Julio prayed the sinner’s prayer ten times. He said, “At first I did it to get something in return—like money and friends.

“Later, I prayed so my ‘Christian’ friends would leave me alone. But I never left my sin, never believed in my heart, never made Jesus Lord.

“Then one night after years of sex, drugs, and alcohol, God drove me to my knees and I cried out, ‘Please help me God – I need you, I can’t live like this anymore.'”

It will not surprise you, but a lot of us have prayed a sinner’s prayer for the wrong reasons. You, or someone you know, may honestly not realize you haven’t truly surrendered your life to Jesus with your whole heart. You’ve been holding back something.

If you are still trying to control and manage your affairs, that’s not surrender. That’s Julio.

If you have never truly surrendered your life, here’s a “sinner’s prayer” you can pray and really mean it:

Lord Jesus, I need you in my life right now more than I ever have. I can’t live like this anymore. Please help me. I confess I have tried to control and manage my life, but I can’t. My sins have caught up with me. I want to be changed, but I now realize I can’t do that on my own. I repent of my sins and to the best of my ability put my faith in You, Jesus. I choose to believe the Bible’s promises that by doing so I receive Your forgiveness, the peace of God for this life and, in the world to come, eternal life. I receive You as my Savior and make You my Lord. Take control of my life.  To the best of my ability, I now surrender my will to Your will. Make me into the fully surrendered man You want me to be. Amen.

Take a few next steps. Top of the list? Read the Bible for yourself (four days or more each week are recommended–start with about ten minutes), pray to God every day, become part of a weekly small group Bible study, and participate in a church community.

If you need more direction, email me at patrickmorley@maninthemirror.org and we’ll try to help you.

Until every church disciples every man…

Pat 

(adapted from MAN ALIVE)