Is the sinners prayer Biblical?

[Dave Slayer]

Is the sinners prayer Biblical?

 

[stovebolts]

Sure, I think every Christian should pray it daily ;)

 

[Ret]

If prayed with sincerity and humility...yes!

 

[ephesus32]

Romans 10

Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

 

[Entropic_Prodigy]

Someone once flatly told me that the sinner's prayer in no way was biblically endorsed, and that the bible called upon us to repent and accept Christ -- not mumble a prayer made up by man and expect it to bring forth salvation. So if you are saying the prayer with these intentions in mind, sure -- it's biblical. But the bible really endorses only one traditional prayer:

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

 

[Shilohsfoal]

Is the sinners prayer Biblical?

Jesus told a story of a man who thought highly of himself and a man who thought nothing of himself.I pray the Lord's prayer myself but the point Jesus was making in the following verse wasnt what the man prayed but how he felt inside and how he humbled himself before God.

Luke 18;13
And a publican,stading 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.

 

[Rick W]

Someone once flatly told me that the sinner's prayer in no way was biblically endorsed, and that the bible called upon us to repent and accept Christ -- not mumble a prayer made up by man and expect it to bring forth salvation. So if you are saying the prayer with these intentions in mind, sure -- it's biblical. But the bible really endorses only one traditional prayer:

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

True enough. But then that prayer may be better suited for the believer as in knowing the Father exists, His sovereignty, His providence and of course His mercy.

Shilohsfoal points out the first step toward repentance, acknowledging who one is, a sinner and surrendering to God's mercy.

 

[giveback]

It is possible to pray "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" etc
without being saved, of course.

My sister does that, as sort of an insurance type thing.

The most important thing is that God is allowed to CHANGE your heart,
so that the sin you once loved you now hate.

And vice versa. That the holy things you once despised, you now love.

 

[Jon-Marc]

There is no magical "sinner's prayer". What one prays when asking God for forgiveness must come from the heart. This "Repeat these words after me" didn't work for me when I was 16. I went home just as lost as I was before saying those words, because I was shy and too afraid to say I didn't understand or believe those words. I just did as I was told, because I was used to doing that with adults.

It was nearly a year later that I actually called on the Lord in faith and humility, repenting of my sins, and asking for His forgiveness, and he forgave me! This May 18 will be 46 years since that day.

 

[Dave Slayer]

This May 18 will be 46 years since that day.

But I thought you were 49?

 

[Adullam]

Formula salvation, along with the whole industry that props it up, has done more harm to the gospel than any other one of satan's ploys.