The Hypostatic Union

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Augustine3

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I was having a discussion with a Muslim friend of mine and he raised the issue if Jesus is God then how could God pray to himself? I tried to explain that Jesus in his human nature was praying to the Father. He came back by saying “but you believe in one God right? So even if you believed in ten persons of one substance how could the one God pray to himself?” This got me thinking is there a better way to explain this?

All suggestions are welcome…
 
We believe in one God who is three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is the doctrine of the Trinity. Surely one person can talk (i.e., pray) to another.

You may wish to read: God in Three Persons

Here are some references for you to read that may help in this area:

The Divinity of Christ (Fathers*)
The Eternal Sonship of Christ (Fathers*)
Filioque (Fathers*)
God Has No Body (Fathers*)
The One True God (Fathers*)
The Trinity (Fathers*)
Catholic Answers: This Rock: Quick Questions: Trinity
THE TRINITY (This Rock: July 1991)
 
St. Thomas Aquinas explains (Summa Theologica, III:26:2) that Christ is our Mediator offering prayers to God for us through His human nature:
I answer that, We may consider two things in a mediator: first, that he is a mean; secondly, that he unites others. Now it is of the nature of a mean to be distant from each extreme: while it unites by communicating to one that which belongs to the other. Now neither of these can be applied to Christ as God, but only as man. For, as God, He does not differ from the Father and the Holy Ghost in nature and power of dominion: nor have the Father and the Holy Ghost anything that the Son has not, so that He be able to communicate to others something belonging to the Father or the Holy Ghost, as though it were belonging to others than Himself. But both can be applied to Him as man. Because, as man, He is distant both from God, by nature, and from man by dignity of both grace and glory. Again, it belongs to Him, as man, to unite men to God, by communicating to men both precepts and gifts, and by offering satisfaction and prayers to God for men. And therefore He is most truly called Mediator, as man.
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The answer that makes sense to me: God is one what. The Father and Son and Holy Spirit are three whos. Catholics believe that God is one what in three whos.

🙂
 
In addition to the excellent links provided, I would point out something that we all have experienced within our lives. Have you ever made requests of yourself or talked to yourself. Maybe you say things like “You can have just one more bite” or “10 more push ups and we’re done!” You are one substance, but you are still making a request. You are both the subject and the object of that conversation.

If the subject and the object each had defined persons, then you would be in the same situation as Jesus was when he was talking to the Father. I hope that helped. Or at the very least I hope it wasn’t completely wrong.
 
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