The Difference Between the Sinner's Prayer and a Sinner's Prayer

I remember the first time I received a tract containing the Sinner’s Prayer.^[1] It really stood out to me that while the rest of the tract contained several Scripture references to back up its teaching, the portion containing the sinner’s prayer had absolutely none. The reason for this is simple: there are no encouragements towards the Sinner’s Prayer in Scripture and no examples of anyone praying it. When people in Bible times asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), no one was ever instructed to pray a prayer at all, let alone one like the formulaic prayer typically suggested.

While the Sinner’s Prayer has thankfully been coming under scrutiny in the evangelical world as of late, there are still many churches and individuals that teach it as the Gospel plan of salvation. It’s important to understand that there’s more than an argument from silence against it; there’s plain teaching in Scripture to the contrary. For starters, a “repeat after me” prayer is contrary to what Jesus taught about prayer: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do” (Matthew 6:7). Prayer is not about repeating someone else’s words; it’s about expressing your “heart’s desire” to God in your own words (cf. Romans 10:1).

Further, the Bible gives some examples of sinners whose prayer did not bring about their salvation. Cornelius had many things going for him: “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). Yet, as the Bible reveals, while he did all of these things, he still was lost, because he still needed to hear from Peter the “words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14). When Cornelius did hear those words that brought about his salvation, he wasn’t told to pray a prayer; instead, Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48).

The conversion of Paul, who was known in Jewish circles as Saul of Tarsus, is even more telling. Paul saw a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and audibly called out to Him, “Lord” (Acts 9:3-6). While this simple prayer might have satisfied some who believe in salvation by the Sinner’s Prayer, the Lord still believed there was something he “must do” (Acts 9:6). While he waited for someone who would tell him what he had to do, the Bible describes him as “praying” (Acts 9:11). However, this prayer did not allow him to call upon the name of the Lord or be saved. These things came together when he heard the Gospel and was told by Ananias, “ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). “Calling on the name of the Lord” evidently was not saying “Lord” or “praying”; it was obeying the Lord’s instructions, culminating in baptism.

Careful students of the Bible have observed that there is some truth in what a formerly blind man said to the scribes and Pharisees, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31). While some have dismissed what this man said as he himself was still on the path of discovering Jesus, his words have inspired backing. Quoting from Psalm 34 and applying its truths to the New Testament era, Peter wrote, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). The weight of the second statement implies that the inverse of the first statement is also true: the eyes of the Lord are not on the wicked, and His ears are not open to their prayers.

In their zeal to lead people away from the Sinner’s Prayer, some have used passages like John 9:31 and 1 Peter 3:12 as proof texts against the practice. The danger of proof texts though is that at times they can create pretexts which mask the truth. On more than one occasion, I’ve heard people who know that the Sinner’s Prayer is not God’s prescribed means for salvation apply these texts and the logic I’ve described above to a sinner’s prayer, i.e., when a sinner who has not been “born again” (cf. John 3:3-5) prays from the heart to God. These people sometimes believe that regardless of what he prays, a sinner simply is not heard and his prayer has no effect.

When Habakkuk affirms that God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness,” should we draw the conclusion that sin somehow blocks out God’s ability to see omnisciently? Absolutely not. Psalm 37:12-13 for example implies that God sees not only the present state of the wicked but also his future; the whole Bible in fact speaks of God’s ability both to foresee and see sin. Well, what about John 9:31 and 1 Peter 3:12? Should we conclude from these and other passages that sin blocks out God’s ability to hear omnisciently? Again, no. It should be obvious that an omniscient God hears everything, including the prayer of sinners. John 9:31, 1 Peter 3:12, and other passages simply affirm that while God hears all prayers omnisciently, He does not hear all prayers relationally.

Remember, one of the noteworthy characteristics of Cornelius prior to his conversion was that he “prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). An angel said of his prayers, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4); they were heard! Those who try to say that this is true because Cornelius was still under the Patriarchal law or because he was a proselyte are missing the clear implication of what the text later reveals that the angel also said; Cornelius was lost because he needed to hear “words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14). If Cornelius had prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, a prayer seeking salvation in Jesus, He would not have been relationally heard, because praying for forgiveness of sins is a privilege of those who have “practice[d] the truth” necessary to “put on Christ” (1 John 1:6-9; Galatians 3:27). Instead, Cornelius was heard because he prayed a sinner’s prayer, and God’s providence connected him with someone who could teach him the truth which would make him free (John 8:31-32).

While we are removed from the special circumstances that surrounded Cornelius’ conversion, I am convinced that when any sinner truly seeks salvation that God will do just as He did with Cornelius and providentially connect that sinner with the truth. Jesus said,


While I have no Biblical reason to expect angelic messages like Cornelius and Peter received, I have every reason to believe that God still knows how to give gifts to those who seek them and to bring together truth seekers with truth teachers.

The sad reality for many who pray the Sinner’s Prayer is that they stop seeking, convinced that a formulaic prayer often coupled with an emotional experience have brought about their salvation. While I don’t doubt the zeal of the many who have prayed this prayer, it unfortunately is “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” and an effort to establish one’s “own righteousness” instead of submitting oneself “to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2-3). May God help us all to abandon any religious practice for which there is no Biblical command or example and help us to obey “from the heart that form of doctrine” taught in the Bible (Romans 6:17).

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org