Dear Carol,
I'm with you. I too
have a problem with the anonymous god, whoever he
might be. I too pray to each person of the trinity
separately. In fact, my "salutations" or "preambles"
incorporate as many offices and titles of the Father
or Jesus or the Holy Spirit as I can remember. This
is for my benefit, not theirs.
For instance, when
praying to Jesus, I habitually start with: "My Lord,
my Master,my Savior, my King, my God, my Redeemer,
my Salvation, my resurrection, my life, my great
High Priest, my Good Shepherd, my friend, Lord Jesus
Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, God
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Lamb of God who
has taken away the sin of the world, You alone who
are holy and perfect, without stain or spot, our
perfect Passover Lamb who has redeemed us by Your
holy, perfect innocent blood, shed upon the cross
for we who are sinners by our Heavenly Father's
sovereign grace and tender mercy and loving kindness
to we who are sinners, you alone who arose from the
dead, you alone who are worthy to take the book and
loose the seven seals, you alone who are the Great
Lion of Judah, coming again, you who are the way,
the truth and the light, the life everlasting and
the life eternal, the great, pre-existent,
self-existent eternal Creator God, Yahweh and
Jehovah of old, the Alpha and the Omega, you who
were dead and are yet alive evermore, God Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, you who hold the keys of
hell and death, the key to the Kingdom of David, the
great I AM, Son of God and yet Son of Man, the ever
living water, the everlasting bread of life, the
root and the offspring of David, the bright and
shining Morning Star, the only way and the only door
to our Heavenly Father ..."
I know this seems
like quite a mouthful, but it only takes a couple of
minutes. I find myself focusing one or two
particular elements during the process. By the time
I'm through, whatever was on my mind has subsided to
its proper place in the scheme of things.
I'm certainly not
suggesting that anyone imitate me in this. This is
my highly personal prayer method that has developed
over many years. I'm happy to share it, inadequate
and incomplete though it might be. But I do suggest
that everyone identify in their own minds who they
are praying to. "Oh, God" doesn't do it, at least in
my mind.
At the same
time, "I and my Father are one ..." When we pray to
one trinity person, we pray to all. And, let us not
forget to say, "Thank you".
Maranatha,
Bob
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2013/carolg28.htm