If Jesus was God, then why did He have to pray?

Most people have been taught from childhood that God is some kind of a “trinity”—an incomprehensible three-persons-in-one and one-person-in-three conglomeration—and so it is no wonder they do not understand God the Father and Jesus Christ are TWO DISTINCT SPIRITUAL BEINGS.

The pagan “trinity” idea was canonized in the fourth and fifth centuries after meetings in which religious leaders worked out an agreement, changing the minds of a few who disagreed and excommunicating those who refused to accept it. It was not taught in the Bible at all. Rather, it was an idea forced upon the Bible rather than a concept taken from it. Even among those who believe in it, there are vast differences of opinion as to what it means.

The English word “God” is first mentioned in Genesis 1:1 and is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim. Elohim is a uni plural word such as “family,” “team,” or “club,” meaning it is one family, one team, or one club but consists of more than one person. The Godhead is presently a family consisting of the Father and the Son. Christ is the God of the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 10:4), and Christ came to reveal the Father (Luke 10:22). At the resurrection, we, too, will be metabolically changed—born again—and become literal sons of God as well (John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 49–53).

One scripture sometimes used by people who accept the trinity is John 14:7: “If ye had known Me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.” Some feel this verse proves God and Jesus were the same person. However, a text without a context is often a pretext. Reading the verse in context demonstrates this is not at all what the Savior was saying.

In verse 10, Jesus goes on to say, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” Here, Jesus Christ clearly says He isn’t speaking for Himself, but for God, and it is God the Father doing the works, not Him. This makes it very clear they are separate beings. Going on, in verse 20, we learn exactly what Jesus means when He talks about being in the Father: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” If the phrase “I am in my Father” meant they were the same person, then the next phrase, “And ye in Me, and I in you” would mean the apostles were also the same person as Jesus, making it far larger than any trinity. Jesus uses similar phrasing often, instructing the apostles to be “one” with each other as He is one with His heavenly Father. His meaning was obviously that they were to be completely unified in love, doctrine, and purpose, just as Jesus and the Father are.

The testimony of Stephen is even more clear about the separateness of Jesus and God: “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55–56).

In the same vein, the following verses should demonstrate the utter absurdity of saying that God the Father and God the Son (Christ) are “the same,” “one being,” or “one entity”:

Christ said that NO man would know the day or the hour of His return (Mark 13:32), not the angels, neither the Son, but the Father only. Are we to believe Jesus had a “split-personality” where part of Him knew what another part of Him did not?

We read in Matthew 1:18, 20 and Hebrews 1:5 that Jesus was begotten by His Father. Are we to believe He begat Himself?

When Jesus said His Father was GREATER than He was (John 14:28), did He mean He was greater than Himself?

When Jesus cried out,” My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46), did He forsake Himself?

When Christ ascended to His Father in heaven (John 20:17), did He ascend to Himself?

When, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies Thy footstool” (Psalms 110:1, Matthew 22:44), did this mean that Jesus was about to sit at His own right hand?”

And when Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9; John 17:1–26), did He pray to Himself?

The answer to all the above is obviously NO, of course not. He prayed to His Father in Heaven, just as we do, and as He taught us to do.

If He is God—and He is!—why did Jesus pray? Let the Scripture answer! “[Jesus] Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him [God the Father] that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared” (Hebrews 5:7). There it is! He was not praying to Himself, but to God, His Father in heaven. Jesus drew strength and comfort from His heavenly Father, just as we must do! Prayer was a very important part of Jesus’ life, and He spent much time in it. He prayed, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name” (Matthew 6:9). Many times in the Gospels, we read that Jesus prayed or went alone to pray apart from the disciples (Matthew 6:6).

Why did Jesus pray? Jesus prayed because of His relationship with the Father. In John chapter 17, we find Jesus’ high priestly prayer. This prayer is Jesus’ intercession for the disciples and all who would believe in Him because of their testimony (John 17:20). In this prayer, we see Jesus’