I agree that Jesus was [not] praying to Himself, but at the same time, He indeed was praying to Himself, but in a different form (or aspect). The Father is not the Son, nor is the Father the Spirit . . . they are three distinct aspects of One . . . the One God of all that is.
I'm a drummer. Only recently have I picked up the sticks to play again. In prior years, I used to be pretty good, for I played every day for over ten years. My mind knows exactly what my body should do to ensure that the sticks don't fly out of my hands. My mind knows how the drums should sound so that when I play, there is an emotional texture to the sounds that I create. But without recent years of practice, I find that my body is unable to play as it once did. My mind is "there" - my mind knows exactly what the sounds that I should be able to create, but my body is not participating. I experience frustrations with my hands and feet, for they are not doing what they once did. What do I do? I talk to my body and say, "Come!! You know what to do . . . why can't you do this?"
When my mind speaks to my body, is my body not me? My mind, or, the god of my person speaks to my body, are they not one? Of course, my body is me, and so is my mind. I am made up of three aspects, my mind, body, and of course, we have a spirit (hopefully not one of timidity). My body is me; my mind is me, but they are clearly not the same thing. But when one aspect of me speaks to another, the one aspect is clearly speaking to itself. And, at times . . . my body speaks to me, conveying messages of pain and pleasure and even the manufacture of sounds. What makes music from the drums? Is it my mind or is it my body? Without the body, the drums cannot make sounds. So who is responsible for the music that is made? Is it my mind or my body? Which should take responsibility for it all? If I say that my mind takes full credit, then I deny the necessity of my body. If I deny my mind and only give credit to my body, and I not negligent?
Early in this thread, I presented this idea and it was shot down. So be it. That said, there is no doubt that God gave us three aspects to ourselves so that He could demonstrate Himself in how we are to view the Trinity . . . the Nature of God. And of course; I admit that I could be wrong, but to date, and in my opinion, there is no greater way to express the Trinity other than by looking at ourselves in how He has created us to be and exist.
Jesus, who is God manifested in the Flesh, was praying to God as He is in Heaven. They are One, but One is physical, One is Spirit, One is the "Command Center." They are all separate aspects of One God just as our mind, spirit and body are all aspects of one "person."