Are there designated circumstances for making prayer to Jesus and making prayer to God?

Question

The vast majority of Christians believe that Jesus is God, however, they are also mysteriously separate beings, yet the same as well (the Trinity). It is acceptable to those same Christians to pray to Jesus, praising Him as God and also asking Him to fulfill their needs.

Is there a designated time when prayers should be said to Jesus and other prayers should be said to God?

It seems obvious that the Lord's Prayer (Our Father who is in heaven ...) is meant to be said to God. He is the Father. Are there prayers specifically for Jesus in the Bible? I am even willing to see a Tradition citing this practice. Are there any theological arguments that say when it is appropriate to pray to Jesus and when it is appropriate to pray to God? Perhaps this is another question, but why is the Holy Spirit left out?

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Some personal back story:

I fully believe Jesus is God and I fully believe in the Trinity. I fully believe the Jesus is worthy of all our praise and worship. However, I always feel awkward praying to Jesus. Worshiping with song I am usually fine with, but it is prayer that I reserve for God the Father. There is a duality within me saying that prayer is for God, but Jesus is worthy, too. Therefore, you are missing something in your spiritual life.

Answer 1

We pray to our heavenly Father, in Jesus' name, for several reasons (most reasoning sourced here):

• We are told to address all prayer to God the Father. (see also 1 Peter 1:17 and Ephesians 3:14)

This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,' (Matthew 6:9)

• We can only approach the Father in the name of Jesus, the Son

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

A follow-up question might be: Does God get mad if you pray to Jesus? I can't imagine God getting mad with one of His children trying to communicate with Him, no matter how we did it. Romans 8:26-27 says:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

When we pray, we don't always know how to pray, or what to pray for, but this says that the Holy Spirit takes our prayers and makes them presentable to God.

Answer 2

Interestingly, when it comes to prayer, two members of the Trinity have specific roles that are pointed out in Scripture.

In 1 John 2, we read:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

As Jesus is our advocate in regards to sin, it is thus to Jesus (and not the Father) that some suggest we should confess our sins to.

Unrelated to the question, the Spirit also has a role in regards to prayer. Romans 8 says:

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

In other words, the Spirit prays for us when we don't know how to. Presumably, then he would know to whom direct a prayer.