Prayer and Salvation

Can an alien sinner be saved by his prayers without any other obedience? Having studied the Bible for over 30 years I have yet to find the passage that gives any indication that one becomes a Christian as a result of prayer. I did come across a passage that indicates that alien sinners are not told to pray for their salvation. "Now we know that God heareth not sinners" (Jno. 9:31). Notice Isaiah 59:1, 2: "Behold, Jehovah's hand in not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that He will not hear." In other words, if we are in rebellion to God and His Will, He will not hear our prayers. When we submit to His will (conditions for salvation) and become His children, then He will hear us.

What must an alien sinner do to be saved? The answer is the same as it was 2000 years ago. Jesus told the apostles, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:15, 16). When Peter answered the question of convicted hearers, "What shall we do?" He said, "Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). That was the pattern throughout the New Testament Scriptures. To become a Christian the Bible teaches obedience (Heb. 5:9) to the first principles of the word of God: Hear, Believe (Jn. 8:24), Repent (Luke13:3), Confess (Ro 10:9), and be baptized (Acts2:38). Christians can then pray to God who is just and faithful to forgive (1 Jn. 1:9).

Saul, who was later known as Paul, a Jew who diligently in good conscience persecuted the church, was met by the Lord when on his way to Damascus . The Lord struck him blind and talked with him in an effort to open his mind and get him to see the need to change. The Lord needed this man to help spread the gospel, especially among the gentiles. When Paul asked "What must I do?" he was told to go into the city and there it would be told him what he must do. When he got there Ananias told him "Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord." Thus, we see that rather than pray for salvation there is something one must actually do (Acts 22:6-17). Paul was saved by God's grace after his faith response in obeying God's conditions to be saved. Prayer was apparently not involved in Paul's conversion, but the text indicates that upon becoming a Christian Paul immediately began the practice of prayer.

The word of God tells you how to become a Christian and when you meet God's conditions there will be no doubt as to when you truly became a member of the family of God (Ro 6:3, 4, 17, 18). Those in Christ are blessed with all spiritual blessing, including prayer (Eph. 1:3).

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