The Sinner's Prayer: Is it Biblical or Tradition?

In a bold statement, Paul Washer once claimed that the “sinner’s prayer has sent more people to hell than anything on the face of the earth.” Interestingly, David Platt has described the sinner’s prayer as a “superstitious prayer” — whatever that means.

Meanwhile, Billy Graham promoted the sinner’s prayer in his sermons, and is even credited with popularizing it in the 20th Century. In addition to that, there are many faithful saints who’ve stated that a sinner’s prayer helped them communicate with God when they didn’t know what to say.

Clearly, the sinner’s prayer has received mixed reviews. There are those who favor it and there are those who oppose it.

Some believe it’s the way to salvation, placing too much emphasis on it, wondering “Did I say the right words? Did I say it loud enough for God to hear? I’ll repeat it ten more times to be safe. I just want to make sure that it ‘takes.’”

Additionally, many people who prayed years ago, begin to question their conversion after hearing someone “reveal” that their prayer was unbiblical. Sadly, it’s not uncommon for one to question their faith, after hearing arguments surrounding the topic.

Therefore, it goes without saying that regardless of what you believe about it, a lack of understanding on this subject can be detrimental. So, what is “the sinner’s prayer?” Does it have any biblical basis? Should we use it when presenting the gospel? Let’s dive right in.

What Is The Sinner’s Prayer?

Forgive me for being technical, but I must first clarify that there is no ‘the’ sinner’s prayer since the definite article ‘the’ indicates there is one particular prayer. In reality, these prayers vary greatly in terms of wording and length. While some are short and sweet, others will put you to sleep. Therefore, we aren’t talking about one specific prayer, but many.

Nevertheless, the basic elements of a sinner’s prayer remain the same. The penitent acknowledges God the Father, acknowledges Jesus as his Savior, pleads for forgiveness of sin, and asks the Holy Spirit to change his life. As an example, it may look like this:

“God, I know that I’m a sinner, and that I deserve hell for my sins. But I believe Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for that sin so I could gain eternal life. Therefore, I put my trust in him for salvation. I ask that you forgive me of all my sin and help me to live for you by the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for saving me! Amen.”

There are various ways in which a sinner’s prayer can be administered. For example, a street evangelist might encourage someone they witness to, to pray. During an altar call, a pastor may ask people to repeat a prayer to accept Christ. In a large church, the preacher may ask those who want to be saved to raise their hands.

After that, they’ll ask everyone to close their eyes and bow their heads so that no one can look around. Then, they’ll lead the entire congregation in a prayer for salvation. As soon as the prayer ends, penitents are congratulated and welcomed into God’s family. A bunch of whistling, shouting, and thunderous clapping concludes the event.

So, there you have it, the basics of a sinner’s prayer. Let’s now take a brief look at the most common arguments for and against this witnessing method.

What The Supporter Says:

Romans 10:9-10 states: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (NIV)

These verses of Scripture are frequently used to support the sinner’s prayer argument. The claim, though challenged, is that these verses clearly state the importance of prayer in the process of salvation and therefore justifies what we call the sinner’s prayer.

In the passage, Paul quotes Moses, confirming to the Romans what Moses told the Israelites about serving God (Deut. 30:11-14). It’s neither a mystery nor something that’s out of reach. With our hearts, we trust and believe in the Lord, and with our mouths, we agree with him, which means we intend to obey him. Agreement and obedience demonstrate trust.

However, since not all people can speak, Paul couldn’t have been suggesting that verbal prayer is necessary for salvation. The “mouth” obviously represents general agreement with God, or even our vow to uphold his covenant.

Before speaking the Ten Words on Mount Sinai, the Lord revealed his identity to the Israelites (Ex. 20:2; Ex. 19:4). He then proposed the terms of his covenant to them, saying, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” (NIV).

Moses relayed this message to the people, in which they unanimously agreed saying: “We will do everything the Lord has said” (NIV) (Ex. 19:1- 8). For the Lord, this simple response was sufficient (v. 10-11). By trusting the person of God with their hearts and agreeing to his covenant with their mouths, they came into a relationship with the God of Abraham.

Thankfully, many advocates of the sinner’s prayer acknowledge that a prayer alone can’t save anyone. There must also be some understanding of the gospel and sincerity in the heart. In their opinion, the sinner’s prayer can’t accomplish anything by itself, but can be acceptable to God, if accompanied by faith and repentance.

What The Opposition Says:

According to those opposed to the sinner’s prayer, it misleads people, making them believe they’re saved when they aren’t. Therefore, they claim the prayer is dangerous. Their main reason for rejecting it is that it isn’t mentioned in the Bible. Because the Bible doesn’t mention repeating a prayer for eternal life, they believe it gives people a false sense of assurance.

They think those deceived by this lie continue to live like the devil, because they believe they’re magically saved by words, when there’s been no repentance, no understanding, and therefore no conversion. In other words, these people believe they’re safe, unaware that they’re still lost.

Opposing arguments generally follow this line of reasoning, but some challengers admit that it’s not impossible to be saved as a result of a sinner’s prayer. God can choose to be merciful to whom he chooses. Nevertheless, they refer to this as an “exception” God makes and not his rule.

What The Bible Says:

Voddie Baucham has stated that you will “never ever ever find the sinner’s prayer in the Bible.” Ray Comfort said, “The sinner’s prayer is not biblical, you can’t find it in Scripture.” Well, I’m here to tell you that you can indeed find it in Scripture—that is if you’re looking. Discovering truth requires only that we seek it.

Let’s start at the book of Hosea. Hosea 14:1-3 urges the Israelites regarding their rebellion:

“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall!

Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins

and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” (NIV)

They were advised to return to the Lord—acknowledging him alone as God, and renouncing all other gods and idols to follow him. This is the biblical meaning of repentance. It’s also important to note that they were given the words to say. In other words, they were to repeat this prayer to God. In response to this, the Lord would say, “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.” (Hosea 14:4 NIV)

Another example is Manasseh, whom God listened to when he sought the Lord’s grace after his rebellion (2 Chron. 33).

And if David’s psalm after his affair with Bathsheba doesn’t qualify as a prayer for forgiveness, then I’m not sure what does (Psalm 51:1-19).

These prayers can be considered sinner’s prayers, or rather, prayers for forgiveness or repentance. They all demonstrate a sincere desire to return to God and/or his ways.

Now, let’s look at some examples from the New Testament.

In his very brief prayer, the thief on the cross acknowledged his sin, acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and demonstrated his trust in him by asking Christ to remember him when he came into his kingdom (Lk. 23:39-43).

In Luke chapter 18, Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector, who both went up to pray at the temple. In his prayer, the Pharisee thanked God for not being like the “low-lifes,” and boasted of his good works at the end. The tax collector, however, stood at a distance, and didn’t even look toward heaven, but simply beat his chest and prayed saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” But did Jesus say his prayer was ineffective? No. What he said was that the man went home justified before God.

Cornelius, a Gentile, prayed to God and probably to other gods as well. It’s unclear what his prayers consisted of, but the Lord sent an angel to tell him that he’d heard his prayers and taken notice of his alms. Apparently, the Lord saw something sincere in Cornelius’ heart. So, in a merciful response, he sent Peter to preach the Gospel, which led Cornelius to fully trust in the Lord, receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 10). And it all began with prayer.

Let’s not forget about the prodigal son who returned to his father with a pre-rehearsed prayer, but couldn’t finish it because of his father’s excitement (Lk. 15:11-24).

As we can see from the Bible, repentance is usually accompanied by some form of what we call a “sinner’s prayer.” This prayer is simply a request for forgiveness, and a verbal expression of our decision to trust in God and to follow his ways. Prayer and repentance naturally go together since our mouths speak from the abundance of our hearts (Lk. 6:45; Matt. 12:34). However, as new believers, we may need help expressing ourselves. Hence the reason for the repeated prayer.

The Verdict:

So, does the sinner’s prayer have any biblical basis? Yes. Does the Bible support the sinner’s prayer as a means of salvation? Absolutely not. One thing we must recognize is that the only thing that saves us is God’s grace. It doesn’t matter what else we attempt to do. If we don’t have grace, we have nothing.

God, who has mercy on whomever he chooses, however he chooses, has chosen faith as the channel through which to send his saving grace. If we took the time to acknowledge this, then something as silly as whether to say a prayer wouldn’t even be an argument among believers.

The truth is that “the sinner’s prayer” isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Bible. However, it is indeed biblical. What we refer to as a “sinner’s prayer,” with its many variations, is simply communication with God, for the purpose of repentance.

Repentance was required in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and it’s required of us today. As we’ve seen, there are many biblical examples of prayers made to God for repentance and those prayers were acceptable to him. It doesn’t matter whether it was for physical or spiritual salvation—God is the same.

Conclusion

Repenting requires communication with God, in some form, which can be verbal or non-verbal. Through this communication, we acknowledge the Lord, enter his covenant, and join his people. Although a prayer doesn’t save us, it conveys our inward faith, shows our agreement with God, and voices our commitment to him. As a result of this faith, he issues his grace.

So, what’s the problem?

Ironically, many of those who oppose the sinner’s prayer, are the same people who themselves once prayed for repentance before God. Unfortunately, being puffed up with knowledge, and realizing there’s no mention of “the sinner’s prayer” in the Bible, they’ve begun to protest against it. Unfortunately, the complex wisdom of man gets in the way of the simplicity that is in Christ.

But here’s the bottom line. There’s no reason to doubt the sincerity of someone who verbally professes the Lord. The reason people don’t “live right” after saying a sinners prayer is probably not because they were insincere, but because many preachers today invite people to pray, having never even preached the gospel. Nowadays, many sermons are just attempts to make people feel good, followed by an altar call to accept Jesus. Congregants are not even being taught who God is, but as we see in Exodus 20:2, that’s essential.

A second issue is that, after sinners are moved to repent, they’re left to themselves without any guidance. The reason for this is that many congregations lack Bible study and discipleship programs to help members mature in their faith. It’s like leaving a newborn on the side of the road to fend for itself. You can’t expect anything good to come of it.

The above two cases produce one of two types of believers—either legalistic Christians, who have a zeal for God, but based on man-made teachings, or what we call “carnal” Christians, who are nonchalant about serving the Lord. Together, they form an army of those who honor God with their lips but whose minds are far from him, i.e., far from his teachings, his will, and his purpose.

In my opinion, many leaders are more focused on entertainment and helping folks get to know one another, than helping them get to know God and his principles. Therefore, biblical teaching either takes a backseat, or is absent altogether. Then, after a year or so, when the new believers show no growth, or go M.I.A., they’re condemned and branded as “worldly.” And who’s to blame for this failure? If not the members themselves, it’s often the sinner’s prayer.

However, it’s not the prayer that’s misleading, but the leaders who fail to lead God’s people. Therefore, the sinner’s prayer shouldn’t be in question, but the negligence of those who fail to shepherd God’s sheep according to Scripture.

**Unless otherwise noted, the thoughts expressed in this post are my own, and are intended to guide, not replace one’s own conviction and study of Scripture.

The Sinner’s Prayer: Is it Biblical or Tradition?