There is no biblical instruction to pray to Jesus, so how does one build a personal relationship with Jesus?

There is no specific instruction for praying directly to Jesus; however, when we pray “in Jesus’ name,” we are, in effect, asking Jesus to intercede for us as we make our needs known to the Father. We are praying both to and with Jesus, for He, as the Mediator between God and man, is both God and man.

The lack of instructions on praying directly to Jesus should not cause us to ignore or minimize the importance of New Testament examples of praying to Him. The following passages are sufficient to establish a precedent for praying to Jesus:

• Acts 7:59–60. Stephen calls on Jesus right after seeing Him standing at the right hand of God.

• 1 Corinthians 1:2. Paul affirms that Christians “in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• 2 Corinthians 12:8. Paul pleads with “the Lord”— almost certainly a reference to Christ—regarding the “thorn” in his flesh.

• Revelation 20:20. The book of Revelation is meant to motivate Christians to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

The Son is ontologically equal to the Father and therefore, worthy of our worship, so how could we not address Him directly in our prayers? Prayer, after all, is a critical component of worship.

I think the lack of instruction on praying to Jesus is due to the fact that the early church took praying to Him for granted. He was believed to be at the right hand of the Father and, with the Father, the Source of grace and peace (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; etc.). This was foundational and fundamental to the “faith once for all delivered,” so I don’t think any of the apostles or early disciples thought that any prayer, whether public or private, was addressed exclusively to the Father (i.e., to the Father without the inclusion of the Son), even if the prayer began with “Our Father in heaven.” As Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father,” and “I and the Father are one” (see John 14:7–11; 10:30; 5:23). It is impossible to build a relationship with the Father without building a relationship with the Son.