A next step with Jesus, but how? Here are three prayers to help you.
As you keep learning more about Jesus, something may start to grow. A desire for a next step. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “Give your life to Jesus.” But what does that actually mean? How do you do that?
So… how?
On an online forum, a 15-year-old once wrote: “How do I get to heaven? And how do I pray for forgiveness?” Simple questions, yet they touch something deeper. Because where do you even begin, when you long for God but don’t really know how? There are different ways people give their lives to Jesus. Ways to say, sometimes hesitantly and sometimes very intentionally, “Yes, I want to belong to You.” In this article, we’ll explore a few of those steps.
No secret formula
First, it’s important to say this: there isn’t just one fixed way to give your life to Jesus. There’s no secret formula or special prayer you have to say word for word. You don’t have to do it in a church, or with a group of people around you. You can give your life to Jesus anytime: even right now, as you’re reading this.
there isn’t just one fixed way to give your life to Jesus.
Three helpful prayers
At the same time, it can help to have words to guide you. There are prayers you can use if you don’t know where to start.
One example is the “sinner’s prayer.” It may sound intense, but it’s simply a prayer of surrender, where you recognize your need for a Savior. You can read it as it is or learn it by heart.
Another option is the “covenant prayer.” This prayer expresses a deep, personal commitment to God—as if you’re entering into a covenant with Him. Some Christians pray this prayer every year as a way of renewing that commitment.
And finally, we’d love to introduce you to the “salvation poem™”. It is a song that opens the way to a life with Jesus in a simple, effective, and memorable fashion. The poem has been translated into nearly 100 languages worldwide.
The sinner’s prayer
The covenant prayer
The salvation poem™
The sinner’s prayer
There’s no single “right” way to pray the sinner’s prayer, but it’s important that it reflects an honest recognition of your sin, a belief that Jesus died for you, a willingness to turn away from sin, and a decision to welcome Him into your life. Here’s a good example.
I want to know You personally.
I know I have sinned, and I believe You died on the cross for my sins.
I turn away from those sins and put my trust in You as my Lord and Savior, my God and my Friend.
Thank You for hearing my prayer.
In Your name I pray, amen.
The sinner’s prayer is a simple prayer in which you say sorry to God and put your trust in Jesus. It expresses a desire to receive forgiveness and begin a new life with Him.
The covenant prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
John Wesley (an 18th-century preacher) adapted this prayer from the Christian tradition he grew up in. He encouraged people to pray it at the start of each new year, as a way of remembering and renewing their commitment to God.
The salvation poem™
This beautiful poem lets you connect to Jesus’s message with a simple, six-line Gospel message that’s been adapted by hundreds of millions around the world in nearly 100 languages.
Jesus, You died upon a cross
And rose again to save the lost
Forgive me now of all my sin
Come be my Savior, Lord, and Friend
Change my life and make it new
And help me, Lord, to live for You
You can read the poem out loud, pray it and even sing it. Find out more about this poem and its wonderful applications at The Salvation Poem.