Christians
believe that the one God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Our minds cannot sort out all the complexities of this
mystery, but prayer is a wonderful way for the mystery of the Trinity
to find application in our lives.
A
basic understanding of prayer is that it involves all three persons
of the Trinity. We pray to
the Father, in
the name of Jesus, by
the power of the Holy Spirit.
What
this means is something really amazing. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit live together in loving harmony, each one glorifying and
supporting the others. And when we pray, the three persons of the
Trinity also graciously include and support us. Our prayers connect
us with the interchange of God’s love and amazing work in this
world.
Here’s
a picture of what that looks like: When Jesus was baptized, the Holy
Spirit descended on him as
he was praying, and the Father said, “You are my Son,
whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). When we
pray, we participate in the same self-effacing love that unites the
Trinity. The love of God is extended to all who have been baptized in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
We pray because we too are the beloved children of God with whom he
is pleased!