Sharing your faith is one of the greatest joys as a Christian. But sometimes, it can feel intimidating to tell others about Jesus, especially if you don’t know how to build bridges between other religions. Our team at Ask About My Faith wants to encourage you with practical tools for sharing Jesus with the Buddhists in your life and boost your faith with the profound testimony of Kay Hiramine, a former Buddhist who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.
Supernatural Encounter with Jesus Leads Buddhist to Christ
Our guest today on the Everyday Faith Podcast is Kay Hiramine. When Kay was young, he grew up in a Buddhist home in Southern California. His family was devout in Buddhism and had a shrine in their home where they would pray to their ancestors 3 times a day. As Kay got older, he found the writings of nihilistic philosophers, which had him wrestling with the meaning of life.
However, God had a plan to get a hold of Kay’s heart. At a secular conference in Southern California, a group of young leaders decided to have a spontaneous gestalt session to process the grief of death.
During an empty moment in this session, one of the kids starts spontaneously singing, “Kumbaya”. As this happened, the cabinets in the room began to shake. Given that Kay and his friends were in Southern California, the group thought it was an earthquake…but then an ominous, audible roar descended towards the cabin.
However, at the last moment before the roar hit the room, a supernatural light began to fill the entire room. Kay describes this moment as wave after wave of love and peace. The light went from person to person to person, and when the light reached Kay, he asked:
“Have I reached Nirvana?”
Kay then heard an audible voice say, “No, Kay, you have not reached Nirvana, but I am your Lord God, and you will know me.”
Have you received Jesus into your heart yet? Receive the freedom, power, and love that Jesus offers by surrendering your life to Him today. Discover how in our blog: This Is For You!
How to Lead a Buddhist to Jesus
Though we all long for crazy salvation testimonies like Kay’s, Jesus often uses everyday people to bring people to Him. As you’re learning to share your faith with others, you may have times when you will share your faith with a Buddhist. Here’s a simple guide for how to lead a Buddhist to Jesus, wherever you are on your walk with God:
1. Pray in secret: Everything starts from the place of prayer. Whether you’re sharing your faith, wondering where God will take you in the next season, or believing for healing: prayer is the place to start. In the Bible, Jesus gives His disciples these instructions:
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
– Matthew 6:6
If you want to lead a Buddhist to Jesus, you must start from the place of prayer. Prayer is so important when it comes to sharing your faith with a Buddhist. Because the spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm, it’s essential to pray the Bible over your friend who is Buddhist.
Want to learn more about prayer? Download our FREE e-book: Let’s Talk About Prayer: Simple Steps to Connect with God
2. Start with dinner: Sometimes when we interact with people of different faiths, we can grow fearful of saying or doing the wrong thing. Thankfully, when it comes to sharing your faith with a Buddhist, it’s as simple as starting with dinner. During our interview with Kay Hiramine, he challenged our listeners with this question:
“When was the last time you invited someone over to your house?”
Even if you don’t feel like you’re a good cook, being intentional to invite others to your home is an essential key to living like Jesus and sharing His love.
If you find yourself wrestling with fear on this step, head over to our blog: How to Share Your Faith Without Fear
3. Seek to understand with spiritual questions: Before jumping to sharing your testimony with a Buddhist, seek to understand them and their faith by asking spiritual questions. If you don’t know much about Buddhism, start by asking questions like:
“What is it like being raised as a Buddhist?”
“What do you like about being Buddhist?”
“What do you believe about eternity?”
Even though you may feel like you have an instant rebuttal to their spiritual perspective, take a moment to pause and listen. Remember, as you’re sharing your faith with a Buddhist, you’re not trying to win an argument: you’re trying to show them the love, hope, and freedom that Jesus offers.
Related Post: How to Have Faith Conversations, Not Confrontations
4. Use discernment when sharing your testimony: Just as in Kay’s story of finding Jesus, leading a Buddhist to Christ isn’t about winning a race: it’s about staying faithful in prayer. As you continue to pray and seek the Lord on behalf of your Buddhist friend, it’s important to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment about when to share your story.
Discover more about the process of discerning with God in our blog: What is Discernment in the Bible?
5. Pray for encounters with Jesus, the Living God: As you seek the Lord for discernment on when to share your testimony of how you met Jesus, continue in prayer for your Buddhist friend to encounter Jesus, the Living God. Pray for dreams and visions (Acts 2) and pray for the veil over their eyes to be lifted (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Pray that Jesus would reveal Himself in power and display His majesty, proving that every other God is an idol, who can not see and cannot hear (Isaiah 45).
Learn more about how Jesus, the most compassionate God: What Does the Bible Say About Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor?
6. Stay faithful for the long run: When it comes to leading a Buddhist to Jesus, don’t get discouraged if spiritual encounters or salvation doesn’t happen right away. Sometimes, leading people to Jesus is more like a marathon than a sprint. Be faithful, intentional, authentic, and genuine. Your Buddhist friend is a person, not a project. Be careful not to only focus on the spiritual needs of your Buddhist friend. Remember to love them like Jesus would, showing them that they belong for they believe, and stay faithful in the place of prayer.
Related Post: 8 Ways to Pray Throughout the Day
The Cost of Following Jesus for Buddhists
As you continue to pray for your Buddhist friend to meet Jesus, it’s important to recognize that for many who practice Buddhism, there is a high cost if they decide to leave their faith.
For example, when Kai was discerning whether Christianity was the true religion, his father warned him that if he ever left Buddhism, he’d be kicked out of the home, disowned, and lose his inheritance.
When Kai made the costly decision to receive Jesus, things got even more intense. Minutes after receiving Jesus as Lord, his father discerned that he had become a Christian. His father grabbed a knife and threatened to kill Kai if he wouldn’t renounce his faith in Jesus. In a moment of radical courage given to Kai by the Holy Spirit, he told his father,
“Dad, I want you to have eternal life and I want you to be in heaven with me forever.”
That night, Kai was spared from violence, but he was forced to leave his home and move in with a fellow Christian who lived by the Bible’s teachings of radical hospitality. However, 3 years after Kai’s salvation, his father received Jesus during the middle of a serious cancer battle.
So, as you’re sharing your faith with your Buddhist friend, it’s important to pray for their whole family to receive Jesus as Lord and to prepare your heart to help in any way when they receive Jesus. Pray against persecution, pray for the protection of the Holy Spirit, and the promises of Psalm 91.
Conclusion
As you can see in Kai’s story of renouncing Buddhism for the sake of Christ, the cost of following Jesus is worth the reward of eternal life and fellowship with the Living God.
Jesus is worthy of every tribe, every nation, and every soul (Revelation 7:9-10), and your Buddhist friend is longing for the good news of Jesus’ love. Through faithful prayer, longsuffering, supernatural discernment, and genuine hospitality, Jesus will encounter those following Buddhism and lead them to his everlasting light. Our team at Ask About My Faith is praying for God to encounter your Buddhist friends through His wonderful kindness, which leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).
