As to prayer and worship, if we address God as God, it includes of course the three Persons. We
do not distinguish them. If, however, we do distinguish them in our address, as Scripture gives
us the fullest liberty, there seems to be no passage which leads us to address the Holy Spirit. In
all the teaching of the Word, He (the Spirit), dwelling in the Christian, directs all the desires and
longings of his heart to the other two Persons_the Father and the Son. His prayers usually,
though not exclusively, are to the Father in the name of the Son. If we think of our weakness and
dependence, we call upon God_the Almighty One. If we think of our blessed relationship as sons,
we call upon Him as our Father. If we think of our service, we call upon our Lord and Master,
Jesus Christ. Thus the character of our address is formed by the thoughts which possess our souls
at the time. In general we may say that the child’s address is to his Father, the servant’s to his
Master.

But it may not be well to make sharp lines for the sacred intercourse between the believer and his
God, his Father, his Saviour and Lord. It is better to have our hearts gradually and_shall we
say?_unconsciously trained by a growing familiarity with the Word of God. We might learn the
various seasons of the year by the scientific method of the almanac, and yet know little of their
differing joys and blessings; but living and growing among them we become formed by them.
They are as natural to us as our very being. So here, definitions, though helpful in a measure, are
never like what we learn in intercourse with God through His Word, and the practical walk with
Him. We have seen Christians who had only recently been set free by Christ, address Him
altogether in their requests and worship. It revealed their infancy and need of growth. Then we
have seen Christians with plenty of knowledge address God or the Father only_never the Son;
it revealed, perhaps, a puffed up mind without much love in the heart. It is refreshing to hear
babes, no matter how little they know, if only they are humble enough as newborn babes to
"desire the sincere milk of the Word" that they may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2). It is edifying to
hear fathers, if they have gathered knowledge in communion with God, and Christ is therefore the
sum and substance of their speech and practice.
(From Help and Food, Vol. 32.)