Sinner's Prayer

The Sinner's Prayer is an evangelical term referring to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who feel convicted of the presence of sin in their life and desire to form or renew a personal relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ. It is a popular phenomenon in Protestant circles, and has been called "a hallmark of evangelical conversionism". It is said to happen thousands of times every day around the world—in one-to-one conversations between friends, relatives, and even strangers; in pastors' offices; via email; in online chat rooms; in addition to both small and large worship services. It is not intended as liturgical like a creed or a confiteor. It is intended to be an act of initial conversion to Christianity, and a way to receive salvation, and get to go to heaven.

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, a minister or other worship leader will invite those desiring to receive Christ (thus becoming Christians) to repeat with him or her 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”.

The “Sinner’s Prayer” takes various forms, all of which have the same general thrust. 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 many Protestant churches such as Baptists, evangelicals, fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and charismatics. It is sometimes uttered by Christians seeking redemption or reaffirming their faith in Christ during a crisis or disaster, when death may be imminent. It is generally not used by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox, Lutherans, and other ancient traditionally liturgical Christian Churches. Some have noted, however, that its content (though not its intended use) is typically quite similar to the Jesus Prayer of the Eastern Orthodox traditions.

One of many New Testament passages that proponents believe support the notion of a “Sinner’s Prayer” is found in Romans 10:9-10 (NIV):

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.

The “Sinner’s Prayer” is not without its critics. While some say such a prayer is not found in the Bible, proponents often point to passages such as Romans 10:9-10, Luke 18:13-14, and Matthew 7:7 as their sources.