People often wonder if it’s okay to pray directly to Jesus. Yes, it is. This is because he is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; Col. 2:9), so we can pray to Him. But what is the biblical support for praying to Jesus? Please consider the following scriptures.

1. John 14:14, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
2. Acts 7:59–60, “They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.”
3. 1 Cor. 1:9, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
4. 1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:4. 1 Cor. 1:2, “...with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:” with Psalm 116:4, “Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!””
5. 2 Cor. 12:8–9, “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

John 14:14

As you can see in John 14:14, Jesus specifically mentions people praying to Him and asking Him to accomplish things.

Acts 7:59-60

In Acts 7:59-60, Stephen is being stoned. He has a vision where he sees the glory of God along with Jesus at the right hand of God. He then addresses his prayer to Christ by saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

1 Cor. 1:9

1 Cor. 1:9 tells us that we are to have fellowship with Jesus. But it is not possible to have fellowship with someone that you don’t talk to and spend time with. In this case, our fellowship is with the Lord Jesus, so we must spend time with Him and talk to Him. In other words, we pray to Him.

1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:4

In the Old Testament, in Psalm 116:4, there is a phrase “called upon the name of the Lord.” The word “Lord” in that verse is the Hebrew YHWH which is the name of God. So whenever that phrase appears in the Old Testament, it’s always about praying to and worshiping Yahweh. When the Jews translated the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek Septuagint, they rendered this phrase into the Greek “called upon the name of the Lord.” In Greek, the phrase “the Lord” is translated into “ho kurios,” which literally means “the Lord.” Paul uses this Greek phrase, which is the equivalent of prayer and worship to Yahweh in the Old Testament, and he applies it to Jesus in 1 Cor. 1:2. Therefore, it’s okay to pray to Jesus.

2 Cor 12:8-9

In 2 Cor. 12:8-9, Paul addresses the Lord Jesus as he requests Him to heal his physical infirmity. Jesus responds with, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” So here, Paul directly prays to Jesus and gets a response.

Conclusion

The Bible clearly supports the idea of praying specifically to Christ, so it is okay to do that.