.” It is a Hellenized form of the Aramaic “maranatha” — “Our Lord come,” and was a liturgical expression of the early Christians (1 Cor. 16:2).
I must disagree with you regarding John 16. The context shows plainly, especially when contrasted with John 14, that “ask me nothing” concerned the future (in that day), as Jesus was redirecting them to ask the Father in His personal absence.
Regarding prayers answered that were directed to Jesus, God is gracious and overlooks our weaknesses and misunderstandings as long as they are in ignorance and are not willful.
I have a question for you. Do you agree that after Jesus “emptied Himself, … taking the form of man,” that He was 100% human just like us? Do you agree that He was powerless to do any miracles from His own person, but the Father performed Jesus’ miraculous works as stated in John 14:8-12, Acts 2:22, and Acts 10:38? If the Father was the source of Jesus’ powerful works while He was with His disciples, why would you suppose that He would answer prayers supernaturally after ascending to the right hand of God? Is He not still 100% human, albeit resurrected to immortality?
Grace & Peace, Tim
Hi Tim,
I apologize for my delayed response. I must say that I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful reply. You are making some good points. But on that last question of yours … yes, I do agree that when Jesus “emptied Himself, … taking the form of man,” that He was 100% human just like us. I do agree that He was powerless to do any miracles from His own person, but the Father performed Jesus’ miraculous works as stated in John 14:8-12, Acts 2:22, and Acts 10:38. However, I do believe that He can now answer prayers supernaturally after ascending to the right hand of God, even though He is still 100% human. The reason I say this is because Jesus prayed in John 17:5 the following: “5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Does this not mean that He now again has the same “superpowers” or “divine prerogatives” that He had previously before His incarnation? If not, then what else does John 17:5 mean?
Looking forward to your response.
Blessings,
Renier
Renier,
The word “glorify” means to exalt to a position of great honor, to bestow reverence and honor and/or authority on someone. (Matt. 6:16; John 8:54; John 12:28; John 13:32; John 16:14; John 21:19; Rom. 16:15; Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 6:20; 2 Cor. 9:13; Heb. 5:5; 1 Pet. 2:12; 1 Pet. 4:16; Rev. 15:4).
Rom. 8:17 (NASB) “17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” John wrote that in the resurrection, “we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2). This does not mean we will become divine beings or have super-powers. Rather, we will be “glorified” by God in the same way that Jesus was “glorified” after His resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand, and ultimately the Kingdom will be bestowed upon Him.
In John 17 Jesus was asking God to fulfill Psalm 110:1, “The LORD said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies your footstool,” yet the ultimate “glorification” of Jesus by the Father will be when He is installed as King on Mt. Zion as the rest of Psalm 110 and Psalm 2 indicate.
Yet God indeed “glorified” Jesus about 40 days after His prayer in John 17. This is recorded in Phil. 2:5-11. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11 NASB) See also Eph. 1:20-23.