(For someone who believed prayer should be to the Father, not Jesus. Some responses from pastor-friends):

It's a bit sad when our people respond with calculations and codes when we seek to refresh them in a relationship that is clear but not restricted to spiritual correctness. True, some people are so narrow minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes at the same time, but our role is to encourage and love them, for only God can change them.

Prayer for me is sometimes at my initiative, sometimnes through meditation and sometimes at God's interruption, but I always sense the wonder that God wants to put in the time with me. While it may not be politically correct, I enjoy talking with Jesus, the Father or the Holy Spirit, because this trinity is larger than even my vast intellect can calculate. (And I don't think that praying in the name of the "Parent, Offspring and Benevolent Force" carries the same freshness.)

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And another:

When Peter cried out to Jesus on the waves, "Lord, save me"... was he praying?

When the blind man cried out to Jesus, "Have mercy on me", was he praying?

When the disciples rushed to the back of the boat and cried, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!", were they praying?

When Jesus told the disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest, to whom was he referring?

OK, enough proof texting. The formulaic, pharisaic, prosaic approach to prayer seems old covenant at best. And in the light of Jesus's words "Suffer the little children to come unto me..." a prayer on behalf of children towards Jesus seems keenly in spirit, not to factor in the comments about needing to become like a child to enter the kingdom.

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Three aspects immediately come to mind for me.

First, Jesus wouldn't pray to himself, but to his Father. So while instructing them is he likely to do it differently?

Second, the disciples didn't need to pray to Jesus - he was physically present with them at the time.

Third, coming out of the second point, and more relevant for us, the question shows a misunderstanding of the nature of prayer. Is prayer a religious, even 'magical', one-way ritual, or is it conversation (implying two-way) with a person who is present?

Rowland, your article would support Jesus understanding it as the second of these - the first being more typical of a pharisaical law-based approach. I choose to agree with Jesus here, not just because it seems more biblical, but more because that has become my experience. Check out http://www.listening2god.com for more of our teaching on this.

If I'm talking to someone and they reply, then I can assume it is an OK thing to do. However, if there is no response then I need to evaluate what I am doing. Since Jesus often replies when I 'pray' (I don't like that word, I'd rather use 'talk, 'discuss', 'share' or 'chat') 'to' (I'd rather say 'with') him, and since I'm sure he wouldn't do anything that is theologically disallowed, I'll continue to address him personally when appropriate. I'm just as happy to address my Father and the Holy Spirit as well.

'Praying to' the Holy Spirit seems to be less frequent, or at least less deliberate, for me. Perhaps this is because it could imply a separation between him and me, whereas he is really present within me. Communication with the Spirit is more of a continuous experience, both conscious and unconscious. Could this be a part of what "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) means? I've sometimes woken up praying in tongues - which I can only understand as my spirit and the Holy Spirit communing while I sleep. In other words it is even possible to pray when you are unconscious.