Serial Answers: Change of Heart Amid Ongoing Prayer

“Unfortunately, we've seen it time and time again: Female Japanese believers settling on an unbelieving partner because they become weary of waiting on a believing man,” says Christar worker Lindsay, who serves with her husband, Thomas, in Japan. “The reality is that there are many more female believers than male here in Japan, and so this is a common, ongoing problem.”

In summer 2023, Thomas, Lindsay and their teammates Nathaniel and Trudy learned that a young believer named Yuko was heading down this path. She’d been dating Takashi, a man she’d met at work who didn’t share her faith in Christ—and she planned to marry him. Though she knew she shouldn’t marry an unbeliever, she was torn between her affection for Takashi and her desire to obey the Lord.

As a third-generation believer, Yuko is a rarity among the Japanese, a people group that’s only 0.30% evangelical Christian. But in spite of her upbringing, she struggled with the prospect of never finding a Christian husband and continued to pursue her relationship with Takashi in hopes that he would become a believer.

The Christar team had seen this situation before and knew it often leads to young believers abandoning their faith when their spouses don’t believe in Christ. So, they began to pray urgently and invited their prayer team, “Please pray with us for a change of heart in this young man, and for courage for Yuko to put the relationship on hold until her boyfriend is willing to learn about the God who is so important to her.”

At Yuko’s request, Nathaniel offered to study the Bible with Takashi, but Takashi turned down the offer. Though he wasn’t opposed to his girlfriend’s faith, he couldn’t see himself becoming a Christian.

In spite of Takashi’s disinterest in Christianity, Yuko was receptive as members of the team talked with her about the importance of spiritual unity in marriage. In September, they rejoiced when, in answer to prayer, Yuko told them she had decided not to marry Takashi until be believed.

As they praised God, they continued to ask their supporters to pray with them that God would work in Takashi’s life through His Word and that Yuko would remain firm in her commitment—a promise that grew harder to keep as the months passed.

Shortly before Christmas, Takashi started attending weekly worship services. Then, in January, he agreed to begin weekly Bible studies with Nathaniel.

“It was difficult to discern where Takashi was on his journey toward the cross, as apart from answering the questions in the Bible study text we were using, he would not personally ask questions or share what he was thinking,” Nathaniel recalls. “But on the other hand, he appeared to be following along during the Sunday messages, looking up the Scripture passages.”

That changed in an early April Bible study. “When asked to share his thoughts, Takashi responded by describing how amazing it was that Jesus would give His life on behalf of sinners,” Nathaniel recalls. But he still wasn’t sure about Christ’s resurrection.

Since Takashi believed in creation, Nathaniel encouraged him to recognize that if God could create Adam and Eve, He certainly could resurrect Jesus. Once again, the team asked for prayer, this time that Takashi would believe in Christ's resurrection and trust in Him.

Two weeks later, God answered those prayers. At another Bible study, Takashi shared that he now believed that Christ had risen from the dead. “Right then and there he called upon the name of the Lord for salvation,” Nathaniel recalls. “He followed that prayer with a prayer of thanksgiving for being forgiven.”

And then, he shared what had prompted him to begin Bible study several months earlier. The day before an important exam, Takashi was so sick he couldn’t leave his bed. In desperation, he prayed, asking God to heal him. The next day he was well enough to take the test, and he passed. This had convinced him that the God of the Bible was real.

This was not only a direct answer to Takashi’s prayer but once again came in response to the petitions of the team’s prayer partners. In the weeks leading up to this exam, the team had asked their supported to pray that God would give Takashi a willingness to study His word.

The couple began meeting weekly with Nathaniel and Trudy for discipleship and premarital counseling, and Takashi’s change of heart was evident in his desire to understand God’s Word. In June, he and Yuko were engaged, and in August they became husband and wife in a small ceremony with their families.

As they talked with the team after the reception, Yuko’s parents were delighted to hear that believers across the world had been praying for their daughter and thankful that members of the Body of Christ had come alongside her over the past year. “They expressed how grateful they were that like they themselves, others had spoken to their daughter when she was contemplating marrying an unbeliever,” Nathaniel recalls.

During a testimony time at church the following Sunday, the newlyweds joined in expressing their gratitude for the prayers of the Body of Christ—prayers that are still needed as they begin their life as husband and wife in a place with few followers of Jesus. Japanese Christians are often subject to strong social pressure to conform to norms that are contrary to their faith. The support they receive from other believers, including those who pray from the other side of the world, is vital.

So, the team continues to ask for prayer, asking that Takashi and Yuko will have courage in their faith and grow in Christ, and that they will be lights among Takashi’s family, none of whom are believers. And they rejoice. As Thomas says, “We praise God for this new Christian family and look forward to seeing how the Lord will use them as a couple.”

Participate Through Prayer:

• Praise God for opening Takashi’s heart to the gospel, answering the prayers of believers across the world.
• Pray that more Japanese men will trust in Christ.
• Pray for courage for Takashi and Yuko in living out their faith in a place where few know Christ and where Christians face strong social pressure.
• Ask for wisdom for Christar workers in Japan as they disciple young believers.