The man in John 9:31 said that “God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” His observation was absolutely right. If one is not willing to do what God says, one should not expect God to hear his prayer. Proverbs 15:29 declares, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous.” Proverbs 28:9 says, “One who turns away his ears from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” God speaks to us today through the New Testament of His Son, just as He spoke to the people under the Old Testament law through Moses and the prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2). He expects us to hear Him and heed Him. We speak to Him by prayer. Prayer is a privilege given to God’s children (1 John 5:14-15). However, if God’s Word is not regarded by us, our prayers shall not only be rejected by God, but they shall be an abomination to Him.
Amongst many errors preached in the name of the Bible, one that is preached most by denominational preachers is telling people to pray the sinners’ prayer and God will save them. In many cases, the preacher tells his listeners to “repeat after me” this or something similar, “Lord, I am a sinner, and I repent of my sins, please come into my heart and save me.” Then the preacher says, “If you prayed this prayer, you are now saved and a Christian.” Friends, there is nothing in the New Testament of the Bible that even resembles the foregoing as the way to be saved and to become a Christian. In fact, those who are made to believe that they are saved and became a Christian in this way are deceived. Furthermore, they continue to live with that deception until they obey the command of Jesus to be saved. The Bible does not teach that one is saved by prayer. Prayer is a privilege given to God’s children (1 John 5:14-15). One must first, therefore, become a child of God by obeying His commandments to receive the assurance that his prayers will be heard. To be saved from sin and to become a Christian, a child of God and a follower of Christ, the Bible teaches one must believe in Christ, repent of sins, confess Christ to be the Son of God and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins—as the following examples from the Bible show.
First, prior to going back to Heaven, the Savior, Jesus Christ, told His followers to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Then, he added, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). When Christ’s followers preached the first Gospel sermon about His death for the sinners, His burial and resurrection from the dead (1Corinthians 15:1-4), in the city of Jerusalem, in A.D. 33, the Scriptures say, people after hearing the message, “were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…’ Then those who gladly received His word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:37-38, 41). Notice, Peter didn’t say to them to repeat after me the sinners’ prayer to be saved. Instead, he said to them to repent (that is turn away from all former beliefs) and be baptized for the remission or forgiveness of sins. When they gladly did it, that is, after they were baptized, immersed in water by the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:19), they were added by the Lord to them, to the number of the followers of Christ, that is the church of Christ (Acts 2:47; Matthew 16:18).
Thereafter, we read of Philip, another preacher of the Gospel, who came to the city of Samaria, a few miles away from Jerusalem. He preached Christ, and the Bible says when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized (Acts 8:5, 12). Of course, in preaching Christ to them, he told them what Christ commanded one must do to be saved. So, after hearing the Gospel message, they believed and were baptized, both men and women (not little children). Baptism is a command of Christ for those who believe in Him— people old enough to understand that they have sinned and need salvation from sin. Little children are safe (Matthew 19:14). Then, Acts 8, we read of Philip meeting with the treasurer of Ethiopia on the road going from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip preached Jesus to Him. “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38). Again, no sinners’ prayer is mentioned here!
In fact, nowhere in the Bible do we read that anyone was ever told to pray to be saved. However, in every case, New Testament era people were saved when they believed in Christ and were baptized after they had repented from their sins. Even Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, a great Christian, had to do the same (Acts 9:17-18; 22:16). Also, the jailer and his household at Philippi did the same (Acts 16:30-33). One must first become a child of God by believing in Christ and by being baptized into Christ to put on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27) to be assured that God will hear his prayer, because God does not hear sinners.
