Is saying a little prayer enough? How many times have you said that prayer, asking Jesus to come into your heart? How many times have you confessed your sins? Was it sufficient to keep you from sliding into sin again and again and again?

Being saved is not like a flu injection. You dont just say a magical prayer and you are saved. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Paul was talking to the church when he said this. Why would he say this to the church if praying a prayer was enough to be saved? If that were the case, almost every man and woman on earth would be saved. No, my friends, we are to TEST ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And clearly, Paul says there is a chance you could fail the test.

Now John wrote a book called 1 John in which he outlines the tests which we are to take in order to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith - i.e. to see if we are saved. We will get to that later. For now, I want to focus on the steps to getting saved.

1. Decide to turn away from sin and to obey God.

There has to be a clear decision to believe and obey God. This is something to be sincere about. Not to be done half-heartedly. You must be sincere. God knows our hearts.

Most importantly, I must add that you must have faith in the redemption that Christ bought for us on the cross. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth and the life, and NONE can come to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation. It doesnt help believing there is a God but not believing in Jesus Christ and what He did for us.

2. Confess that you are a sinner

OK. Prayer time, time to talk to God one to one. I am not going to read off some prayer for you to recite. That means nothing. This is a personal conversation between you and the Almighty God; if you are sincere then speak from your heart. I cannot advise you on what to say. I can outline what confessions need to be made and what needs to be done, but this is YOUR salvation, your conversation with God. Instead of repeating after me, rather speak openly from your heart to your Creator, and He will hear your words.

Anyway, step 2. Prayer to God. Confess you are a sinner. Romans 3:10 says as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one;'. 1 John 1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. We are all in need of salvation. You need to confess to God that you are a sinner and you need Him to save you.

3. Believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and died for our sins so that we may be saved.

John 3:16 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.'

4. Confess your sins to God and repent and ask God to forgive you.

1 John 1:9 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'

This is the part where you confess all your sins to God. Every sin you can think of. The lie you told yesterday. The l*st for the girl you saw at the mall. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring all things to your memory. Confession of your sins is important, it is a sincere act of repentance and submission to God's will. Humble yourself before God and ask Him to forgive you for your sins.

Ask Jesus to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Ask God to save you. Salvation doesnt come from following a few steps like a formula. Thats how it was in the Old Testament, under the law. But Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and we now live under grace.

Only God has the power to save you, so you need to put your trust in God and repent and believe and cry out to God to save you. Salvation is a supernatural work of God. Acts 2:21 says And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now for some, salvation may come instantly. Yet for others, you may need to call out to God and seek His face for weeks. Not every body has the same experience. But one thing is for certain: you will not need to rely on somebody else to tell you that you are saved. God will tell you! God will make it known to you by His Spirit.

5. Be baptised

Acts 22:16 'And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

Acts 10:47-48 'Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

As a believer you need to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Find a church - a baptist church if you can - and be baptized. It is an act of obedience to God.

Now water baptism is not necessarily a requirement for salvation, but it is an act of obedience to God. It is possible that God will baptize you with the Spirit as you kneel in earnest prayer to Him and study His Word.

6. Study the Scriptures