Brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! We are continuing with our series of "Questions People Ask." Today we have a question from our Sunday School, from our Senior High class. They have been asking, "Who are we supposed to pray to? Some people say we're supposed to pray to God the Father. Other people say we're supposed to pray to Jesus. What are we supposed to do? And what's the deal with the Holy Spirit? What's that about, anyway?"

These are wonderful questions, and probably ones that all of us have wrestled with at one time or another as Christians. Let me give a very straight, direct answer, and then I'd like to tell you a story about something that happened to me that illustrates this, I think.

First of all, when you pray, you pray to God. There is only one God. And God hears all our prayers. God didn't give us Jesus to complicate our spiritual life. God gave us Jesus to simplify it. He gave us another road to Him. It's like getting to River Road . If I were to ask several of you how to get to River Road from here, you might have different answers. Some might send me down Route 206; some might send me over Belle Mead-Griggstown Road ; some might send me a completely different route. But we'd still all get to the same place. There is one God; we pray to God. But God, in His generosity, has given us these different avenues to Him.

It depends on where you are, spiritually, in your prayer. Perhaps you just want to open your spirit to the Creator. Perhaps it is good, at a different moment, to have the nearness of Christ. And perhaps you want to pray to that powerhouse, that energizing powerhouse, of God known as the Holy Spirit. I've been thinking about that lately. The Holy Spirit – that's sort of like standing next to a generator. Have you ever stood next to an electric generator and heard it humming? All that power! The Holy Spirit is like that. The Holy Spirit is the energizing part of God. Jesus is God's human side. And the Holy Father is the Creator of us all. But it's all one.

So, I'd like to refine the question just a little, and ask "What shall we think about when we pray?" When you pray, let God hear you, let God heal you, and let God love you.

When you pray, let God hear you. I had an interesting experience at one point when I had to go into the hospital for some tests. Let me say very quickly, I'm fine. All the tests went great. I'm doing fine. But I had to be there for some tests, and one of the tests lasted the entire night. I was instructed by the technician, whose name was Michael, that I was to lie very still all night and try not to move. If I needed anything, I should just call out his name and he would respond. Then he turned out the lights and said "Good night," and that was that.

I was lying there, and it was very dark. There was one tiny red light in the corner; I don't know what it was. I was lying there, trying to sleep. I finally fell asleep, and then I woke up. And I was so thirsty. The air in the hospital was very, very dry. I remembered that I was not supposed to do anything, and so I recalled my instructions: Michael said to call out his name. It didn't seem likely to help. He promised me that he'd be watching over me all night, but I figured he probably had a lot of patients to care about. I didn't know whether to shout his name so he might hear me down the hall, or to say it quietly. I didn't know. But I thought I would try to do what he told me to do.

I was lying in bed, and I said, "Michael."
And a voice responded, "Yes, Mr. Godlefski."
"Michael, I am extremely thirsty."
"I'll be right there, Mr. Godlefski." And, by George, he was! He came into the room with a nice cup of cold water and a straw. And I had my drink of water and I fell back asleep.

Later on, I woke up. I was so cold. It was late. And I couldn't remember his name at that point. So I said something like, "Hello?"
"Yes, Mr. Godlefski."
"I am so cold."
"I'll be right there, sir." And he came in and put a blanket on my feet, and I felt better.

Whether I called him Michael or whether I called him Hello, if I had called him Doctor, I have a feeling he would have been there for me, because he was watching over me through the night. You know, friends, there's a special scripture, the last verse of the book of Matthew. Jesus said to His disciples and to all of us, "I am with you always, even to the end of time." I am watching over you through the night. "You just call out my name, and you know, wherever you are, I'll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you gotta do is call. And I'll be there. You've got a friend." Amen? Amen!

That's what Jesus says to us. You can call out His name. That's what the heart of God is like. Let God hear you, in the darkness of the night and in the brightness of the day. Let God hear you in the midst of your difficult situation. Let God hear you when you are working. Let God hear you when you get dressed. You just call out His name, and He'll be there. Let God hear you, because He's just waiting for the door to open.

Second, let God heal you. Prayer has healing power and healing properties. Invoking a prayer by itself is a healing thing. Have you ever noticed at a meal, if you say grace privately or with those you are eating with, it makes eating better? Everybody relaxes; everybody is together and the sound of each other's voice saying that prayer is so beautiful. The food is better and the fellowship is better. Prayer has a healing property.

Never underestimate the power of your healing prayer, friend, for yourself and for other people. I have a wonderful district superintendent, Dr. Vicki Miller Brendler. She is a real pastor to me. Whenever we close our visits together, she'll take my hand and say, "Let's have a prayer." She'll lift up the concerns of my heart. She'll pray a blessing. And I will just feel better. That's what prayer does. When you go to your time of prayer, let it be a time of relaxation, because it's the time when God wants to surround you with His blessing and His love and His uplift and His healing power. Let God heal you in prayer.

And third, let God love you when you pray. I had the enormous privilege of having several conversations with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, but one in particular stands out. In this particular conversation in his office in New York , I said to him, "Dr. Peale, tell me about Jesus. Tell me what you think about Jesus."

He opened his Bible to that last verse of Matthew. He pointed to it, and he said, "Young man, this is what I believe about Jesus. I believe that wherever I go, He is there with me. And sometimes at night, when I'm getting ready to pray, I pull up a chair and He'll take a chair. I say, 'This is Jesus's chair'." Dr. Peale continued, "I will tell Jesus what's on my heart, what's troubling me, what I'm thankful for. And picturing Jesus there, His presence is so near." It's something you might want to try, because Jesus said, "I am with you always."

Let God love you. and when you go to Him in prayer, maybe you'll make that "Touch Prayer" sign – make the cross on the inside of your thumb. Say, "I am in the presence of God." And when you do, let that healing energy come to you, and you will be surrounded with love.

Whom should we pray to? Pray to God. Pray to God the Father. Pray to the Holy Spirit. Pray to the presence of Jesus Christ. It is all the Lord. And remember this, friend, you can't make a mistake. The most important thing is not how you do it, but that you do it. God loves you. I do, too. Have a wonderful week. Amen.