In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father, and to pray to him through the Son: “In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name.” (John 16:23) “So you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the Evil One.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
Does this mean that we cannot address our prayers directly to Jesus, without asking the Father?
Jesus can be prayed directly. In the first place because the same is God (John 20:28; Acts 20:28; Colossians 1:16-17; 2,9; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1) and therefore must be prayed as such. In fact, when we pray to God we are also praying to Jesus, who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 10:30; Matthew 10:20; Galatians 4:6). Secondly, because the Bible itself teaches that you can pray to Jesus directly. Let’s see two examples in the Bible:
Acts 7:59-60
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
The deacon Stephen prayed to the Lord Jesus to welcome him to heaven and to have mercy on his murderers. The text does not present any doubt: Jesus Christ can be prayed.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
Three times I preyed with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
That Paul is speaking of the Lord Jesus is obvious. Paul reports the words of the Lord: “My power is made perfect in weakness.” And immediately afterwards he says: “Christ’s power may rest on me.” It is clear that Paul prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, not God the Father. I repeat: The Lord says: “The my power”. Paul says: “Christ’s power”. There is no doubt about the identity of the Lord that Paul prayed to.
We can pray to Jesus directly, without necessarily having to asking the Father.
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy.” (The Holy Virgin Mary in her apparitions to the three little shepherds of Fatima)
Cristiani Cattolici Romani 