You’ve Prayed the Sinner’s Prayer. Now What?

Before we dig into that, let me first ask how you felt when you prayed it and since you prayed it. Don’t worry. There is no “right” way to feel. Experiences differ. Some people, overcome by the recognition of sin separating them from God’s love and imagining a place of eternal torment, fall to their knees in tears. For others, the realization they are sinners separated from God produces a genuine desire to make things right. They mean what they pray, but it is more of a logical, rather than emotional, response.

Genuine faith is not a feeling. It is trusting in the promises of God no matter what you face. Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. This is why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen. (2 Corinthians 4:18 | CEV) What a person feels, or doesn’t feel, has no bearing on the authenticity of their salvation experience. There is one caveat however, genuine faith moves from the brain to the heart. Becoming a follower of Jesus is based on relationship, not knowledge. It is not what we know about Jesus. It is how well we actually know him. And that comes with a regular time of prayer and Bible study.

The sinner’s prayer typically has three parts: recognition, confession and surrender. It normally goes something like this. “God I recognize I am a sinner, separated from you by my sin. I believe only you can wipe the slate clean. I ask you to forgive all my sins and make me a new person in Jesus who paid the price for them on the cross. Fill me with your Holy Spirit as I surrender my life completely to Jesus. Amen.” Whether you prayed that prayer in a church service or in response to a televised sermon or even a billboard or commercial doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you meant it when you said it.

The next step, if you haven’t done so already, is to unite with other believers in a fellowship or church that believes in salvation by grace, alone; through faith alone; in Jesus alone. You are born again if you really meant what you prayed, but unless you begin walking in the footsteps of Jesus, it could be a stillbirth. If you are determined to be a genuine follower of Jesus, begin by getting and reading a version of the Bible you can easily understand, like the New International Version, the English Standard Version or the New Living Translation. Read and re-read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John until you know what Jesus expects of his followers—his disciples.

You are not saved for the hereafter. You are saved for the here and now. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are. (Ephesians 2:10 | CEV) In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked those who claimed to be his followers, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46 | ESV) He cautioned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21 | NIV) He was also very clear about who his true friends are, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14 | NIV) We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (1 John 2:3 | NIV) Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. (John 8:31 | NLT) And finally, Love means we do what God tells us. And from the beginning, he told you to love him.  (2 John 1:6 | CEV)