I have found Dr. Grudem’s words balanced and helpful regarding this debated topic:
Finally, what shall we say about the common practice of asking people to pray to receive Christ as their personal Savior and Lord? Scripture does talk about “receiving” Christ (see John 1:11–12; Col. 2:6). Since personal faith in Christ must involve an actual decision of the will, it is often very helpful to express that decision in spoken words, and this could very naturally take the form of a prayer to Christ in which we tell him of our sorrow for sin, our commitment to forsake it, and our decision actually to put our trust in him. Such a spoken prayer does not in itself save us, but the attitude of heart that it represents does constitute true conversion, and the decision to speak that prayer can often be the point at which a person truly comes to faith in Christ.
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, Second Edition (p. 1697). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
