What did Jesus really say?

1.2.3.14 Does God pray to Himself?

Now, does God pray? Let us read the Bible:

1. Mark 14:32 "and he (Jesus) saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray."
2. Luke 3:21: "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened."
3. Luke 6:12: "And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
4. Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
5. Matthew 26:39: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

All of these verses do not speak of Jesus (pbuh) "meditating," "interceding," "consorting," or "consulting," but PRAYING. But to whom? To Himself? To another side of his own personality? Is Jesus not "the same essence" as God, and all are one Trinity? If Jesus and God are not "the same essence" then this means that there is more than one God in existence, and thus, we have just directly opposed verse, after verse, after explicit verse of the Bible, all of which emphasize that there ever was, and ever shall be, only one God.

Further, Jesus (pbuh) and his disciples are continuously being described in the Bible as "falling on their faces and praying" which is exactly the way Muslims pray today (see section 5.6). They pray the way Jesus (pbuh) did. Have you ever seen a Christian "fall on his face" and pray to God as Jesus (pbuh), Muhammad (pbuh), and all Muslims do?

Mr. Tom Harpur says:

"In fact, unless we are prepared to believe that his prayer-dependence on God was nothing more than a sham for our edification, a mere act to set us a good example, it is impossible to cling to the orthodox teaching that Jesus was really God Himself walking about in human form, the Second Person of the Trinity. The concept of God praying - let alone praying to Himself - is incomprehensible to me. To say that it was simply the human side of Jesus talking to God the Father (rather than his own divine nature as Son of God) is to posit a kind of schizophrenia that is incompatible with any belief in Jesus' full humanity"

For Christ's Sake, pp. 42-43.

Think about it, when we are told that Jesus was in the garden earnestly begging and pleading with God to please, please save him saying "let this cup pass from me" and "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" etc., then:

1. Was this all just a stage play for our benefit?
2. If not, then since there is only ONE God, and Jesus and God are ONE God, then was Jesus praying to himself? Why?

God has given us the answer in the Qur'an over 1400 years ago. He says:

"And from those who said: "We are Christians," We took their covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message which was sent to them. Therefore We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will inform them of what they used to do. O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger (Muhammad) come to you, explaining to you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Indeed, there has come to you a light from Allah and a plain Scripture. Wherewith Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness by His will into light, and guides them to a straight path. They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say : Who then has the least power against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He creates what He will. And Allah is Able to do all things. The Jews and Christians say: We are sons of Allah and His loved ones. Say; Why then does He punish you for your sins? No, you are but mortals of His creating. He forgives whom He will, and punishes whom He will. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and unto Him is the return (of all). O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger (Muhammad) come unto you to make things plain after a break in (the series of) the messengers, lest you should say: There came not unto us a messenger of cheer nor any Warner. Now has a messenger of cheer and a Warner come unto you. And Allah is Able to do all things."

The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):14-19

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