SHOULD SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS PRAY

TO THE HOLY SPIRIT?

By Derrick Gillespie
INTRODUCTION:
This presentation (written in August 2014) is meant primarily for SD Adventist members
who are Trinitarians, since this document makes plain what being a Trinitarian really means
in terms of who is God to the Trinitarian SDA (see the Biblical proofs here), what that God
deserves in terms of worship, who really is our Father, and what that implies as it concerns
worship and prayer addressed to the Deity. It will make plain why we traditionally call
upon, talk to or pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ under the unction of the
Holy Spirit, and yet still that prayer is being inescapably addressed to all three persons in the
Godhead (i.e. once we call upon or pray to God, or our Father, or Jehovah, or the
Lord). It will also make plain why the Holy Spirit has always been worshipped and prayed to
all over the Bible, and why some with their eyes wide shut or seeing but not seeing
(Trinitarian SDAs and non-Trinitarian SDAs alike) have missed the glaring Biblical evidence
that it has always been so. In addition, this document will reveal to SDAs that their leading
pioneer and prophetess, E.G. White, gave clear signals of the fact that prayer is and can be
directed to the Holy Spirit when we pray, once we really recognize the truth about the
threefold Godhead, and how the Godhead is one in divinity as the three holiest beings in
heaven. Finally, this document will refute the chief arguments of some in Adventism (i.e.
non-Trinitarians and, surprisingly, some Trinitarian SDAs) making the claim that praying to the
Holy Spirit is demonic or pagan.

SDAs HISTORICALLY PRAYING TO THE SPIRIT
Prayer is calling upon, talking to, or directly addressing and reverently communicating with
Deity or divinity, and it is quite clear that SDAs have officially believed in praying to the Spirit
all along since SDAs became Trinitarian (starting from in the 1890s). But some SDAs have
never come to grips with that real truth. Lets review the evidence with some plain examples.

1. SDAs leading pioneer, prophetess and co-founder of the denomination is on record
clearly addressing all three persons of the Godhead in prayer (i.e. including the Spirit listed
separately), because she believed they are all members of Deity, and in fact she even went as
far as identifying all three as our Father in the real Trinitarian sense, despite some SDAs
dont even realize this. Proof?


"God says, [notice after this whom she means says this] "Come out from among them, and
be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." [Now
notice carefully] This is the pledge of [not one person, but] the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit [i.e. the *pledge to receive and be a Father to you]; made to you if you will keep your
baptismal vow, and touch not the unclean thing In order to deal righteously with the
world, as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, Christians must feel
their need of a power, which comes only from the [three] heavenly agencies that have
pledged themselves to work in man's behalf. After we have formed a union with the great
THREEFOLD POWER [singular; collective], we shall regard our duty toward the members of
God's family with a sacred awe.
-E.G. White, Signs of the Times, June 19, 1901
This is plainly a Trinitarian type statement, in one context, affirming God to be Father, Son
and Spirit, and affirming that they all/unitedly pledged to be a Father to us (simply
because we bear their singular name as children usually do of their fathers; Matthew
28:19). Now, only desperate dishonesty, denominational heresy or utter blindness would
have any SDA trying to explain it away or deny its real Trinitarian intent. And yet I have seen
some SDAs so desperate to prove their non-Trinitarian viewpoint that they read statements
as plain as the foregoing and deny the actual words used by E.G. White herself (as written on
behalf of TRUE Trinitarian SDAs), or they try to somersault over them. But no TRUE SDA can
escape the real words above, and they also make clear what actually is involved each time we
say our Father in prayer, i.e. each time we pray to God. But that matter I will come back
to and expound on later. Now, Mrs. White sometimes expressed God as Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, and that they are rightly our Father (mind you, thats not her being confused
about the separate identity of Jesus personal Father, i.e. God the Father). With this
understanding it is then plain why she had no difficulty expressing prayer to all three beings
of Deity, and declares that SDAs can do the same, as seen below:
You are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You are raised up out
of the water to live henceforth in newness of life--to live a new life. You are born unto God, and you
stand under the sanction and the power of [now notice] THE THREE HOLIEST *BEINGS IN HEAVEN,
who are able to keep you from fallingWhen I feel oppressed, and hardly knowhow to relate myself
toward the work that God has given me to do, I just *CALL UPON [i.e. pray to] THE THREE GREAT
WORTHIES, and say; You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and
by me and through me, sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and
bringing me into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the movings of the Holy Spirit of
God upon my mind and character. And this is the prayer that every one of us may offer. . .
-E.G. White, Manuscript Release, Vol.7, pgs. 267, 268 (October, 1906)


Now this foregoing statement is plain, and a number of things are self-evident to he who will be
honest. Recently one Trinitarian SDA preacher (who does not believe in prayer to the Spirit; proving
he doesnt fully understand Trinitarianism), after reading the above shockingly said: Mrs. White did
not say that she prayed to the Holy Spirit. Now thats utter blindness on his part, and demonstrates
how we can twist things to suit or own viewpoint and preconceived ideas, even when something is in
plain black and white refuting or pre-conceived ideas. Its not different from someone seeing the
truth about the Sabbath and the Law plainly written in the Bible, and because of their preconceived
ideas and previous pet theories they will twist and deny even plain truth written in clearest English.
But I will come back to this quote later, and expound on its significance.
2. Official SDA Prayer Songs to the Spirit For years SDAs have freely directed prayer songs to the
Holy Spirit in worship, simply because this is what true Trinitarianism does. Examples include:
[a] Hover oer me, Holy Spirit, Bathe my trembling heart and brow; Fill me with Thy hallowed
presence, Come, O come and fill me now At Thy sacred feet I bow; Blest, divine, eternal Spirit, Fill
with powr, and fill me now (as seen in the 1900 Christ in Song Hymnal of SDAs *WHILE MRS.
WHITE WAS ALIVE. Today its No. 260 in the SDA Hymnal of 1985)

[b] Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove, Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love. (No.
262- SDA Hymnal, 1985)

THATS PLAIN PRAYERFUL WORSHIP. PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE!! And there are very many
more like those in the official SDA Hymnal evidencing clearly that SDAs worship and sing prayerfully
to the Holy Spirit as Trinitarians!!

CAN AND SHOULD THE SPIRIT BE PRAYED TO INDIVIDUALLY?
Those in SD Adventism who are opposed to praying to the Holy Spirit are genuinely concerned about
the fact that (in their view) there is not one BIBLICAL instance of prayer being directed to the Holy
Spirit individually, like how prayer was directed to Jesus individually in *Acts 7:55-60 (i.e. where
Stephen is seen on his knees calling upon or praying to the Lord Jesus). *Note- The word "God"
(and the comma following it) is supplied in Acts 7:59 in the KJV (hence italicized in the KJV), and so
the actual reading in the ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT (without the insert "God" and the commas) is "And
they stoned Stephen calling upon and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit." Who was he praying to
on his knees while filled with the Spirit? It is clear it was *TO Jesus DIRECTLY...proving the traditional
equation of praying to God the Father in Jesus name is NOT a slavish rule when it comes to members
of Deity, as some think. Stephen the inspired apostolic deacon understood this well. I apply the same
principle (that Stephen understood) to the Holy Spirit, who, like Jesus, is God in fullest nature, and
someone cant be God and yet prayer to him is deemed to be erroneous by a Trinitarian SDA (or
a non-Trinitarian SDA declaring that the Spirit is God himself in actual being). Thats nonsense of
the highest order, and doctrinal confusion about what Trinitarianism really is, or about what TRUE
Adventism really teaches about the threefold Godhead since the 1890s.

I submit that it is because of eyes wide shut (i.e. thinking one is seeing while blind to obvious truth)
why the real Biblical evidence is missed regarding the Spirit being prayed to. Its actually all over the
Bible!! How so, you may ask, when I havent quoted any specific example? Heres the real truth.
If the Holy Spirit is FULLY God, as believed by the Trinitarian SDA, and is representative of God or
the very invisible presence of God, then I DON'T NEED TO SHOW INSTANCES OF THE SPIRIT BEING
PRAYED TO SEPARATELY, because every instance God is prayed to in the Bible it is an instance of
the Holy Spirit being prayed to, since "God is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17; Psalm 139:7), or the Spirit is
representative of God Himself, with whom that Spirit is always one (1 Cor. 2:11). It is nonsensical to
try to prove otherwise, even while trying to prove by the Bible that the Spirit is God in fullest nature,
and part of the Godhead. But some may argue, why is there prayer to Jesus individually, and
instructions to worship Jesus individually, but none similarly recorded about the Spirit being
worshipped or prayed to individually? The answer for the Trinitarian SDA is simpler than many
realize. The reason why we needed instruction that it is OK to worship Jesus (which naturally includes
prayer) is simply because Jesus became human (Heb. 1:6) and today he remains a human, but
glorified (Phill. 2:5-11;1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 17:31), and in that context we needed to be shown that we
can pray to (and worship) a certain man, the "second Adam" (a man) since he is still the "the Lord
from heaven" (see 1 Cor. 15:47). But, in contrast, the Spirit (the third person of the Godhead, i.e.
the third of three holiest beings) never became human. And since the Spirit will forever be
FULL Deity, and whos forever one with the Father of Jesus, theres no need for us to be told to
pray to or worship him, since it automatically happens each time we pray to God, who "is the
Spirit", or who is represented by that Spirit all over the universe (2 Cor. 3:17; Ps. 139:7)!! And
since worship goes directly to the Spirit along with Father and Son each time we worship God as a
"threefold Godhead", then Mrs. White demonstrated unequivocally that prayer too is part of what
the Spirit is "worthy" of, and she exemplified (for the TRUE SDA) prayer to him too, ALONG WITH
FATHER AND SON (as quoted earlier)...proving the Spirits FULL Deity!! Period!!
But some SDAs, not cognizant of the above truth, go as far as saying that the so-called newly
emerging practice of praying to the Spirit individually is simply new age philosophy thats demon
worship, and evidences paganism as influenced by the questionable philosophy of spiritual
formation. (See more on what spiritual formation is at the following link; a notion I have doubts
about, in contrast to me not having any doubt at all about praying to the Spirit. Click here).

But I am of the view (backed by evidence shown earlier) that this matter of praying to the Spirit is
NOT anything newly emerging in Adventism (as some propose), but simply has been a reality all
along (since SDAs became Trinitarian starting in the 1890s). But the subject of prayer to the Holy
Spirit (as far as I know) has never been dealt with in any definitive way (as a separate subject) in SDA
theology, despite striking leads in the writings of Mrs. White long ago indicating NOTHING is wrong!!
Listen again to her words clearly indicating her prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit along with the
Father and Son (inserts in brackets mine]:

"When I feel oppressed, and hardly know how to relate myself toward the work that God has given
me to do, I just *CALL UPON [i.e. pray to] THE THREE GREAT WORTHIES [i.e. Father, Son *AND Holy
Spirit], and say; You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and by me
and through me, sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and bringing me
into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the movings of the Holy Spirit of God upon my
mind and character. And this is the PRAYER that every one of us may offer. . .
-E.G. White, Manuscript Release, Vol.7, pgs. 267, 268 (Ms. 95),

Notice she made plain that this calling upon ALL THREE beings (not just one) is the
PRAYER that every one of us may offer. . . Those SDAs who want to twist and deny plain
English, it is their choice, but truth will not be held captive to their whims and fancies. Now if,
as some SDAs argue, it is wrong to pray to the Holy Spirit and it is "demon worship" to so do,
then it would be wrong to pray to Him whether individually or in unison with the Father and
Son as Mrs. White PLAINLY did, and our prophetess (by their own faulty arguments) was
merging "demon worship" (according to their argumentation) along with the worship of the
Father and Son!! Other SDAs asking, triumphalistically, for Trinitarian SDA believers, like
myself, to show one explicit example of where in the Bible we ever see the Spirit being prayed
to, this is a transparent tactic thats ineffective. I could ask them to show me one explicit
example in the Bible where Mrs. White saw the expression three holiest beings of the
Godhead, or they being called three persons, or "the three Great Worthies", et al, or they
being prayed to in unison (as three beings) as she did in the reference quoted above. There
are none!! But simply because she couldn't show a literal or explicit example of all three being
prayed to in unison, does not mean she would be misguided, but rather it would simply be a
case of her using the principle of whats implicit in the Bible about divinity, i.e. what the
notions of "Deity", the fulness of the Godhead", and the oneness of Father, Son and Spirit
implies about the Spirits entitlement to worship/prayer. I EMPLOY THE SAME APPROACH AS
MRS. WHITE IN THESE MATTERS. If the Holy Spirit is God, as Acts 5:3-4 and 2 Sam. 23:2, 3
makes plain (i.e. having him the "fulness of the Godhead", as Mrs. White explains in her
writings), then despite the Spirit admittedly functions in a differing role than the Father and
Son (as they do too in relation to each other), the "fulness of the Godhead" in the Holy Spirit,
i.e. as a divine person, makes him FULLY God deserving/worthy of all that goes with
Deity; i.e. us "serving" Him just as we would the Father and the Son (like in Joshua 24:15), and
this "service" involves worship, adoration, praise, or supreme reverence. This naturally
includes prayer to him along with the Father and the Son (as Mrs. White models for us in her
own prayer). It would be the biggest example of sophistry to admit that the Spirit can be
prayed to along/together with the Father and the Son, but then argue that it is "demon
worship" to talk to Him by Himself. That would be deception of the highest order, even while
one is trying, as a Trinitarian, to still accept that the Holy Spirit is God in fullest nature!! Mrs.
White knew that when we talk about serving God it means worship, prayer and praise
involved, and so she was not bashful to say who deserves that service in the way Joshua
used the word serve in the Bible (Joshua 24:15). Listen again to her own words for the TRUE
Trinitarian SDA:

"When we have accepted Christ, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit have pledged ourselves to serve God, the Father, Christ and the Holy Spiritthe
three dignitaries and powers of heavenpledge themselves that every facility shall be
given to us if we carry out our baptismal vows to come out from among them, and
be...separate." - E.G. White, Manuscript 85, 1901
Notice the separate listing of the Holy Spirit that we should serve, even as we do serve
the separately listed Father and Son!! This again is plain, and I dont need anyone to make me
misinterpret it as a Trinitarian SDA myself.

Arguments from some SDAs seeking to rob the Spirit of His true divinity (i.e. Him being
FULLY God, as a fully divine person deserving of all honor as Deity) are usually in the minority
group of anti-Trinitarians on the fringes of SD Adventism, but some who are self-declared
Trinitarians (the majority group in the Church) find themselves doing the same thing as it
concerns their objecting to prayer to the Spirit. What a pity!!


ANSWERING OBJECTIONS:

Some say "The idea of praying to the Holy Spirit discards the biblical order and it removes
Jesus as our heavenly high priest in the heavenly sanctuary". They argue that it is to the Father
we should pray, and because Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5),
then to pray to the Spirit oversteps Jesus as mediator, and is unbiblical. That seems to be
airtight logic in their OPINION but lacks foundation!! My question to them is this, if we pray to
Jesus directly, instead of to the Father of Jesus (as exemplified in Acts 7:55-60), do we remove
"remove Jesus as our heavenly high priest in the heavenly sanctuary" and does this "discard
the biblical order" of praying ONLY to the Father of Jesus, but in/through Jesus name, as is
argued? If the answer is yes, then Stephen would have been misguided to do what he did in
Acts 7:59, 60, despite the record plainly showed he was under the Holy Spirits influence. But
clearly he was not!! In addition, some SDA Trinitarians need to be reminded that God is a
group reality, just as Man is group reality and that Jesus is part of both groups (i.e. God
and Man, or divinity and humanity), and hence to a fully grounded Trinitarian the prayer
expressing our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name is and should be a prayer
addressing all members of Deity who are our Father and who all have the same name
(Matthew 28:19); not just the Father of Jesus. Thats why Jesus is likewise called the
Everlasting Father (Is. 9:6), because he along with His Father is also our Father and we are
the children given to Jesus (see Heb. 2:13, 14). Likewise we are the children of the Holy
Spirit because he both participated in our creation initially (Ps. 104:30 and Job 33:4), as well
as in our rebirth (John 3:5, 6) on behalf of the Father and Son. Thats why Mrs. White
represented TRUE SDA Trinitarians by making plain about whose children we really are, and
why we pray to that Father (no true SDA will reject this fact):

"God says, [notice after this whom she means says this] "Come out from among them, and
be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." [Now
notice carefully] This is the pledge of [not one person, but] the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit [i.e. the *pledge to receive and be a Father to you]; made to you if you will keep your
baptismal vow, and touch not the unclean thing In order to deal righteously with the
world, as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, Christians must feel
their need of a power, which comes only from the [three] heavenly agencies that have
pledged themselves to work in man's behalf. After we have formed a union with the great
THREEFOLD POWER [singular; collective], we shall regard our duty toward the members of
God's family with a sacred awe.
-E.G. White, Signs of the Times, June 19, 1901
You are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You are raised up out
of the water to live henceforth in newness of life--to live a new life. You are born unto God, and you
stand under the sanction and the power of [now notice] THE THREE HOLIEST *BEINGS IN HEAVEN,
who are able to keep you from fallingWhen I feel oppressed, and hardly knowhow to relate myself
toward the work that God has given me to do, I just *CALL UPON [i.e. pray to] THE THREE GREAT
WORTHIES, and say; You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and
by me and through me, sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and
bringing me into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the movings of the Holy Spirit of
God upon my mind and character. And this is the prayer that every one of us may offer. . .
-E.G. White, Manuscript Release, Vol.7, pgs. 267, 268 (October, 1906)


-THE END-