 If Jesus is God, then why is he praying to God? Well, I understand the need to ask that question, but there's actually a better question to ask. Christianity, according to the Bible, teaches that Jesus is God. Now, the question that has puzzled some people, though, is that if he is God, then why would he pray to God? Why is he praying to the Father? Is Jesus praying to himself? Well, I think we need to look at this in a different way. When we talk about prayer, we're simply talking about some sort of communication speaking back and forth. And so, when we pray, we pray to God. Well, that makes sense, but is Jesus, if he's God, who is he praying with? Well, remember, he's communicating with God. That makes sense because the question should be asked not why does he pray to God, but why would he not pray to God? It makes absolute sense. Remember, going back to Genesis, Genesis 1, the Bible says, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Now, a couple of things that need to be noted here. Obviously, the plurality of the words that are used here, the us and the our, there is this Trinitarian idea that's embedded in the words, us and our. And so, obviously, there's more than one. That's a plurality because that's the way that Hebrew words go. There's either singular, the dual, or the plural, which means three or more. From our understanding, according to the scriptures, there are three persons that make up the Trinity, all being God. God, obviously, the Father is God, Jesus, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Now, the point that needs to be noticed here is that we says not just us and our, but notice what he says in according to our likeness, that they are one. They're in complete agreement, complete harmony. So the question would be, why would they not? Remember, if they are together, if they are united, then it would be strange if there were no communications. And we don't just see that in Genesis 1. We see it in Genesis 3.22. The Lord God said, behold, the man has become like us. Well, who said that man has become like us, the Lord God? And that point needs to be understood. That's that Hebrew word Yahweh. And the same is also shown in Genesis 11.70. Come, let us go down and there confuse their languages so that they will not understand one other's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad. Well, who scattered them abroad? The Lord. But he just said, come, let us go down. And so we see the Lord is spoken of in this plurality, us. We also need to remember that it's not just that Jesus is talking to God, the Father. We see God, the Father talking to Jesus. And both are recognizing the two as God. Remember in Hebrews 1.8, it's God who says, calls the Son God. But of the Son, he says, your throne, oh, God is forever and ever. And a septer of righteousness is the septer of his kingdom. So God speaks to the Son and calls him God. Just like the Son speaks to the Father, the Father speaks to the Son. It makes perfectly good sense. Remember that the desire for the Father, the desire for the Son, the desire of God is that we as human beings on this planet be united, be together, be as one. Just as the Father and the Son are one. The Bible tells us in Philippians 2.8 that Jesus being found in the parents as a man, he humbled himself. It was Jesus who humbled himself. He did to himself becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on a cross. Now notice he said that he emptied himself. It was Jesus that emptied himself. If we go back up to verse 6 and 7, who existed in the form of God, because he is God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. But he, Jesus, emptied himself, taking on the form of a bond servant, taking on the form of a man. So it was God who did that to himself. So it was Jesus who did that to himself. And notice he says he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. Anything wrong with that? Well, we see in other passages where Jesus also equates himself with God. Now the Jews understand what's happening, so they get upset with that. So if we go to John 5.17, notice he says, but he answered them and said that my father is working until now and I myself am working. And notice what the Jews respond to. He says, for this reason, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. And so Jesus equates himself with God the Father. God the Father equates himself with the Son. Why? God the Father is God. God the Son, Jesus is God. Jesus who is the Lord. And you must confess that he is the Lord in order to be saved. But notice what he says in Isaiah 4.2.8. He says, I am the Lord. This is God speaking. I am the Lord. That is my name. He says, I will not give my or share my glory with another person or another one. Well, that can be a problem because Jesus turns and says in John 17.5. He says, now Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was. Well, how could that be? And getting back to the question, who was he praying to? Is he praying to God? Yes, he is God and he's praying to God. Remember, the fullness of God could not be before us. Or we could not be before the fullness of God, before his full glory. And so he comes in a veiled form. Remember, he says he emptied himself of something. Well, to some extent it had to be to some degree his glory. To what extent? We don't know for sure. But could he come in his full glory? Well, he could. We just wouldn't survive. And so Jesus is praying to get back or saying, give me back the glory that I have with you in the beginning. Remember, he doesn't share his glory with anyone. So the only person that could claim or have a design on his glory is God himself who is Jesus who is also God in flesh or God with us. And so Jesus praying, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you in the beginning. The very same glory that no one else can have, that you would share with no one else. Give me back that glory. But also notice what he says. He says, I have manifested your name to the man whom you gave me. Speaking of the disciples. And I want to drop down to the rest of this prayer to see what he says going down to verse 11. He says, I am no longer in the world. And yet they themselves are in the world and I come to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name. The name which you have given me. The name which you have given me. Remember, he says that I am the Lord. That is my name. The name that you have given me that they may be one even as we are. And what was the prayer in the very beginning? In making man according to our image and according to our likeness to be just like them. So it's clear that Jesus is God. But even more so that they have never had a break in their communication. They have always had this open line of communication. So it would seem strange. It would seem odd. As a matter of fact, it would be a bigger question as to would Jesus ever want to not speak to God? Would God ever not want to speak to Jesus? They are always in communication. That makes sense that they do communicate. That God communicates to the Son. The Son communicates to God the Father. And so the question shouldn't be if Jesus is God, then why is he praying to God? The question should be that since Jesus is God, why would he not pray to him?