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Serious question:
I sometimes see Christians pray to "baby Jesus". Is there any spiritual distinction between "baby Jesus" and adult Jesus? Is one more appropriate for certain christian prayers than the other?
AFAIK, it's generally linked to the nativity celebrations, i.e. the Adoration of the Magi and the ceremonies surrounding Christmas, where Jesus is depicted as a child. Whether this hypostasis has any special powers attributed to it, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but if you know the denomination, I can ask colleagues who are specialists.
@werekat Thanks excellent answer I think.
@freemo From the Christian things I've been to, my impression is that prayers addressed to baby Jesus relate to things like innocence, purity, and so forth - that is, concepts associated with childhood. Prayers for strength and the like would tend to be addressed to Jesus from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion, and prayers for the departed to Jesus in Heaven.
However, a friend of mine started seminary this month, who will probably know more. I'll pass along any additional info she gives me.
@freemo Side note - why does the word "prayer" mean the words spoken, not the person doing the speaking? Shouldn't it be "prayage" or something like that, so we can reserve "prayer" for the person performing the action?
@freemo I'm told by my (Protestant) seminarian friend that this may be due to denominational differences, as the infant Jesus is venerated along with his mother Mary in Catholic tradition. Protestant references to "baby Jesus" are likely ironic today, since it was vigorously parodied in the movie Talladega Nights.
@khird Ahh that makes a lot of sense, thank you.
@moonman might know