What is the Sinner's Prayer?

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector as a Model of Repentance

What is a sinner's prayer? In this video, I'm only going to be giving a definition of the sinner's prayer. I'm not going to be making a case for or against it. There are actually two kinds of sinner's prayer.

One kind we see throughout Scripture. One example, one of my favorite examples, is the story that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee stood boldly with his head held high, telling God about all the things he has done, his prayers, his tithe, and how often he does these things.

He even goes as far as to say that, I'm glad I'm not like him, that tax collector. And then we hear the tax collector's prayer. So humble, so contrite that he can't even raise his head. And he simply cries out in repentance and faith, Lord, forgive me, a sinner.

That is a beautiful sinner's prayer. And how many Christians are there around the world who have as part of their testimony, that moment in time when they cried out to God by faith, repenting and believing the gospel, and prayed to God asking him to forgive them of their sin and to be their Lord and their Savior?

A Christian Helping a New Convert Pray in Faith

I know that's a part of my life. And there's another form of a sinner's prayer. This involves a Christian with a new convert or a possible convert. A Christian shares the gospel with a lost person. The person indicates that they want to repent of their sin and they want to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

And then the Christian volunteers to assist that person in praying a prayer of repentance and faith. Sometimes the Christian will actually lead that other person in a prayer, saying in effect, just repeat these words after me.

Mean them from your heart. It's not the words that are important, but it's the condition of your heart that matters. And in doing that, it helps that person to articulate, to verbally express their repentance and faith before God.

Two Kinds of the Sinner's Prayer

So again, two kinds of sinner's prayers. One in which a person simply cries out in repentance and faith to the Lord, and another where a Christian helps that person pray a prayer of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.