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THE SINNER'S PRAYER Lately, I've seen a lot of criticism aimed at what is commonly called "the sinner's prayer," and some have pretty much stated that one cannot be saved by praying at all. This is a prime example of someone being so alarmed by one extreme that they do a 180 and err by embracing the opposite extreme. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. At one extreme we have the empty believists who think that God will jump to save anyone whom they can coerce into praying an empty salvation prayer. These people usually keep a running tally of the "professions of faith" that they've notched in their belts while priding themselves with being "soul winners," even though a very high percentage of their converts never attend church services, never get baptized, and never live a new life in Christ. Then we have the opposing extreme where salvation prayers are rejected altogether since one must BELIEVE on Christ by RECEIVING Christ, which obviously goes a bit deeper than merely repeating a prayer. It is the sad reality of Laodicea that spiritual discernment is in such tragic shortage that common sense is very UNcommon and one often has to STATE and even SPELL OUT what should be self-evident to believers. The fact that God looks on the HEART is not exactly news among the righteous, at least not to anyone paying attention to his words (I Sam. 16:7; Rev. 2:23; II Chr. 16:9; I Kgs. 8:39; Mat. 15:8). SO, it should be a GIVEN that a sinner's prayer for salvation is useless, if it isn't a genuine prayer from the heart. For instance, the dead Pharisee only prayed WITH HIMSELF when he said, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." (Luke 18:11-12) He wasted his time and remained in his sins. However, the very publican that he looked down on found JUSTIFICATION with a DIFFERENT KIND of prayer: "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18:13) Regardless of what the critics have to say, the Lord Jesus Christ said, "this man went down to his house justified." (Luke 18:14) Maybe it shouldn't be formally labeled "THE sinner's prayer," but it was certainly a sincere prayer from a sinner's heart that moved God to forgiveness. It is in this spirit that Paul gives us Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." The verse is placed within the context of one having to HEAR and BELIEVE WITH THE HEART (10:4-14). If a sinner hears the gospel and believes it with his heart, then it's only natural for him to speak to God about it: ". . . out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Mat. 12:34) So sealing his heart belief with an outward prayer is fine, which is exactly what the publican did in Luke 18:13. But to do so with no believing heart is a waste of time, just as it was with the lost and blind Pharisee who prayed only with himself. So, is there a sinner's prayer? Yes, when it's from a truly repentant heart, such as with the publican or the dying thief on the cross. But in both cases, no one pressured or coached these men other than the Holy Spirit. Man planted and watered, but God gave the increase (I Cor. 3:6-7). Sure, Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," but it says it only after saying a great deal about BELIEF from the HEART. Please observe: "Brethren, my HEART'S DESIRE and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have NOT SUBMITTED themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that BELIEVETH. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine HEART, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy HEART: that is, the word of FAITH, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THY HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the HEART man BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever BELIEVETH on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that CALL upon him. For whosoever shall CALL upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED. How then shall they CALL on him in whom they have not BELIEVED? and how shall they BELIEVE in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:1-14) Translation: If you are comfortable in your sins and you call on the Lord just to complete a religious routine, God will not be mocked by your foolishness, and you'll split hell wide open. But if you are convicted of your sins and you seek forgiveness through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, then you can believe on Christ in your heart and call on Him with your mouth and be SAVED and JUSTIFIED like the publican (JUST-IF-I'D never sinned). The validity of "the sinner's prayer" rests entirely upon the heart of the sinner. Any "soul winner" that doesn't understand that needs to quarantine himself until he does. I think it was Ravenhill who said that the sinner's prayer has sent more people to hell than all the bars in America. His sentiment is understood and appreciated by this preacher, but, to be more exact, it is the empty-believe "soul winners" who have sent the people to hell by coercing them into a prayer that they weren't ready to pray. God wants people to call on Him out of a PURE heart (II Tim. 2:22), not out of an insincere heart. The only thing wrong with the sinner's prayer is the unrepentant people praying it at the guidance of religious fools. The fact that any of that has to be explained speaks volumes about the spiritual drought that has so deeply impacted professing Christianity.