Is The Sinners Prayer Biblical ?

[Guest AndrewCothran]

I was raised with it but i wonder how it really squares with the bible ..I am not against it i am just trying to understand ,,thank you for your thoughts

Andy

[ayin jade]

Romans 10

9 Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone believing on Him shall not be put to shame."

Calling on Jesus is biblical. The condition of the heart is biblical. How one does it, whether in a prayer or otherwise, does not matter.

My "sinner's prayer" consisted of standing in my living room, looking upwards and saying "So this is what you want from me Lord, to believe that He is Your Son".

[childeye]

I was raised with it but i wonder how it really squares with the bible ..I am not against it i am just trying to understand ,,thank you for your thoughts

Andy

Andy, could you please recite the sinners prayer so we can see what it says?

[gdemoss]

Crying out to God in the name of Jesus Christ for salvation is biblical. It is how I began my journey to the salvation of my soul that I will receive at the end of my faith, having laid hold on eternal life which is knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

Peace be unto you,

Gary

[Guest shiloh357]

I was raised with it but i wonder how it really squares with the bible ..I am not against it i am just trying to understand ,,thank you for your thoughts

Andy

The sinner's prayer is not biblical, but it is not unbiblical either. I mean we have no model for the sinner's prayer in the Bible, but it doesn't violate the Bible either.

It is merely a point of contact for the person being saved. The sinner's prayer does not save anyone. It is not meant to. But it is for the good of the person being saved, because it marks a point in their life they won't forget.

In a related matter, the altar call is a relatively recent tradition as well. It was started by Dwight L. Moody. He had ended a church service on the night of the great Chicago fire and he grieved over the people in his congregation, especially those who died that night without a chance to receive Jesus. He vowed from that moment on that he would not end a service without an invitation to receive Jesus as Savior. That is how the tradition of the altar call in most evangelical churches began.

[Guest AndrewCothran]

I was raised with it but i wonder how it really squares with the bible ..I am not against it i am just trying to understand ,,thank you for your thoughts

Andy

Andy, could you please recite the sinners prayer so we can see what it says?

There are many variations and i am not speaking of one in particular so i cannot recite one ..i can give you an example if you would like however ?

[Guest AndrewCothran]

I was raised with it but i wonder how it really squares with the bible ..I am not against it i am just trying to understand ,,thank you for your thoughts

Andy

The sinner's prayer is not biblical, but it is not unbiblical either. I mean we have no model for the sinner's prayer in the Bible, but it doesn't violate the Bible either.

It is merely a point of contact for the person being saved. The sinner's prayer does not save anyone. It is not meant to. But it is for the good of the person being saved, because it marks a point in their life they won't forget.

In a related matter, the altar call is a relatively recent tradition as well. It was started by Dwight L. Moody. He had ended a church service on the night of the great Chicago fire and he grieved over the people in his congregation, especially those who died that night without a chance to receive Jesus. He vowed from that moment on that he would not end a service without an invitation to receive Jesus as Savior. That is how the tradition of the altar call in most evangelical churches began.

I don't believe a prayer in and of itself saves anyone ..but i was taught that this is HOW we come to Christ ? Would you say that is correct or no ?

[NathanH]

We come to God through Christ because He calls to us. The "prayer", I believe, is unbiblical and can be deceptive. More often than not it is 'tecited' by those who are scared, not those who are repentive.

[gdemoss]

We come to God through Christ because He calls to us. The "prayer", I believe, is unbiblical and can be deceptive. More often than not it is 'tecited' by those who are scared, not those who are repentive.

The fear of God (which moves men to make the prayer) is the beginning of wisdom. Departing from evil (continuing to follow Christ after praying) is understanding.

Gary

[~candice~]

We come to God through Christ because He calls to us. The "prayer", I believe, is unbiblical and can be deceptive. More often than not it is 'tecited' by those who are scared, not those who are repentive.

How do you know this??? Do you know the heart and the final outcome of those who have prayed like this?

I responded to an altar call and prayed a 'sinners prayer' as the first expression of my new faith. And I meant it with a genuine heart of repentance.

There is nothing wrong with praying such a prayer so long as it is framed in a manner that says JESUS saves by grace and not by a magical prayer.