This is a table of all the verses that include the phrases “pray to,” “prayed to,” and “prays to.” The purpose of this research was to discover if there’s any instance where one person prays to himself. This is important in the context of oneness theology, which says that Jesus prayed to himself because they say Jesus is the same person as the Father. But, Jesus prayed to the Father who is in heaven while he was on earth. They then say that the human nature is praying to the divine nature. But, according to them, the divine nature was in heaven. That necessitates a problem with the incarnation as compared to indwelling (See the article Personhood, the Father, and Jesus.). Nevertheless, the following are the results I discovered from examining every instance of “pray to,” “prayed to,” and “prays to” in the NASB 95 English Bible.
- Individuals who prayed to God
- Abraham (Gen. 20:17)
- Centurion (Acts 10:2)
- Daniel (Dan. 9:4)
- Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:20)
- Job (Job 22:27; 33:26)
- Jonah (Jonah 2:1)
- Moses (Deut. 9:26; )
- Nehemiah (Neh. 2:4)
- Individuals who prayed to the LORD
- Daniel (Dan. 9:4)
- Elisha (2 Kings 4:33; 6:18)
- Hannah (1 Sam. 1:10, 26)
- Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:20; 20:2; 2 Chron. 32:24; Isaiah 37:15, 21; 38:2)
- Isaac (Gen. 25:21)
- Jeremiah (Jer. 32:16; 37:3; 42:4)
- Jonah (Jonah 2:1; 4:2)
- Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:13)
- Moses (Num. 11:2; Deut. 9:26)
- Samuel (1 Sam. 7:5; 8:6)
- Group of people that prayed to the LORD
- Godly people pray to the Lord (Psalm 32:6)
- Exiles (Jer. 29:7, 12)
- Israelites, (1 Kings 8:44, 48; 2 Chron. 6:34)
- A Group of people pray to God
- Godly people pray to God (2 Cor. 13:7)
- Israelites, (2 Chron. 6:34)
- Jews (Neh. 4:9)
- Women (1 Cor. 11:13)
- Instructed to pray to the Father
- To the Father (Matt. 6:6)
- Requested to pray to the Lord
- Simon asked Peter to pray for him (Acts 8:24)
- An individual prays to a false god
- a nondescript individual (Isaiah 44:17)
- A group of people prays to a false god
- Nondescript people (Isaiah 45:20)
Examining the phrases pray to, prayed to, and prays to |
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| Address | Verse | Category |
| Gen. 20:17 | Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children.” | An individual prayed to God |
| Gen. 25:21 | Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Num. 11:2 | The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Deut. 9:26 | I [Moses] prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Sam. 1:10 | She [Hannah], greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Sam. 1:26 | She [Hannah] said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Sam. 7:5 | Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Sam. 8:6 | But the thing was adispleasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Kings 8:44 | “When pour people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, | Group of people that prayed to the LORD |
| 1 Kings 8:48 | if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; | Group of people that prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Kings 4:33 | So he [Elisha] entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the LORD. | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Kings 6:18 | When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Kings 19:20 | Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’ | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Kings 19:20 | Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’ | An individual prayed to God |
| 2 Kings 20:2 | Then he [Hezekiah] turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Chron. 6:34 | “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name.” (Prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, v. 17) | A group of people prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Chron. 6:34 | “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name.” (Prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, v. 17) | A group of people prayed to God |
| 2 Chron. 32:24 | In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the LORD, and the LORD spoke to him and gave him a sign. | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| 2 Chron. 33:13 | When he [Manasseh] prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.” (Prayed to the Lord per context of verses 11-12) | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Neh. 2:4 | Then the king said to me [Nehemiah], “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. | An individual prayed to God |
| Neh. 4:9 | But we [the Jews] prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night. | A group of people prayed to God |
| Job 22:27 | “You [Job] will pray to Him [God, v. 26], and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows. | An individual prayed to God |
| Job 33:26 | Then he [angel per v. 23] will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. | An individual prayed to God |
| Psalm 32:6 | Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [the LORD, v. 5] in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. | Godly people pray to the Lord |
| Isaiah 37:15 | Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Isaiah 37:21 | Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Isaiah 38:2 | Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Isaiah 44:17 | But the rest of it he [a nondescript individual] makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” | An individual prays to a false god |
| Isaiah 45:20 | “Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. | A group of people pray to a false god |
| Jer. 29:7 | ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ (God directed the exiles to pray to Him, 4.) | Group of people that prayed to the LORD |
| Jer. 29:12 | ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” [God directed the exiles to pray to Him, verse 4.] | Group of people that prayed to the LORD |
| Jer. 32:16 | “After I [Jeremiah] had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the LORD, saying, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Jer. 37:3 | Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Jer. 42:4 | Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Dan. 9:4 | I [Daniel] prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Dan. 9:4 | I [Daniel] prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, | An individual prayed to God |
| Jonah 2:1 | Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Jonah 2:1 | Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, | An individual prayed to God |
| Jonah 4:2 | He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Matt. 6:6 | “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” | An individual prayed to the LORD |
| Acts 8:24 | But Simon answered and said [to Peter], “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” | An individual requests one person to pray for him |
| Acts 10:2 | [the centurion] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. | An individual prayed to God |
| 1 Cor. 11:13 | Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? | An individual prayed to God |
| 2 Cor. 13:7 | Now we [KJV says “I”, oldest mss. say “we”] pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. | Godly people pray to the God |
For more information on prayer, see https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_543.cfm
