Sinner's prayer

This article is about the Christian term. For other uses, see Sinner's prayer (disambiguation).

William Holman Hunt's 19th century The Light of the World is an allegory of Jesus knocking on the door of the sinner's heart.

The Sinner's prayer (also called the Consecration prayer and Salvation prayer) is an evangelical term referring to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who feel sin in their lives and have the desire to form or renew a personal relationship. This prayer is not mandatory but, for some, functions as a way to communicate with and understand their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is a popular prayer in evangelical circles.[1] While some Christians see reciting the Sinner's prayer as the moment defining one's salvation, others see it as a beginning step of one's lifelong faith journey.[2][3]

It also may be prayed as an act of "re-commitment" for those who are already believers in the faith. Often, at the end of a worship service, in what is known as an altar call, a minister or other worship leader will invite those desiring to receive Christ (thus becoming born again) to repeat with them the words of some form of a Sinner's prayer. It also is frequently found on printed gospel tracts, urging people to "repeat these words from the bottom of your heart".[4]

The Sinner's prayer takes various forms, all of which have the same general thrust.[5] Since it is considered a matter of one's personal will, it can be prayed silently, aloud, read from a suggested model, or repeated after someone modeling the prayer role. There is no formula of specific words considered essential, although it usually contains an admission of sin and a petition asking that Jesus enter into the person's heart (that is to say, the center of their life). The use of the Sinner's prayer is common within some Protestant denominations, such as Baptist Churches and Methodist Churches, as well as in movements that span several denominations, including evangelical, fundamentalist, and charismatic Christianity.[6] It has also been used, though not as widely, by some Anglicans,[7][8] Lutherans,[9][10] and Roman Catholics.[11][12] It is sometimes uttered by Christians seeking redemption or reaffirming their faith in Christ during a crisis or disaster, when death may be imminent.

Because no such prayer or conversion is found in the Bible, some have critiqued the Sinner's prayer, calling it a "cataract of nonsense" and an "apostasy".[13] David Platt has raised questions over the authenticity of the conversions of people using the Sinner's prayer based on research by George Barna.[14]

  1. ^ Olsen, Ted (20 June 2012). "Southern Baptists Debate the Sinner's Prayer". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. ^ Burton-Edwards, Taylor. "Is the concept "saved, born-again" unique to evangelicals or Baptists? Does it apply to Methodists?". umc.org. The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 10 March 2016. We declare that good news with the expectation that it will lead persons to an experience of conversion, of "entirely turning over" their lives to God by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we expect that all disciples of Jesus Christ are transforming the culture in which they find themselves, individually and collectively, as they bear witness to and become agents of the work of God's kingdom in the world. We are evangelical! Where we may be different from some other evangelicals (including some, but not all Baptists) is that we understand conversion to be a lifelong process, a continual turning of our lives and wills over to God for God's use and purposes. And to begin that lifelong process, we must, as the scriptures teach and John Wesley reminds us, be "born again."
  3. ^ Fortson, Nina. "God's gift of Salvation". Asbury United Methodist Church. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2016. You have to personally make the decision to follow Jesus on your own. Once you have decided to follow Jesus, you must admit that you are a sinner and repent (turn away from) of your sins and invite Jesus to come into your life as your personal Savior. ...Know that this is an exciting new journey of a brand new life through Jesus Christ. Equip yourself with the Word of God, get into a believing bible-based church and surround yourself around other Christian believers.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Howard, Robert Glenn. "A Theory of Vernacular Rhetoric: The Case of the 'Sinner's Prayer' Online". Folklore 116.2 (2005): 175-91
  5. ^ Jackson, Wayne (17 April 2024). "The Sinner's Prayer - Is It Biblical? | ChristianCourier.com". Christian Courier. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Message For You! - Message with Salvation Prayer in 100+ languages". Message-For-You.net. 5 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Knowing Jesus - and making Him known - is the heart of our mission". Church Of The Resurrection (ACNA. 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2016. If you would like to have a relationship with God and you are ready to say these three things, then here is a very simple prayer that you can pray and which will be the start of that relationship: Lord Jesus Christ, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life (take a few moments to ask His forgiveness for anything particular that is on your conscience). Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank You that You died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank You that You offer me forgiveness and the gift of Your Spirit. I now receive that gift. Please come into my life by Your Holy Spirit to be with me forever. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.
  8. ^ "Prayer of Salvation". Lowell, MA: St. Stephen's Anglican Church. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016. The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever pray. When we're ready to become a Christian, we're ready to have our first real conversation with God, and these are its components: We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve. We confess our past life of sin – living for ourselves and not obeying God. We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us. ...Welcome to the family of God! We encourage you now to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.
  9. ^ "Invite Jesus In". Bethel Lutheran Church (ELCA). 2007. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016. Do you believe in Jesus and that he died for your sins? If you would like to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior, pray to him and tell him now. Prayer is just talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so much concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. So, the prayer does not have to have fancy religious-sounding words. It can be in your own words and as simple as: Lord, I believe in You. I believe you died for my sins. I am a sinner. I confess all my sins. Please forgive me. Come into my heart now and be Lord of my life. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
  10. ^ "Steps to Peace with God". St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lobo2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Prayer of Consecration". St. Paul Street Evangelization. 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016. Since we do not usually have immediate recourse to the Sacraments if we meet someone who is not a believer we can invite them, right then, to pray with us and invite Jesus Christ into their life. [...] Catholics would say that someone who prays sincerely to be forgiven their sins and resolves to enter the Church and receive the Sacraments may very well be saved even before baptism (if they were killed) by the 'baptism of desire' or for certain reasons 'baptism by blood'. Baptism is necessary for salvation (it is when God washes away our sins and we die & rise with Christ), however prayer is a great place to start. It is never too soon to ask God to forgive us our sins and seek to be members of the Kingdom of God through the Catholic Church.
  13. ^ Steven Francis Staten. "The Sinner's Prayer". The Interactive Bible. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  14. ^ "Barna Study of Religious Change Since 1991 Shows Significant Changes by Faith Group". Barna Group. Retrieved 18 April 2024.