Replacing The Sinners Prayer
Moving from a prayer to repeat to a posture to take
Return
G’day Everyone and welcome back to another “Holy Go” Newsletter!
Last week we looked at how Jesus broke all the rules of evangelism, and issued the challenge to love like He did. Did you give it a try?
This week we’re continuing on and looking at how to “Lead someone to Christ” in a more Jesus-looking way. We’re replacing the sinners prayer…
Equip
When I was a Youth Pastor, I was so good at leading people in the sinners prayer, I would get called up by all sorts of people asking if I could come and talk to their friends and family.
The “Sinners Prayer” refers to a prayer where people basically say sorry to Jesus for being sinful, and ask for His forgiveness so they can know God, and go to heaven when they die. If you go to any evangelical Church on a weekend that happens to have an altar call, you’ll probably see something along these lines.
The only problem with the sinners prayer is that it is neither Biblical or Christ-like!
Don’t get me wrong, the sinners prayer has been helpful and meaningful for lots of people! (myself included)
However, it treats all people like they are coming to Jesus for the same reason. In the gospels, people came to Jesus for many reasons… healing, hope, forgiveness, protection and so on. Most of them didn’t even confess their sins! (Which is sort of the point of the sinners prayer…”)
I believe the sinners prayer has bastardised Jesus call to “Repent. Believe and come follow me!” Allow me to explain…
Repent, Believe, Follow
The gospel Jesus preached was “The Good News of the Kingdom of God!” It wasn’t a “save me from hell focus, it was a bring Heaven to Earth focus. In Mark 1 we see Jesus make clear what response He expects: “Repent, Believe, Follow.”
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news…Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Mark 1:14-15,17)
Saying sorry is not repentance. Saying sorry to God doesn’t change God’s mind from sending you to hell, to now sending you to heaven when you die.
Repentance literally means CHANGE YOUR MIND. When Jesus calls for belief it’s not just belief He will save you from hell, it is belief that He is the Way, The Truth and The Life. It’s a changing your mind to the belief that Jesus is Lord, and that His way is best. (See this newsletter for more on that!)
The Three Postures
As mentioned above, people were coming to Jesus with a wide range of circumstances. Jesus did not treat them all the same or expect the exact same response from each of them. (No Sinners Prayer here!)
However, instead of a specific prayer, Jesus looked for a specific posture. I believe this posture can be summed up in three points, which happen to refer directly to Jesus call to “Repent. Believe. Follow.”
Surrender - This posture looks like humility, acknowledging guilt, changing our mind (repentance), and worship. It is a posture of giving over our Pain, Problems and Past to Jesus. This response is seen in stories like the woman who wept at Jesus feet, Mary anointing Jesus feet, the thief on the cross, or the leper who said “if you are willing…”
Receiving - This posture looks like faith, trust, and or hope. It’s an expectation of receiving whatever God has for us. This response is seen in countless healing stories like the woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus, Blind Bartimaeus who called out again and again for Jesus, and The Centurian who understood Jesus authority.
Following - This posture looks like obedience, a dropping everything to follow Jesus, and partnering with Jesus and joining His mission. We see it in stories like the calling of the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John, Matthew the Tax Collector, and Mary Magdalene and the other women.
A New Sinners Prayer
What we need is a new “Sinners Prayer” that is more meaningful to a broader range of people, faithful to Jesus call to “Repent, Believe, Follow”, and simple enough that we can all remember it and share it in a way that makes sense for those coming to Jesus for healing, forgiveness or to follow Him.
We need to move from a prayer to repeat to a posture to take.
The way I have started teaching this is through “Palms Prayer.” It’s based on the above postures, and works as a great discipleship tool for those who already know Jesus, or those who are about to, and can be used as a great daily spiritual practice. We use our hands to help us pray.
So let’s set this up. Say you have been talking to someone about Jesus, and they want to know Jesus, experience Jesus, follow Jesus or something along those lines. I would invite them to pray with me.
Step 1: Palms Down.
We ask them to close their eyes, turn their palms facing down as an act of surrender. They are giving something over to Jesus. We have them focus on breathing out as an act of faith of giving up and letting go of their pain, past, and problems. Their prayer could look something like this, “God I give you…”
Step 2: Palms Up.
We ask them to place their palms up in an act of receiving. As they concentrate now on breathing in we activate our faith and ask God to fill us with love, joy, peace, healing - whatever it is we’ve been talking about, and whatever God has for us. Here we become aware of God and what He has already done for us. Their prayer could look something like this, “God I receive…”
Step 3: Palms Outward.
We ask them to place their palms out like giving someone a hug. As they concentrate on breathing in and out we commit to following Jesus in loving those around us, and ask God what He would have us do with our lives. Their prayer could look like this, “God I choose to follow you…”
Activate
This weeks challenge is to practice the Palms Prayer.
I like to do it at the end of my morning run. I find the combination of breathing out, physical posturing of my hands, as well as the prompts a great way to pray.
Also, check out infinitumlife for a bunch of other great prayer and discipleship resources based on Palms Prayer.
The more you pray this way, the more second nature it will feel when you go to lead someone into a Jesus encounter!
As always, let me know how you go!
Let’s Go!