If Jesus was God, why did he pray to himself?

Jesus is no different than you and I, except that he knew the truth about who he was, and was therefore consciously connected to the source of life. Knowing this truth gave him direct contact with "God" which I consider to be the spiirit of Nature. We are each individual expressions of Nature, with a direct connection to the source of life within us.

This is why he prayed to himself. "The Kingdom of God is within." He communed directly with God/Nature in his own mind by asking questions. The answers he recieved, in his mind, came from God/Nature. We can all do this, but the state of our mind will determine the quality of responses that we recieve. This is why Jesus's teaching were aimed at teaching people to be more loving, more caring and more in line with the natural laws of giving and sharing, loving and nurturing. When our state of mind does not embody these qualities then we get back answers which reflect this. We are supposed to notice the things that cause us to feel fear, disappointment, or other negative emotions, and learn what it is about our personal mindset that is causing them. We then have the opportunity to choose if our mindset is really true for us, or is a product of the time and place that we were born into.

To do this for ourselves, we need to become aware of our thoughts. Pay attention to the thoughts that are negative or take away from our happiness or quality of life. Then we ask ourselves, what belief do I have that is causing this unpleasant thought. Then when your mind responds and you become aware of what it is you believe that is making you think this way, you can decide if this belief is true for you. It could have been something that you inherited from your environment and society. Questioning beliefs that are not beneficial to you will lead you on the path to Christhood, which is a state of mind that we all can achieve. This opens your mind to encompass more of your true self.

Laura
xox

reply to post by laura8peaceexperiment

. . .on the path to Christhood,. . .

Laura,
I believe you are missing the contradiction of terms.
The being Christ by Jesus was being uniquely appointed by God for a specific role in the Kingdom, which would have been, king.
If each of us live in our own kingdom, then I suppose we could each be the Christ of our own world.
I think that would have to be metaphorically speaking because in appears to me that we all live in the same world.
We can and should be christ-like which is to take on the attributes of humility and kindness towards others which Jesus exhibited. That's a spiritual matter and something that can result over time when we try not to break the connection by wilfully choosing to do things which are against God.

reply to post by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
I need further clarification. It appears we are in agreement that Jesus is not the Father, but what I still am having trouble discerning is if you believe or not that Jesus has always existed alongside the Father, and is just as much God as is the Father?

No, I don’t believe Jesus always existed. And I do not accept the phrase “and is just as much God as the Father”, because there is only one God/Father, who is eternal. If Jesus was just as much God, he would be able to raise himself from the dead and he wouldn’t need God/Fathers authority to do anything that he did.

And…

I also believe that the verse below is prophetically referring to Jesus and not just a poem about wisdom.

Proverb 8

Proverbs 8:22-36
22 “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23 I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.
24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
32 “Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.
36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death.”

I believe the verse describes how Jesus was brought forth first by God. I see verse 35 as referring to Jesus because who ever find’s Jesus, finds life.


- JC

But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. Acts 2:24

He really wouldn't have been dead, don't you think, if he just decided, "OK, I've been dead for the right length of time, so time to get up now."
God could have been watching out and allowing this thing that was not natural for Jesus, being dead, and then to have reversed this suspension of life here (that by the way was how Jesus got here in the first place, by something quite out of the ordinary happening) and allowed the upwelling of life that Jesus was, to take over and then proceed on with life as it was before his death.

reply to post by Joecroft


Throughout the scripture, all 3 members of the Godhead are given credit for creation. Secondly, in Revelation we see that Jesus Christ affirms He is the Alpha and Omega, or in Hebrew, the Aleph and the Tau. He also claims He is the great I AM who spoke to Moses from the burning bush in the Midian desert.

Jesus is not the Father, but Jesus and the Father are both God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit comprise the Godhead. And thse three are God. (Elohim)

In Hebrew adding "im" to the end pluralizes the noun.

reply to post by jmdewey60


Don't forvet too that when speaking about His body as the temple, He doesn't say "God will raise it again.." He says "I will raise it up again.."

Christhood, as I understand it, it a state of mind. It is also known in different cultures as the Budda nature. It is where we see beyond the duality of good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad, and know truth.

In the Bible, Jesus was said to be the "King of Kings," which indicates that he is the first of many. Someone had to be the first, but by putting that first on a pedestal and considering that he is somehow different or more special than anyone else, we are entirely missing the point of what he was trying to teach us. Didnt he say (and I am wildly paraphrasing here!) "The things I do you can do also, and better." He knew that his attempts and abilities could be improved upon by others.

reply to post by laura8peaceexperiment

. . .Jesus was said to be the "King of Kings,". . .

There's a vision where John the Revelator sees a scene in heaven with a figure on a horse with that name written on his clothing.
These are slightly cryptic descriptions which symbolize events, and in this instance it concerns the execution of judgement that falls upon the inhabitants of earth, and it is God exercising His authority to do such a thing.
I realize there is a thing, the Hallelujah Chorus which by the way I had to bear with in church last time, being played by a bell ringing group. Made me wonder if I was going to suffer ill effects from being subjected to such a thing. But it's a song, or piece of music and maybe reflects a rather dim interpretation of the Bible.

reply to post by laura8peaceexperiment
I'm not trying to be mean and you can be a Buddhist for all I care. I have a subscription to podcasts from a guy who is a Soto Zen Buddhist. I think the system is something to be experienced, more that something that can be explained in a normal sort of logical way. Not that it can't, but it remains rather inadequate.
I don't think it is impossible to be Buddhist and a Christian at the same time. Buddhist meditation techniques may be a better approach to prayer than what we would normally be taught in church.

reply to post by laura8peaceexperiment


Jesus Christ means Jesus "The Anointed One" or Jesus "The Chosen One". It cannot be a "state of mind". It is an honor which God bestowed to Jesus, and not a "state of mind" which Jesus acquired by finding a way to be in connection with the source of life, but rather it is the reason why Jesus had such a connection with the source of life which is God and not Nature. God is above Nature because He created Nature.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


He didn't pray to Himself.

reply to post by faceoff85


He sure did proclaim He was God. He told the Jews that He was the I AM. Biblical manuscripts go back further than Constantine.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


All they had to do was read what the Jewish prophet Isaiah said.

"I don't think it is impossible to be Buddhist and a Christian at the same time. Buddhist meditation techniques may be a better approach to prayer than what we would normally be taught in church."

I think that all the religions have something valuable to teach us. They also show that we are each unique and that there is no one "right way" to achieve whatever spiritual goals we may have. I suppose the ideal way to do anything is to find the way that works for you. So if one technique for enlightenment does not yield sufficient result, try another and another until you achieve whatever it is you are searching for.

I would recommend trying to combine two different disciplines, such as meditation and prayer (by prayer I mean asking questions in your mind, during meditation) and listening to the answers.

reply to post by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
Throughout the scripture, all 3 members of the Godhead are given credit for creation. Secondly, in Revelation we see that Jesus Christ affirms He is the Alpha and Omega, or in Hebrew, the Aleph and the Tau. He also claims He is the great I AM who spoke to Moses from the burning bush in the Midian desert.

It was God/Father that spoke from the bush to Moses when he said “I AM THAT I AM”

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.-John8

The above verse is Jesus speaking and because he was the first to be with God in the beginning, then Jesus can say the words, “before Abraham was, I am”, and still be correct, but Jesus isn’t claiming to be God/Father by using that phrase.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
Jesus is not the Father, but Jesus and the Father are both God.

Can you please clarify, in what way is Jesus God, do you mean as in a title or in some other way?

You might wish to consider these verses before you reply…

John 10:34:36
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

Jesus is quoting… Psalm 82

Psalm 82:5-7
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”

The word “God” can be used as title, which men can bestow on other men, but these verses seem to suggest, that we are all sons and daughters of God/Father. It even says we are all Gods, who came from the Most High (God/Father)


- JC

As I see it, we are each an equal aspect of God, the first, the one. Instead of God existing as one being in an infinite world, he (we) made the choice to divide into equal and individual minds who could each experience life from a different perspective. So we each have a unique experience of life, with freewill and free choice.

So when Jesus said, "I and my father are one," he had achieved the state of mind where he knew that he was a single representation of that one infinite mind. As such, the kingdom of God was within him, for he could connect directly, through his mind, to his higher self, God. He tried to teach this to others, and tell them that they too were God. We are all God, evolving both separately as individuals and together as a species on planet Earth.

reply to post by texastig


What do you mean? Issiah in my view talked about the Jewish people not Jesus in any shape or forum. Go read Issiah from a Jewish perspective.

reply to post by Joecroft

Jesus is quoting… Psalm 82

I think you are quoting the wrong part of the chapter, or we should take a look at the whole (rather short) chapter. Earlier in this situation where the Jews wanted to stone him, Jesus asked, "For which good work would you like to stone me?"

Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless!
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
Psalms 82: 3 & 4

He was telling the Jewish officialdom that they were these gods who Psalms was talking about, by comparing himself to them, and that he had a better right to claim to be called a god, since he was actually doing the good things that the focus of the Psalms was condemning them for not. That just made them more angry and they were condemning themselves in the eyes of the reader of this history of Jesus.
So, less than a theological treatise on the terminology of a word, he was talking about works, which is the subject of these few chapters of John where we find this story.

reply to post by laura8peaceexperiment

. . .he had achieved the state of mind where he knew that he was a. . .

Does it help to put a label on it?
Would it matter if he did not?
Is this something he could teach others to do?
They would have to be with him and pick up the feeling that came out from him, to understand.
Somewhere the chain was broken and that's lost to us.
We need to be reunified and that will be coming soon enough.

reply to post by jmdewey60

Originally posted by jmdewey60
I think you are quoting the wrong part of the chapter, or we should take a look at the whole (rather short) chapter. Earlier in this situation where the Jews wanted to stone him, Jesus asked, "For which good work would you like to stone me?"

Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless!
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
Psalms 82: 3 & 4

No… I’m talking about the part where Jesus says, “Is it not written in your Law‘ I have said you are “gods”’? etc…”, as in the verse John 10:34-36 below…

John 10:34-36
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

In John 10:34-35, Jesus is quoting Psalm 82:5-7, where it mentions “I said, You are gods etc…”, as in the verse below…

Psalm 82:5-7
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”

Jesus is asking the Pharisees, why do they take offence to him being the “Son of God”, when it is written in the scriptures (Psalm 82:5-7) that we are all Gods and that we are all sons of the most high.

I believe Jesus was trying to explain/show to the Pharisees by quoting Psalm 82:5-7, that we are all Gods children, so why should they take offence to Jesus calling himself the “Son of God”.

- JC