Prayer of
Salvation - Our First Real Conversation With God
The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever pray. When
we're ready to
become a Christian, we're ready to have our first real conversation with
God, and these are
its components:
- We acknowledge
that
Jesus Christ is God; that
He came to earth as a man in order to
live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so
that we would
not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
- We confess our
past life of sin -- living for ourselves and
not obeying God.
- We ask Jesus to
come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.
Prayer of Salvation - It
Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His
Word
is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The
Bible
tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who
diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
So, when we pray, asking God for the gift of salvation, we're exercising our
free will to acknowledge that we believe in Him. That demonstration of faith
pleases God, because we have freely chosen to know Him.
Prayer of Salvation -
Confessing Our Sin
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're admitting that we've sinned.
As the
Bible says of everyone, save Christ alone: "For all have sinned,
and
fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
To sin is simply to fall short of the mark, as an arrow that does not quite hit
the bull's-eye. The glory of God that we fall short of is found only in Jesus
Christ: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of
God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)
The prayer of salvation, then, recognizes that Jesus Christ is the only human
who ever lived without sin. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2
Corinthians 5:21)
Prayer of Salvation -
Professing Faith in Christ as Savior and Lord
With Christ as our standard of perfection, we're now acknowledging faith in Him
as God, agreeing with the Apostle John that: "In the beginning was the
Word (Christ),
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with
God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing
was made that
was made." (John 1:1-3)
Because God could only accept a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and because He knew
that
we could not possibly accomplish that, He sent His Son to die for us and
pay the
eternal price. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.." (John 3:16)
Prayer of Salvation - Say It
& Mean It Now!
Do you agree with everything you have read so far? If you do, don't wait a
moment
longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Pray this with us:
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"Father, I know that I
have broken your laws and my sins have
separated me from you. I am truly
sorry, and now I want to turn
away from my past sinful life toward you. Please
forgive me, and
help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus
Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive,
and hears my
prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life,
to rule and reign in my
heart from this day forward. Please send
your Holy Spirit to help me obey You,
and to do Your will for the
rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen."
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Prayer of Salvation - I've
Prayed It; Now What?
If you've prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you
are now
a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any
different. Religious
systems may have led you to believe that you should feel
something - a warm glow,
a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact
is, you may, or you may not. If
you have prayed the prayer of salvation and
meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus.
The Bible tells us that your eternal
salvation is secure! "that if you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be
saved." (Romans 10:9)
Welcome to the family of God! We encourage you now to find a local church where
you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the
Bible.
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