Is The Sinners Prayer Biblical ?

[Guest]

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 'recited' 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.....

Fear Is Good

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28:28

No Fear Is Bad

There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:18

~

A

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:15-16

Cry

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke 18:13

From A Man's Heart

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Psalms 51:1-3

To The Heart Of God Almighty

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Joel 2:32

And What More Can A Sinner Man Do

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. Psalms 116:12-13

~

Be Blessed Beloved Of The KING

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Numbers 6:24-27

Love, Your Brother Joe

[Gael]

There is nothing wrong with saying a sinner's prayer as long as the person saying it has a full understanding of the Gospel.

If a person acknowledges that they are a sinner who can not save themselves; that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, three days later rose from the dead, and is their only means of salvation, saying a sinners prayer with them can be used as a way for them to come to Jesus by faith.

[appy]

In Acts Paul and Silas tell the jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus and he would be saved. But there is also scripture that tells us to not only believe, but to confess with our mouths at the same time. Isn’t this what a person is doing when they say the sinner’s prayer? Isn’t the sinner’s prayer a way for us to not only agree with God, and declare who Christ is and his work on the cross, who we are and our need of a savior. The prayer also declares verbally that we trust Jesus explicitly to save us.

I don’t know how the prayer can be umbilical. First a person who is reciting the prayer has already done the first part. Believing in Jesus in his heart, which prompts him/her to do the second part....a verbal confession.

[Guest AndrewCothran]

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.

Candice that raises another question for me and hope you dont think im trying to be combative but its something i have struggled with ..How does one know i mean really know that they came with a genuine heart of repentance ?

[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?

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 ?

Well yes I would like to see exactly what it is we are discussing. For some prayers may be well said and others misleading. I was taught to say this:

OH my God , I am heartly sorry for having offended thee. And I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment.

Now as I got older, I began to realize that I did not detest my sins because I would be punished for them, but because they were wrong and hurt others. I indeed wanted to seek a way to pay back and reverse the hurt I had caused. If you wish to call that punishment, so be it. But I'd rather call it relief and recompense. So I don't like that prayer. It seems to be saying I'm sorry for sin because I fear justice will be done.

[ayin jade]

How does one know i mean really know that they came with a genuine heart of repentance ?

What matters is that He knows.

[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 ?

Well yes I would like to see exactly what it is we are discussing. For some prayers may be well said and others misleading. I was taught to say this:

OH my God , I am heartly sorry for having offended thee. And I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment.

Now as I got older, I began to realize that I did not detest my sins because I would be punished for them, but because they were wrong and hurt others. I indeed wanted to seek a way to pay back and reverse the hurt I had caused. If you wish to call that punishment, so be it. But I'd rather call it relief and recompense. So I don't like that prayer. It seems to be saying I'm sorry for sin because I fear justice will be done.

We are talking past each other , we are not discussing any one formulated prayer but rather the subject of the sinners prayer ..forgive me for not making that clear when i started the thread . Also i should clarify that i am talking about what is known as the sinners prayer in evangelical circles ..You may have been unaware of what i meant in which case i apologize .

Edited February 19, 2012 by AndrewCothran

[Guest AndrewCothran]

How does one know i mean really know that they came with a genuine heart of repentance ?

What matters is that He knows.

No not really because if you believe you have a genuine heart of repentance but in fact you really do not then logic dictates that you are not saved .. So it matters that you know it too ..

[OneLight]

There is nothing wrong with saying a sinner's prayer as long as the person saying it has a full understanding of the Gospel.

If a person acknowledges that they are a sinner who can not save themselves; that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, three days later rose from the dead, and is their only means of salvation, saying a sinners prayer with them can be used as a way for them to come to Jesus by faith.

How is someone who is a sinner coming to the Lord for salvation have a full understanding of the Gospel?

[~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.

Candice that raises another question for me and hope you dont think im trying to be combative but its something i have struggled with ..How does one know i mean really know that they came with a genuine heart of repentance ?

Right yes... we have threads hundreds of pages long discussing the assurance of salvation, if we can have it, and if so, how? It's a long story (or some people make it that way).

The bible tells us that good fruit is the evidence of our faith. So if you really do believe in Jesus, as you claim, then good works will be a natural result of that. So look at your life and decide, was there any fruit? Did I change? Was I filled with the Holy Spirit?