A Better Sinner's Prayer

What do you do when the person you with whom you are sharing the Gospel is ready to trust in Christ Jesus?

Don’t Pray The Sinner’s Prayer

I rarely have a person repeat after me in a prayer for salvation.  This is mainly because no such prayer form or example to follow exists in the Bible.  And besides, the last thing I would want a new believer to think is that salvation comes from a prayer, or that prayer functions mechanically.

Also, it is okay, perhaps even better, not to get to the “sinner’s prayer” part too quickly.  Let him think more, and think more deeply about the Gospel and its implications.  Let the joy build within him as you keep talking.

Let Him Talk To God Honestly About Himself

Why would I want to cut short the expression of his heart’s deepest and most earnest desires for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!?  How much of his soul’s outpouring of repentance over his sins and thrill of thankfulness would I gloss over!?  

The grace of God has been stirring up his mind and filling his heart with so much to say.  Let him say it!  Let him love and worship his new God and Savior, Jesus Christ!  

This will turn out to be a unique and much better “sinner’s prayer.”  And believe me, you will be blessed to be there with your new brother in Christ as he prays his first true prayer.

Let Him Develop His Own Relationship With God

At this time of his spiritual birth, it is much better to just be with him, praying silently along with him, available to help him as he asks for your help.  

Sometimes, I may start a person off, or help him end his prayer.  But it is so much more helpful to guide the person gently into expressing himself in his own way to our Father God after our Gospel discussion.  

And this fits well with the very next lesson to teach the new believer:  how to pray and to read the Scriptures, to develop a growing personal relationship God.