A person is not saved because they gave a canned prayer, a 'repeat after me', &c., but because a sovereign God chose them from before the foundation of the world, gave their sins unto His Christ, who redeemed them when He shed His blood for them.
Now, when you see someone truly repenting of their sins before the Lord, you see someone who God has already wrought grace into their heart, which is what truly makes them call out to Him in the same manner the tax collector did when he said ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’[Luke 18:13b]
Now, when you see someone truly repenting of their sins before the Lord, you see someone who God has already wrought grace into their heart, which is what truly makes them call out to Him in the same manner the tax collector did when he said ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’[Luke 18:13b]