D. Scott Meadows
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;
In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up (Psa 5.3).
To whom do we pray? God, of course. It may seem such a basic topic that you think it hardly justifies more than a moment’s consideration, but patient reflection and meditation, in the light of Scripture and with a knowledge of church history, prove otherwise. Actually, this question is the doorway into an important and fruitful area of the Christian faith. We can only scratch the surface in this brief study.
By “prayer,” I intend true prayer that is in conformity with God’s revealed will in Scripture, and prayer as Christians have practiced from the beginning. Pagans “pray” after a sort. Elijah taunted Baal-worshippers saying, “Call on the name of your gods,” but they received no answer (1 Kgs 18). However, according to Scripture and as explained in a good catechism, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit” (WLC #178). Let us consider three profound truths about prayer.
Prayer Is Worship
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD.” Without a doubt, the psalmist intends to glorify this object of his prayers as God. “LORD” is only ever used in Scripture of the Deity, being the unique name by which He revealed Himself to ancient Israel. The previous verse is instructive. “Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray” (v. 2). The whole Old Testament testimony illustrates that true worshippers found it abhorrent to direct prayers to any false gods or to mere creatures. The object of the psalmist’s prayer is worshipped as absolutely holy (v. 4) and the supreme Judge of all (vv. 5, 6). The Jewish Temple, viewed as the LORD’s house from which He hears prayer (cf. 1 Kgs 8.10, 11, 28–30), was dedicated to His glory, and mercy was sought from Him alone (v. 7). God is also worshipped as our ultimate Guide (v. 8), Defense (v. 9), and the great object of trust and hope for vindication and deliverance (vv. 10–12).
It is very grievous that for many centuries the Roman Catholic Church has approved, and still does, what they call “the invocation of saints” (Council of Trent III.II.XIV, c. 1545–63). “We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world” (CCC #2683, c. 2000). But this is manifestly idolatry, as all Scripture testifies to the truth that prayer is a form of divine worship. Jesus plainly commanded us, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven” (Matt 6.9). Yet countless millions of Roman Catholics begin their prayers, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and “Hail, holy Queen,” and “O Mary, conceived without sin,” etc.,1 even though Mary was a sinner and remains, eternally, a mere creature. Let us pray to our Father in heaven that He will grant light to them, so that they will truly pray to Him, “Hallowed be thy name,” that is, may God’s name alone be lifted up as holy.2
Prayer Relies on God as God
“In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up.” To look up is to watch, patiently and expectantly, for a response from God (WBC, in loc.). The psalmist prays to God each morning and watches throughout each day for answers to his prayer. This speaks volumes, implicitly, about the psalmist’s belief and confidence respecting the nature of God.
First, he depended on the living God as omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. The psalmist knew that God knew of his prayers, as He knows all things (Psa 139.1–6). He depended upon the fact that no matter where he might go, he was always in God’s presence (Psa 139.7–12). His God was so powerful that He formed human beings in the womb (Psa 139.13–16). It makes sense to pray to such a God as this!
Second, he relied upon God as merciful, just, and faithful. Though the psalmist was conscious of sin, he prayed with the expectation of escaping retributive punishment for it. Yet he never lost sight of the divine holiness that was squarely opposed to all evil and evildoers. This God of Israel had promised to save contrite believers, and He was faithful to keep His Word. Only by faith in Christ does any sinner have a well-founded hope to be saved. The gospel is the fullest revelation of God’s mercy, justice, and faithfulness.
These implied divine attributes highlight the gross error and sin of offering prayer to any besides God. Mary and other saints, along with the angels, as mere creatures, lack the “incommunicable attributes” of God—that is, those which are His exclusively as the Deity. And even the “communicable attributes” of love, mercy, and justice belong to Him alone as inherent, infinite, and absolute. In creatures like Mary, even when she shall be glorified together with all other true Christians, these attributes are accidental (i.e., a property or quality not essential to one’s being), derived, and limited. She cannot hear prayers like God, nor answer them like God.
Prayer Is Trinitarian
With the added revelatory light of the New Testament, we discover that true prayer is necessarily Trinitarian, and that the normal pattern is to pray to God the Father, in the name of God the Son (Jn 14.13), by the help of God the Holy Spirit (Rom 8.26; Eph 6.18)—that is, to the one true God. Prayer may legitimately be offered to the Son, Jesus Christ (Acts 7.59; 1 Cor 1.2) and, by analogy, to the Holy Spirit. While we have no biblical example of prayer directed to the Spirit, “If He is God, He must be invoked” (Farel, quoted by D’aubigné in History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, III.326).
We conclude, then, that prayers offered to any other than to the Triune God are doomed and damned. Despite their emotional pleas, no fire fell upon the sacrifice of the Baal worshippers; rather, they themselves became a sacrifice to God’s glory when the fire of His wrath fell upon them! But whoever trusts in the LORD, resorting to Him in prayer, shall be saved. Ω
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1. http://www.beginningcatholic.com/prayers-to-virgin-mary (accessed 3 May 2017).
2. For a fuller treatment, see Puritan Sermons VI.X.