I grew up in a “first generation” Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The congregation that my parents began attending when I was an infant was the first Calvinistic, confessional body to appear in our region since theological modernism destroyed the integrity of the PCUSA a generation prior.

There are many blessings to growing up in such a context. Yet there were also a few bumps.

Reformation is a process, not an event. In a church where most members come from non-Reformed backgrounds, certain questions can remain murky. One issue that was unclear for me growing up was the question of assurance. Many of the adult Christians surrounding me could remember the day and the hour that they gave their life to Christ. I heard about “asking Jesus into your heart.” One lady said, “It’s like giving birth; you know when it happens.”

But what do such testimonies say to those who grow up being taught to pray and seek Jesus? I could not recount the moment when I began to believe. How then could I be sure I was a Christian?

As a young man struggling with assurance, I tried to put the question to rest using the “sinner’s prayer.” Over and over again, I asked Jesus to save me—trying to make sure my head and heart were clear of any unholy thoughts. But how could I ever be sure I had done it right? How could I be sure I had said the right prayer? The “sinner’s prayer” brought me no relief, only more exhaustion.

What should we say to those who grew up believing, but cannot remember “the day and the hour” when faith began to live in their hearts? Must we insist that a person “ask Jesus into your heart” before they can be sure of belonging to him? If so, what do we tell those who, like myself, obsessively tried asking but found no assurance? What if the “sinner’s prayer,” however well-intentioned, is pointing us away from a much firmer foundation for spiritual certainty?

Affirming What Is Right

Before going any further, it is important to affirm three things. First, those who promote the “sinner’s prayer” truly are well intentioned. We must be born again (John 3:3), and the danger of formalism is real. Second, it is good and right to call upon the Lord in prayer (Gen. 4:26, Isa. 55:6). A genuine Christian life without prayer is both disobedient and unimaginable (Matt. 6:9–13). Third, it is a wonderful thing when, like the thief on the cross (Luke 23:42), a person can remember “the day and the hour” when they first cried out to Christ for salvation.

Nevertheless, insisting upon the “sinner’s prayer” as our model of conversion is problematic. It makes past experience rather than present commitment the basis for assurance—potentially misleading the wayward and discouraging the sincere. It encourages Christians to rest on an act of faith rather than on the object of their faith—trusting a moment of decision rather than simply trusting Jesus. Finally, it does not accurately reflect the New Testament picture of conversion.

Conversion in the New Testament

The Apostle John wrote his Gospel with an explicitly evangelistic intent (John 20:31). If we wish to see how the New Testament presents conversion, then, here is a good place to begin. What do we see?

John’s Gospel is filled with promises—of adoption (1:12), forgiveness (3:18), resurrection (6:40), and new life (7:38). It is from John that we receive what are perhaps the most well-known words ever written: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16).

What is important to note as we examine these passages is that in every case, John’s emphasis falls not a sinner’s prayer, but on the Savior’s promise. Jesus does encourage those who became his disciples to pray (14:13–14, 15:7, 16:23–34). However, in the context of conversion, the call to faith is not first and foremost a call to prayer, but rather a call to believe the gospel promises. After all, what else does it mean to “believe in” a person but to believe they will keep their promises to you?

Consider three examples where Jesus directly probes an individual for faith: the man born blind (9:35–38), Martha at the tomb of Lazarus (11:25–27), and Thomas after the resurrection (20:26–29). In all three cases, Jesus did not inquire about past experience, but rather for present commitment. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” he asked the man born blind. “I am the resurrection and the life,” he said to Martha. “Do you believe this?” With Thomas, he simply commanded: “Do not disbelieve but believe.” And in all three instances, the response was not a request for salvation but a confession of faith: “Lord, I believe” (9:38); “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (11:27); “My Lord and my God!” (20:28).

In the book of Acts, when the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas directly, “What must I do to be saved?” (16:30), the apostles did not provide a sinner’s prayer. Rather, they pointed to the promise: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (v. 31). When the household of Cornelius heard the gospel, the Holy Spirit fell on them not after they prayed, but “while Peter was still saying these things” (10:44).

The clearest example in the New Testament, however, is a character from the Old Testament. In his letter to the Romans, Paul asks: how was Abraham justified before God? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). What did Abraham believe? He believed God would keep his promises (Gen. 15:1–6). When was Abraham justified? The moment he believed.

An Expression of Faith

The purpose here is not to undermine the importance of prayer in the Christian life. There is an intimate connection between faith and prayer. Rather, the purpose here is to underline the priority of God’s promises—especially when it comes to questions of assurance. What does this mean?

Prayer is not an addition to faith; prayer is an expression of faith. In Romans, after quoting the prophet Joel, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” Paul asks, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?” (10:13–14). Notice this: we cannot pray to the Lord until we believe in him. Prayer simply pours out what is already in our hearts (Ps. 62:8; compare with Luke 6:45). This is significant: by the time a person utters their first prayer, saving faith is already there. We live the moment we believe the gospel (John 3:16, Rom. 4:3). We pray therefore not in order to be converted, but because we have been converted.

It will help if (following J. C. Ryle) we think of prayer as the breath of faith. We only breathe because we live. Yet in order to continue living, we must keep breathing! So prayer both flows out of faith and sustains the life of faith. This means while a “sinner’s prayer” is not necessary prior to conversion, a converted person will inevitably enter upon a life of prayer. As communication requires language, so communion with the Lord requires prayer.

This explains why it is fitting in evangelism to lead an adult convert in their first prayer. It also explains why children growing up in the church are taught to pray from the time that they acquire language. In both cases, we begin teaching prayer as soon as a person becomes a disciple—whether that time is a “day and hour” of conscious conversion or a childhood of covenant nurture.

In the end, there is no real distinction between the “sinner’s prayer” and every other prayer in the Christian life. Every prayer flows from a believing heart, from a heart afflicted by sin and in need of salvation. Therefore, every Christian prayer is a “sinner’s prayer.”

A Firmer Foundation

Yet what happens at the end of each prayer? At the moment we say “amen,” we rest everything in Christ’s hands—believing he will keep his promises to us. All prayer does not just flow out of faith. Ultimately, every prayer flows back into faith.

In questions of assurance, therefore, our emphasis should fall back upon the promises of Christ. Do we want to be sure we belong to Jesus? Then like Jesus with the man born blind or with Martha at the tomb, we present our souls with the promises and call for faith: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Indeed, like Jesus with Thomas, we even confront our hearts with the promises and command faith: “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Being born again is not like giving birth; it is like being born. The parents remember “the day and the hour”; the child only knows that they are alive! Prayer is proof that faith lives (Rom. 10:14), and we can deploy it to destroy doubt: if you want to be sure you are alive, breathe! Yet even as you do, remember that how you pray or when you began to believe doesn’t matter. What matters is who you trust right now, where you rest your heart when you say “amen.” Our assurance rests not upon a “sinner’s prayer,” but on the Savior’s promise.   

The author is a pastor of Covenant Presbyterian in Vandalia, Ohio. New Horizons, April 2022.