Sinner’s Prayer For Kids

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  1 John 1:9

Why do some children’s workers believe that this verse means that if they can just manipulate children into repeating words that that makes them Christians?  That is just as silly as believing that baptismal water saves someone. 

Yes, this verse deals with confession.  But it is married to the concept of belief.  The confession is a result of the belief.  Therefore we should beware of manipulating children into repeating what they might think are “magic words” before they understand what they are talking about.

For this reason, when I am leading a child to salvation, I like to let him or her make up a prayer.  After all, God looks upon the heart.  If a child believes that Jesus is God, and died to save him from his sin, and is repentant in his heart, it doesn’t really matter if he can articulate it well or not.

During the “Sinner’s Prayer” time, I guide the child along a bit by saying something like, “Okay Jason, one thing that Jesus wants to do is forgive your sins. If you want Jesus to forgive your sins, and you want him to be in charge of your life now, then you need to tell him.” 

I always tell a child that repeating words will not save him unless he means what he says. I remind him that man looks on the outside of things, but God looks at what is in our hearts. Then I say that I am going to pray, and ask him if he would like to pray out loud or in his heart after I pray. Then I say something like this, "OK, Jason, you can repeat after me or make up your own words." (If the child said he wanted to pray silently I still guide in prayer out loud, and give a few moments of silence after each sentence for the child to pray silently.)

The prayer is something like this:

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for Jason. Thank you for  helping him realize that he is a sinner and needs your forgiveness. Thank you for dying on the cross for him. I pray that you will hear Jason now as he asks you to save him.

Then I say, "Now, Jason, you can repeat after me, or make up your own words to this prayer, and say something like this,"

Dear God,

I know that I am a sinner. I know that you sent Jesus to be my Savior, and that He died on the cross to take the punishment for my sins.  I know that Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back someday. Please forgive me of all of my sins, and come into my life and change me. Please guide me in my life and help me to follow you for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and taking me to heaven when I die.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen. 

After praying for salvation I then give the child an appropriate hug, the say, Welcome to God's family! Then I help the child write down the date on the flyleaf of his or her Bible to help him or her remember. I usually say something like this, "You know, Jason, even if you forget the date of your salvation, God will still remember it. But we are writing it down here because it is kind of nice to remember your spiritual birthday. That way if the devil whispers in your ear that you are not really saved, you just get out your Bible and point at this date and tell him to get away from you! 

The Bible says that God writes down the names of believers in a big book, and that nobody can erase those names. That book is called the Lamb's Book of Life, and if you meant that prayer that you just said, then your name is in that book now.  

The Bible also says that there is joy in heaven when a sinner comes to repentance. So they are happy in heaven now because you have been saved!