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Bible Basics
For Smart People
Who Do Not Want To Be Dummies
About God and the Bible
(Parts I, II, III)
By J. George Cover
Lesson 8 - What About Prayer? Part I. Cont'd.(Text Version)
To Whom Should Prayer Be Addressed? (Cont'd.)
In Acts 4:24, after Peter and John had been persecuted and threatened by the Jewish council for preaching Jesus, they "went up to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and sad Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea. and all that in them is....
There is record in the Bible of praying directly to Jesus both while he was on earth and after he ascended back to Heaven (Acts 7:59).
"There is (only) one God and (only) one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
Should Prayer Be Addressed To Anyone Other Than God? (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
In praying, one should worship. God's Word says, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10; Deuteronomy 6:16).
The Apostle Paul wrote, "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things, which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind" (Colossians 2:18). The Apostle John was forbidden to do so when he was shown things to come. "I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See that you do it not: I am your fellowservant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God" (Revelation 19:10). It is assumed that it was an angel that showed John these things that are prophecies of the future. If the context of his statement, "I am your fellowservant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus" indicates he was a saint, now in Heaven, the next statement would apply. No place in Scripture are we told or given permission to worship Mary, the mother of Jesus, nor any of the saints.
"Please tell me more."
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