Chapter 6 of 13
How Do I Say Yes to Jesus?
By The Living Bread · Last reviewed · 8 minute read
The short answer
You say yes to Jesus by turning to Him and trusting Him, in your own words, in any place: tell Him you are sorry for living apart from Him, that you believe He died and rose for you, and that you want to follow Him as Lord. There is no formula. The sincerity is what matters.
Before anything else
There is no deadline on this page and no pressure in it. If you are reading because you want to say yes, you will find a way to do it below. If you are reading because you are curious and not sure, you are welcome here and can leave at any point, and the earlier chapters of this guide will still be there. A yes that is rushed or coaxed is not what Jesus is asking for. He is not looking for numbers or for a performance; He wants you, if you want Him. What follows describes the matter as clearly and as truthfully as we can.
What saying yes actually is
In the Bible, coming to Christ is described in simple, active terms. It is called repenting and believing, receiving, calling on His name, confessing Him as Lord. These are not different things so much as different angles on one movement of the heart: turning away from running your own life apart from God, and turning toward Jesus with trust.
“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Repent means to change your mind and direction. Believe means to trust Him. That is the whole transaction, as far as your side of it goes. The Bible's most compact promise is this.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The promise is for whoever calls on the name of the Lord. Not whoever uses the right words, but whoever calls. That is a very low bar to cross and a very high promise to receive, and it reflects the whole shape of grace: the gift is costly, but the receiving is simple.
What it is not
It helps to clear away a few misunderstandings that make people hesitate.
- It is not joining an organization. You can say yes in an empty room, at midnight, with nobody watching.
- It is not a magic formula. No particular phrase works like a spell, and there is no wording you could get wrong that would cause God to turn you away.
- It is not the end of your questions. You can say yes and keep asking, for the rest of your life.
- It is not a feeling you need to produce. Some people weep; some feel nothing and say it anyway. Both are real.
- It is not something to do for someone else's sake or because they pushed. It has to be yours.
- It is not a deal in which you give something up to get something. It is a relationship that begins with a gift.
What you would be saying
If you want to know what lies inside a sincere yes, it comes to three things.
First, you tell the truth about yourself. That you have lived, in some ways, apart from God, that you have done wrong, and that you cannot fix this by your own effort. The Bible says that God does not despise this honesty.
“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
In Jesus' story, the man who could not even lift his eyes and simply asked for mercy went home right with God. That is the posture.
Second, you say what you believe about Jesus. You trust that Jesus is God's own Son, that He died on the cross for your sins, and that God raised Him from the dead. You do not have to grasp the full theology. You are putting your trust in a Person, and what you know of Him will deepen.
Third, you give Him your life. You ask Him to be your Lord, which means you intend to follow Him, with His help, from here on. It does not require that you are already able to. It is a direction, chosen at a particular moment, and lived out over the rest of your life.
A simple prayer, in our words
People sometimes ask for a prayer to say. Here is one. We want to be clear about what it is. These words are ours, written by people who love Jesus, offered to help if you do not know where to begin. They are not Scripture and they are not God speaking to you. If you want to put it in your own words, please do; your words will do just as well.
A prayer in our words, not God’s. Use your own if you like.
If that was the true cry of your heart, you have done what the Bible describes. Whatever you feel right now, the promise is not tied to a feeling. Jesus said He would receive whoever comes.
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
What happens next
On the other side of that prayer, the Bible says there is a real change: you are forgiven, adopted into God's family, and given the Holy Spirit. It may feel quiet. Many people say that the largest change was not at the moment of praying but in the days after, as the Bible began to read differently, prayer felt less awkward, and the old weight on the chest loosened a little.
Do not look for a dramatic sign. Look for a direction. You are now someone who belongs to Jesus. Tell somebody. The Bible places great weight on confessing Him with your mouth, not for performance but because speaking it makes it real and begins the practice of belonging. Telling a Christian friend, a pastor, or a family you trust turns a private moment into the first brick of a life.
The next chapter, what to do after you say yes, walks through the first days, the first week, and the first year, in order.
The sacred moment inside Living Bread
If you would like to say your yes inside the Living Bread app, there is a quiet place made for it. It is called Say Yes to Christ, and it is a simple, unhurried screen where you say your yes in your own words. It is yours: you decide whether anyone ever sees it, and it can stay between you and God. If you want, you can let believers know, and they can stand with you and offer to walk beside you in the first days. Nothing about it is a requirement. You do not need an app to be saved, and you have not said yes any less truly if you said it in a field. It exists because some people want a marked place to say it and a family waiting on the other side.
You can begin on Living Bread, or find the app for iPhone or Android. If you would like to read first, how Living Bread walks with you explains the whole house.
If you are not sure you meant it
Some people pray and then worry afterward that they did it wrong, or did not mean it enough, or should do it again. A small word of comfort: the Bible does not put your security in the quality of your prayer. It puts it in the faithfulness of the One who hears it. If you want to say it again, say it again; no one counts. If you are unsure whether you are saved, the question is not whether your feeling was strong but whether you are now trusting Jesus. The older cluster on how to know if you are saved goes through this carefully.
If you are not ready
If you read all this and are not ready, that is allowed. Go back to the questions that are unanswered and take them one at a time. Who Jesus is, whether you have to be good enough, and what to do with doubt are the three most common hold ups, and each is written without pressure. Jesus never chased someone down who was not ready, and we will not either. But we would say this: if there is any part of you that is leaning toward Him, you do not need to wait for it to become a flood. Lean.
Walk this with someone
You do not have to walk this alone, and you do not have to hurry. Living Bread is a free home, with no ads, where a person can read the Word, pray with real people, and be known by a family in Christ. If you would like company for the next step, it is there. If not, that is fine too, and the rest of this page stands on its own.
Questions people ask
How do I give my life to Jesus?
Turn to Him and trust Him, in your own words. Tell Him you are sorry for living apart from Him, that you believe He died and rose for you, and that you want Him as your Lord. The Bible promises that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Is there a specific prayer I have to say to be saved?
No. There is no required wording. The prayer on this page is offered as a help in our own words, not as Scripture. What matters is a sincere turning to Jesus in trust.
Do I need a pastor or a church to say yes to Jesus?
No. You can pray anywhere. A church and fellow believers are a gift for the road after, and we would urge you to find them, but they are not a condition of the yes itself.
What if I do not feel anything after I pray?
That is common. Salvation rests on God's promise, not on your emotions. Many people feel the change later, in the days and weeks after, as they read the Bible, pray, and join other Christians.
What is the Say Yes to Christ moment in the app?
It is a quiet place in the Living Bread app to say your yes in your own words. You choose whether anyone sees it; believers can stand with you if you wish. It is optional, and nothing about salvation depends on using it.
Should I get baptized after I say yes?
Baptism is the normal public step of following Jesus, and the New Testament treats it as the next thing. The chapter on baptism, communion and finding a church explains what it means.
Where to go next
More on the site: How to be savedHow to become a ChristianA prayer to give my life to JesusWhat is the sinner's prayer?Is it too late to come to Jesus?What to do after you give your life to JesusNew believer next steps