Have you prayed A SINNER'S PRAYER? I am sure that every sinner's prayer will vary, but there are some elements of a sinner's prayer that are absolutely necessary.

• The sinner must come to God with the REALIZATION THAT HE IS A SINNER. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
• There must be CONFESSION OF SIN. Like the prodigal son, he should say, "I have sinned..." (Luke 15:21). The publican prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).
• There must be REPENTANCE AND SORROW FOR SIN. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..." (2 Corrinthians 7:10).
• There must be an UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S PROVISION for salvation and FAITH in that provision. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
• There must be SURRENDER to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
• There must be ACCEPTANCE of God's grace and GRATITUDE for His forgiveness.

In helping sinners to God on a personal basis, I first explain God's provision for salvation and the meaning of being "born again" from John 3. Then I tell them that I would like to lead them in a sinner's prayer, and I ask them to pray out loud after me. I generally have them pray like this:

"Dear Father in heaven, I know that I am a sinner, and I am guilty of sinning against You. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask You to forgive me. I believe You gave Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins on the cross, and I now accept that provision of salvation. Lord, if You will forgive me of all my sins, I will live for You for the rest of my life. I will take You as the Lord and Master of my life. I will do what You want me to do. I will go where You want me to go. I will be what You want me to be. Thank you, Lord, for hearing this prayer and for forgiving me of all my sins. I believe You do forgive me, and I accept Your salvation. Thank You for saving me now. Amen."

After leading them in prayer like this, I ask them to pray to the Lord using their own words as I pray for them.

Have you ever prayed the sinner's prayer? If not, I urge you to do it now and give the Lord an opportunity to work supernaturally in your life. Will you do it now? Just pray that prayer sincerely out of your heart--God will do the rest!

If you have just prayed this prayer, I congratulate you for your decision to pray and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). When you did your part of that verse, (confessed your sins) God did His part (cleansed you from all unrighteousness)! Praise the Lord!

There will be spiritual battles you must fight in the Christian life. Satan will do all he can to keep you from seeking and following the Lord, but you can make it because we read in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” You will find that a set time alone with God each day in prayer and Bible reading will greatly strengthen you in your new life and walk with Christ. The faith and fellowship of other believers is another invaluable aid in the Christian life and you will find that fellowship in attending the church services (click here to see our church service times and coming events). In addition, you will experience a tremendous spiritual uplift and encouragement from the Bible messages, congregational singing and worship, and prayer with other believers in the Lord (click here to hear a few of our worship services and preaching from the Bible).

God bless you! If you have just prayed this prayer would you let me know? I would really like to give you some further encouragement in the way of the Lord and I would like to pray with you that God will lead and guide you daily in His paths.

By the way, you will find lots of spiritual help on this site. For instance, (click here to read my weekly "Pastor's Comments" columns) that we place in the area newspapers. Also, we have three billboards that are no longer up on their previous physical sites, but we still show them on our home page and if you click on them you will find much help relative to the subject of that billboard. For instance, (click here to read how Jesus satisfies the spiritually thirsty! My personal testimony of how God supernaturally changed my life as a youth when He filled me with the Holy Spirit is included here). The Biblical information under each of these billboards will be of great help to you.

If I can be of help to you at any time, please do not hesitate to call upon me.

In His service,