A New York-based influencer who “pretended God was real for 30 days” has come to faith.
Brian Guan told Premier Christian News that he grew up with the Christian faith, but “rejected it in college”. After a career in cryptocurrency left him feeling “jaded”, he challenged himself to pray, read the Bible and practise gratitude for 30 days to see if his heart changed.
On day 20 of the challenge, Guan released an emotional video declaring: “I’m done pretending… this is real!”
“This… is real, dude… Jesus Christ is my Lord and saviour,” he repeated. “At some point you have to make a decision. You make it every day: Are you going to let the Holy Spirit into your heart? Are you going to believe that Jesus Christ is real, and died for your sins on the cross? Three days later he rose again – that’s my God, bro.”
Brian revealed that he had leaned into the “pretending” a month before starting his filmed challenge.
Comparing his newfound Christian faith to his previous background in yoga, he said that looking to Christ has changed not just his mindset, but his behaviour to others. “In eight days, I was being kinder to strangers. My nicotine addiction, it quietly faded away.”
In the next video, Brian changed his caption from “pretending” to “believing God is real”.
“I’m not pretending anymore,” he told followers. “I want to thank God for all of the support I’ve been getting [on this challenge].”
“Me and my girlfriend just finished reading John, and now we’re going through Acts together,” he continued. “I’m going to call my mom and tell her I love her, because the Bible says honour your mother and father.”
Guan told followers that he doesn’t feel “hugely” different, but is treating faith “like a daily practice, like going to the gym.”
“I’m not hoping to see results from one session,” he wrote. “But do it everyday, steadily and consistently to feel the major change, like I did.”
Guan also shared that he has felt troubled by nightmares since choosing faith, and asked for prayer against any spiritual counter-attack.