For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Robert Taylor
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
That is the simple and clear relationship between Jesus and His Father, God.
Jesus prayed to His Father. He was not talking to Himself.
In the garden of Gethsemane He said "not my will, but Thy will be done".
Any explanation that contradicts that is theological gibberish.
Jeanine Schaefer
I really like this UNTIL the statement " His praying to His heavenly Father was to ask for power (John 11:41-42) and wisdom (Mark 1:35; 6:46)." Mark only shows him departing to be in solitude to pray, not ASKING for WISDOM. Johns verse's importance is that He knew that God HEARD him, it says nothing about him ASKING for power. Other than that stumble, I LOVED it! Good biblical based answers to the Tri-une God are VERY important especially when trying to disciple to other faiths that are seriously seeking, but are having a hard time grasping this question, or with trying to help new seekers. I am a believer, but I myself have a hard time giving a concise, biblical based answer.
Arthur Fischer
I believe the reason why Jesus prayed to the Father was because that even though He was Spiritually God by way of His nature, when you saw Him, you saw a man, and as a man He, as well as us, prayed to the Father. We also know that Jesus while on Earth had His own free will, as He prayed in the garden-Not my will, but your will be done, so again as we also have that free will so did He.
Jeanine Schaefer
I can't really explain it better than what I read on Carm.org so I will copy and paste that.
by Matt Slick
This is a very common question, and the answer is found in understanding the Trinity and the incarnation of Jesus.
The Trinity is the doctrine that there is only one God in all existence. This one God exists as three persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are not three gods but one God. Each is a separate person; yet each of them is, in essence, divine in nature.
A close analogy of the Trinity can be found by looking at the concept of time. Time is past, present, and future. There are three "aspects" or "parts" of time. This does not mean that there are three "times" but only one. Each is separate, in a sense; yet each shares the same nature or essence. In a similar way, the Trinity is three separate persons who share the same nature.
The Incarnation
The doctrine of the incarnation in Christian teaching is that Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, added to himself human nature and became a man.
The Bible says that Jesus is God in flesh, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . and the word became flesh and dwelt among us," (John 1:1, 14); and, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," (Col. 2:9). Jesus, therefore, has two natures. He is both God and man.
Jesus is completely human, but He also has a divine nature.
http://carm.org/questions-if-jesus-god-then-who-did-he-pray