Misapplied and misunderstood verses

The idea that a person could pray as the direct means to enter into salvation is based on a few misapplied verses. The primary one is Rom.10:13 where the word "call" occurs. It is by many thought to mean pray or ask. But it does not say pray or ask. The word is call. In the greek it is epikaleomai. It is defined; to invoke, to appeal to, to summon, to call as a witness. Just as you would appeal unto an attorney or judge or call someone to witness to a fact. The same word is used in Acts when Paul appealed unto Caesar. Acts 25:11. So to call in the sense that is in Romans 10:13 is to refer to the work of the Lord as our claim to salvation. When you appeal unto a doctor or lawyer to take your case it is an act of trust or faith you place in them. It is an act of committment. All hope is upon Him to whom we have committed our soul.

2Ti_1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

I do not mean to say that all those who have prayed a "sinner's prayer" are not saved. I am saying that they were saved because they believed the Gospel and committed the keeping of their soul to God through the work of Christ on the cross and by faith in His blood. The prayer was incidental and not the means by which they were saved.  It is the normal thing for a baby to cry out with his first breath as he enters into life. So also the sinner who believes will cry out in a prayer of thanksgiving crying "Abba. Father"after he is saved. A person who has truely believed and trusted in the Work of Christ is saved, whether he prays the sinners prayer and asks Jesus into his heart or not. When we truely believe, the Spirit of Christ enters into us even if we don't ask. Let me give an example. Let's say a father gives his son a car for his sixteenth birthday.  The son did not ask for a car. It was a surprise gift. He goes for a drive and gets stopped by a policeman. The policeman asks " do you own this car?" The boy says yes. The policeman asks for documentation. The boy says well it's mine because my father gave it to me. The officer asks for documentation again. This time the boy opens the glove compartment and takes out the title and proves it is his by the written document. He has appealed unto the document and those who signed it. That is secure and will hold up in a court of law. He has a car he did not ask for but simply accepted and now he owns it and can prove it. The written Word of God is the documentation of  our salvation and our relationship to our Father.
If I think that my salvation came to me through my prayer then I leave myself open for an attack upon the sincerity of that prayer. That is shaky ground. A ship has an anchor to keep it from being tossed by the waves and driven by the winds. The anchor must be stuck to something solid like the solid Rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. A ship who sticks it's anchor into the bottom of the ship will have no security. If we trust our emotions or our works we are not trusting the anchor to the solid rock but to ourselves.
If someone feels compelled to tell the sinner to pray then guide him to a prayer of thanksgiving after he has believed.  Note that in Rom.10:14 that the call comes after the person believes, not before.



Rom 10:14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Let's remember that saving faith comes by hearing the Gospel preached through the Word.In the first instance of  Gentiles being saved, Cornelius and his house heard the word of the Gospel from Peter and the Holy Ghost fell on them that heard the Word. Acts 10. There is no mention of praying in that account except when Cornelius prayed for information on how to be saved and God sent him a preacher to tell him to believe the Gospel.

Also in the case of the Philippian jailer.




Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Notice again that no instruction to pray is there. Every word of truth is holy. We have no right to change or modify the presentation of the Gospel to cater to current trends. We will be judged for how accurately and faithfully we preach and teach the precious Good News of salvation.