[Evangelical]

My English is fine I think, how about your English? Whether it is verbally spoken or in written form it looks like a prayer to me "Thank you, Athanasius. And thank you, Father.". He is thanking him for "a grace the magnitude of which our minds can never fully grasp". I thought that thanks should be directed to Jesus.

I am fairly sure if I wrote "thankyou Witness Lee, and thankyou Father in Jesus name amen" you would say I was praying to Witness Lee.

It seems to be a prayer to Heaven, where Athanasius and the Father are. It should say "thankyou Father for Athanasius", or "we should be thankful to Athanasius". But the address of Athanasius as "thankyou Athanasius" followed by "in the name of Jesus, amen" is a prayer. A person does not normally direct a "thankyou" like that to someone who is dead - he is addressing Athanasius directly. I don't know John Piper, what his background is, whether he is partial to prayers to dead Saints in heaven. I am aware that some protestants do pray to the Saints, Episcopalians/Anglicans can sometimes. Whether a regular habit or a slip or the tongue, maybe he is a secret Orthodox like Hank and we may soon see him join the church as well.