Must I Pray To Be Saved?

John 3:14-16, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

As I have often said to my web visitors, you don't need to pray to be saved. I love old books! I strongly recommend to everyone who likes to read, to seek out the older books by past men of God. Today's books are so lame, authored by lame preachers, lacking in theological substance. I simply don't like modern religious books! They are garbage compared to the golden gems written by men of God of the past. I have a classic book by Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) in front of me called: “Comments On Here And Hereafter.” Dr. Jones is one of few preachers I know who gets it right, teaching that prayer is not a part of the Gospel:

“'Pray to be saved. Ask the Lord to save you.' This is what I heard a minister say to a convicted sinner who came forward for prayer at the close of an evangelistic service. Nowhere in the Bible are men told to pray to be saved. There are examples where men did pray and were saved. Men are told to repent, to believe, to obey the Gospel, but the Bible never says to pray for salvation. It does say that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but nowhere does the Bible command men to pray to be saved. I think I know why, God, who made the human heart, knew that it was not necessary to tell convicted sinners to pray. If a sinner can see Jesus Christ on the cross, it is as natural for him to pray as it is for birds to sing or flowers to bloom. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Comments On Here And Hereafter,” chapter: Prayer And Praise, page 163; Bob Jones University Press, Inc., © 1942

Amen and amen! There is nothing taught in the Bible about praying a sinner's prayer to be saved. That is why I stopped using it years ago. When I witness to people now, I simply present to them 'The Gospel'–the Good News of Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Anyone who comes to God as a needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins, believing that He is bodily risen from the dead, is saved. It's that simple!  

“Very few Christians pray in public. Most of them pray to the public. It is one thing to talk to God and it is another thing to talk to a crowd on the pretense that we are talking to God.” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Comments On Here And Hereafter,” chapter: Prayer And Praise, page 164; Bob Jones University Press, Inc., © 1942