What is "the sinner's prayer?" There are several variations but the most popular version is the one published by the Billy Graham Institute. It reads as follows:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.

First, one problem with this prayer is that it is not in the Bible and no sinner was ever commanded to pray it. That should throw up more than a caution light, but a stop light – for us to go back and re-examine the Scriptures.

The prayer is an "end run" around the plan of salvation that was given in Scripture. When Peter preached the first gospel sermon after Christ's ascension, he preached, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:21). But when they asked, "what shall we do?" he commanded them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the "remission of sins" (2:38).We learn from this that "calling upon the name of the Lord" included repentance and baptism "in the name of Jesus" for the remission of sins, but it did not include "praying the sinner's prayer." So "praying the sinner's prayer" is not the same as "calling on the name of the Lord." "Calling on the name of the Lord" means relying on and obeying what the Lord said to do to be forgiven. It is an appeal to the Lord, on His terms.

When those who had crucified Christ interrupted Peter's sermon, they asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). This would have been a great time for Peter to instruct them to "pray the sinner's prayer," but neither he nor any apostle ever told anyone to do that. We learn from this that "the sinner's prayer" did not come from the Holy Spirit, did not originate in heaven, is not the answer to the question, "Men and brethren what shall we do?," and is something completely different than what men were told in the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Second, when Philip led the Ethiopian eunuch to salvation, he "preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35). When they came to a certain water, the eunuch did not say, "Behold, here is water: what doth hinder me from 'praying the sinner's prayer'?" Instead, he asked, "What doth hinder me to be baptized?" Where did he learn the concept of baptism? Not from Judaism. He had just heard Philip preach unto him Jesus. What is it about "preaching Jesus" that would prompt the Ethiopian to ask about baptism but not ask about "the sinner's prayer"? Could it be that Philip told him what Jesus said about belief and baptism? "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…" (Mark 16:16). This is the only way he would have known to ask the question. It is a necessary implication – an inescapable conclusion. The reason he did not ask if he could "pray the sinner's prayer" is because Jesus never instructed anyone to do that, so it would not have been included in "preaching Jesus."

Third, when Paul and Silas "spoke the word of the Lord" to the Philippian jailer, he and his family were baptized immediately, the same hour of the night, having believed in God (Acts 16:32-34). The jailer didn't say, "Wait a minute. Can't I 'pray the sinner's prayer' instead?" The reason He didn't ask that is because it wasn't included in "the word of the Lord" that Paul and Silas preached.
Fourth, in none of the conversion accounts in Acts was anyone commanded to pray. The Bible tells us Cornelius had been praying, but that was his choice – not something he was commanded to do. However, we are specifically told that he was commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:48). Baptism in the name of Christ is a baptism that is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Keep in mind that Cornelius had told Peter "Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all things that have been command thee of the Lord" (Acts 10:33). Peter commanded baptism, but not "the sinner's prayer." One was "of the Lord" and the other was not.

Fifth, Saul of Tarsus considered himself "the chief of sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). He had been praying, possibly as long as three days (Acts 9:9-11). He had not been commanded to pray. In fact, Ananias told him, "Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). When Saul trusted what the Lord said and obeyed it, he was "calling on the name of the Lord." This shows that his obedience and "calling on the name of the Lord" were occurring at the same time.

Sixth, one of the greatest spiritual blessings afforded mankind is the opportunity to address the Father in heaven and to know He hears and answers prayers. We are specifically told that "His ears are open to the supplications of the righteous" (1 Pet. 3:12). However, all spiritual blessings are in Christ (Eph. 1:3). One who is outside of Christ is not where he needs to be to enjoy this spiritual blessing. In the New Testament, Christians are the only ones taught to pray.

Seventh, some have thought Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and publican is an example of a sinner's prayer (Luke 18). This was not a command to pray but was an illustration used by Jesus to expose self-righteousness among those who were already in a covenant relationship with God. The fact that both men were in the temple shows both were Israelites. It has no bearing on those who are outside of Christ today and are trying to enter some other way than what was taught by Christ and His apostles.

Twice we are told that one enters into Christ at the point of baptism, not prayer (read Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). This is not to say that baptism alone will save. When we take all that God's word teaches on the subject, we learn that baptism must be preceded by genuine faith (Mark 16:16), real repentance (Acts 2:38), and a godly confession (Rom. 10:10). When these are present they will be followed by loving obedience in baptism, from the heart (Rom.6:17, 18, 3-5).

If you pray "the sinner's prayer" (which the Lord has not told you to do) and you don't do what the Lord has told you to do, you will remain a sinner.

For those interested in researching the origin of "the sinner's prayer," Wikipedia shows an early version was found in Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, 1678. That's several centuries too late.