What to do with rejection…

So the stories of people getting healed and having power encounters with God are awesome but what about those times when people reject you? What do you do when someone says no but you know that God wants to heal them or pour out his love on them? If you are going to seriously go out and “spread the love” I guarantee you that you will be rejected. I don’t say this to scare you but instead to prepare you.

So Nathan and I were out on a treasure hunt and we walked into a Home Depot. As soon as we walked in the lady at the paint counter caught both of our eyes. She was obviously in physical pain. You didn’t have to be prophetic to see this. After walking around the store we went up to her and offered prayer.

In a voice that sounded pretty offended she said, “Oh no. I pray for myself and I have family that prays for me. I don’t need your prayer.”

We made sure that she really didn’t want prayer and left her.

Another time I was at the bank and saw that the security guard had a limp. So I went over to him and offered prayer. His response was to tell me that if I wanted to I could pray for him when I said my prayers at night. But I said that I wanted to pray for him right now. He still said no and kind of gave me that signal that said, “If you don’t leave I will make you leave.”

After these kinds of encounters it is easy to just say, “Forget it. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Or “This must not be something that I am supposed to do. God would have made it easier if it had been.” After all, who wants to be rejected anyway?

We have to push through these thoughts. Something that helps me to get past this is to know that they are not rejecting me…they are rejecting God. The two most common reasons that I have found that people don’t want receive prayer are that they have been hurt by the church in the past or they don’t want to call attention to themselves. They don’t want to look silly. There are ways to get around the walls people have set up and maybe I will go into that in later posts but the main thing to remember is that if you were to stop doing something because you were rejected once, the only thing you would ever do is sit at home doing nothing…and I mean nothing. Even the TV can make you feel rejected at times.

You might have heard the theory that if you want to see people healed, you should make it a goal to pray for a thousand people if that is what it takes to see one person healed…and pray for a thousand more if that is what it takes to see a second person healed. It is all but a guarantee that if you pray for two thousand people to be healed you will see some very powerful acts of God and will see many healings. I propose that if you don’t want to be afraid to approach people and ask them for prayer then you should prepare yourself for being rejected a thousand times. I can all but guarantee that after a thousand rejections they will just bounce off of you.

My advice is just do it. What is the worst that can happen? They say no. They don’t get healed. Your prophetic word was wrong. Remember it is not your responsibility to heal people, it is God’s.

Rock on for Jesus!!!

Pizza anyone???

So at work we decided to have an office lunch party once a week. The first week we ordered pizza. I happened to be coming back from a showing just as the pizza lady was walking up to the front stairs. I said hi to her and asked if that was the pizza for us. She said it was and I let her in and told her that our office was on the third floor. (By the way, there are no elevators.) At this she looked at me and I could see pain in her eyes.

She said, “Can you call them to come down here. I have arthritis and it is very painful to walk up stairs.”

My heart sank at this and I gave our office a call to bring down the money. As we were standing there waiting for someone to come down with the money I was debating the best way to ask her if I could pray for her.

When the money came down I told her that we are Christians and that we believe that God heals people today and offered to pray for her. What was interesting to me was that she wanted prayer but not for healing. She proceeded to tell us about how her husband had died and she saw him everywhere and how she could not let go. Her heart was broken and she wanted it to be fixed.

So we prayed for her heart and that God would bring her comfort and peace…and of course we prayed for her arthritis. After we were done she said she felt good. I asked how her arthritis was and asked her to check it out to see if it was any different. She tested it on a few steps and looked up in amazement.

“Oh my goodness! It doesn’t hurt any more.” She said.

I said one more quick prayer for her and blessed her and she left…with no pain. Go God.

Rock on for Jesus!!!

Treasure Hunt, Feb 24 - Bob/Jen/Walmart

First of all, besides Walmart being on one of our Treasure Maps as a 'clue', I thought later, actually Walmart really had been a good place to go because of all the years of fusion giveaways - i always remembered the stories that came back from the Walmart parking lot were positive ones, that people were open to receive. So tonight we wanted to go where those seeds had been sown and reap some harvest... and i believe we did...

(Words in CAPS were the "clues" we had on our Treasure Map - see link on the right if you want to download an example of a treasure map to learn more about it)

> Walked in and saw the CLOWN FACE staring at me (on the back of a guy's jacket) - was on Nathan's treausre map - texted him "clown near milk"!

> Then Bob saw the lady in the RED JACKET WITH BLONDE HAIR - texted Nathan! He told us later she had 'all the clues'

> Found a young girl with PINK SHOES and told her she was God's treasure :)

> Showed a woman who was wearing BLUE ON TOP our list (who had a SMALL CHILD with her) and ended up praying with her for her mom's liver problems

> Approached a woman with PINK on, tried to communicate with woman who didn't speak English, made hand gestures to see if she had pain and wanted prayer, she motioned yes pain all over her body, so we prayed

> Bob asked a worker if there was anyone who worked there who had the names on his list, she told us there was a TIM who was a co-manager and he'd be walking around, we found him easily and prayed for his high blood pressure plus gave words of encouragement and blessing, he was quite nicely open to us, smiled and wished us luck on the rest of our treasure hunt!!

> Guy with a COMB IN HAIR - he didn't have any pain or prayer needs, but the girl with him was smiling as we listed off things we could pray for and so she wanted us to pray for their relationship!

> Woman in a YELLOW HAT, her daughter translated and told us about her many failed surgeries for her throat, that they did not have good tools in Romania and damaged her vocal chords when trying to attend to her thyroid. She was supposed to die and doctors gave her one year to live - eleven years ago - and she promised God to pray every morning and night, with her bible, which she has been faithful to. Tonight we got to be God's messengers and to pray for her.


All of these "clues" helped give us confidence and open doors for conversation with people and for them to believe they were being highlighted, special to God. we prayed with every one, left bits of kingdom dust with every encounter.

It was fun!

Old School Nike High-tops

Jennie M. and I are cruising through Ultra Foods (we had a clue for "grocery store") when we spot a guy with a few of my clues: "Old School Nike High-tops," and "Beard." We approach him and introduce ourselves, and then ask if he has any pain in his body. "Yeah, I've got some back pain," he says, which is crazy because Jennie has "back pain" on her list of clues. We pray for him, and when we're done, he reports that his back feels great. He does a few minor stretches, and affirms again that the pain is gone.
We thank Jesus for what He did, and then start to offer some prophetic words. Jennie starts speaking about his heart for kids, and that they look up to him, etc., and when she is done, he tells us that he works for an academy that specializes on special needs kids. He is blown away that we came and prayed for him, and keeps thanking us and going over how strange it was that we knew those things about him. We remind him that it's God's goodness not us, and he agrees. We leave him grinning, and with a new appreciation for God's care and love for him.

Attention K-mart Shoppers: Healing is going on in the shoe aisle

It's amazing how even when you have the wrong clue God can still use it for His purposes. I had the clue "Gucci" (as in Gucci hand bag) but was not seeing anyone with Gucci anything on anyone at K-mart, or any of my other clues. Jen and I had been wandering around for about fifteen minutes and hadn't prayed for anyone when I saw three men passing us, and one of them had on a hoodey with the word "Googi" on it. I let them pass. Wrong clue. Then God prompted me to go talk to the guy anyway, and that the "wrong" clue would have to suffice.

Jen and I approached the three guys who were checking out shoes. They were all in their eary twenties, tall, and athletic looking. I didn't give myself time to get nervous and just walked right up to the guy with the Googi hoodey. I told him that we were on a treasure hunt, and that I thought he might be the treasure. He was plenty skeptical until I asked "do you have any pain in your knees?" He did. He said it was about a 7-8 out of ten on a pain scale. "So you would know if it went away?"

"Absolutely. It hurts."

I decided it was really time to push my boundaries, and so I asked if I could put my hand on his knee. Surprisingly, he agreed, and so I knelt next to him and asked for the kingdom to come, and for Jesus to heal his knee. "How is it now?"

I'm starting to get used to the look on his face. An awkward smile, a sort of deer in headlights 'I don't have a clue what just happened to me, but I like it!" look. "It's better!" he said. "A lot better!"

"All the way better?"

"No, but it's better."

"Can I pray again? I want to see it all the way better. So does Jesus."

"Sure.

Again I'm on my knees. "Lord Jesus, bring your healing. No more pain. In Jesus name." I'm really feeling the nearness of God, and his love for this man. I know that Jesus is going to totally heal his knee. I'm praying with authority, while the man's two friends wander at the end of the aisle, unsure if they really want to know what's going on, trying to be aloof, but watching non-the-less.

"What's going on now?"

"Wow. It's like completely fine." He walks down to the end of the aisle and back, a huge smile on his face. His friends are now paying close attention. He does a few knee bends. "There's just a little stiffness left."

"Do you want me to pray for that stiffness? Jesus will take it away."

"Sure."

Third time is the charm. He's really testing the knee now, doing a calf stretch, and more walking.

"It feels great!" he says, almost laughing.

"That's Jesus." I say. "He loves you. He loves you a lot."

Friend number one has wandered over and is checking things out, so I turn to him: "Do you have any pain in your body?"

"No."

"Nothing at all? No pain?"

"Well I've got a little knee thing too."

Prayer time. This time I know Jesus is going to heal things. The atmosphere is just electric, and I feel so much confidence in God's authority, so much confidence in His goodness and His love and His power. I say a very short prayer, hand on his knee, and then ask him to test it out. Again I get the look. A little shock, a little joy, and a little doubt intermingled. "I don't feel it anymore."

"It's good?"

"Yeah it's good."

Friend number two is talking to the first guy God healed, and so Jen and I ask him if he has pain. "No, I'm fine," he says, but he does have pain, it's just in his eyes and heart, not his body. Jen and I learn that he is looking for an office job and that he would really like to be working. So we pray that God will open doors, and for His favor, etc. Then Jen begins to call out the gold in him, and prophesies about God's heart for him. When she is done, I add a few things, and before we leave, Jen gives friend number two a hug.

Then the first guy comes over with a massive smile and gives me a hug. "Thank you so much," he says. "Thank Jesus. That's His goodness all over you. I can't heal anyone."

We leave the three guys to pick out their shoes, each of them knowing in a new and real way that their Father loves them. God is so good. Acting on a 'wrong' clue led to the most powerful encounter I've ever experienced on Treasure Hunt.

Tattoos on Fingers

Dan and I went out on a little 'treasure hunt' (asking God for clues to help lead us to His treasures: those who need to hear about his Love, be healed, encouraged, etc.) Thursday night. We have a lot of clues, but were not really finding any. One of my clues was "tattoos on fingers," and one of Dan's clues was for a location: 7-11. This was our last stop, and while we'd been pretty bold for most of the night, we'd not really found anyone who specifically matched our clues. Then at 7-11, Dan spotted a store employee cleaning one of the coffee stations who just happened to have tattoos on several of his fingers.

We struck up a conversation with the man and learned his name was Hugo. I showed him my treasure map with the tattoo clue, and he was visibly surprised. Then Dan had a word of knowledge that he suffered from back pain. Hugo said he did have back pain regularly, but not at that specific moment. He did however, have a swollen thumb with a black nail that has been caused by being slammed in a car door. We asked if we could pray, and Hugo said sure. Dan opened up with prayers for his back and asked that Jesus Christ heal his back and repair anything that was out of whack.

Then I decided to pray for his thumb. I started praying, and I felt God direct me to put my finger tips very near his thumb; not touching it, but as close as possible. As I did this, I felt my fingers tips get very hot, and felt that heat transfer to Hugo's thumb. I prayed, and when I was done, I asked Hugo "Did you just feel that heat?"

"Yeah!" he said, and I could tell that again, he was very surprised. Then I felt God giving me a prophetic word for him. As I talked, I saw he was totally engaged and that the words were drawing him out. The Lord was loving him in that moment, reassuring him that he was not a castaway, not a screw-up. That he was a son and that his Father loved him. There were some specific details that he seemed to relate to, and so when I was done with the word, Dan had the insight to ask Hugo if the words made sense.

"Totally," he said. Dan then reinforced that it was because of God's goodness and His love for him that he had given me those words. Then I told Hugo that God was working on his thumb: that tomorrow he would be able to move it, and that in seven days the color would return to the nail and that he wouldn't have to lose the fingernail. I'm not sure what he thought about that, but when we left, he was visibly more at peace than when we arrived.

I plan to go back to 7-11 in a week's time and see how Hugo's thumb is doing, as well as again let him know that his Father loves him. I will post again once that happens and provide an update.

One Hand In My Pocket...

If you want to have someone agree to let you pray with them, there are a few things to remember. The first is that developing some rapport with them first is a great idea. The second is that you should introduce yourself and let them know why you are there (to pray for healing) and where you are from (a local church). The third is that you shouldn't come charging up to them with your hand jammed in your jeans pocket and demand to know if "they're in pain or here with someone who is having pain."

I learned each of these valuable lessons after choking down my sickening level of anxiety and rushing up to the first man I laid eyes on in the Loyola Hospital ER waiting room. A light skinned African American man in a red Comcast jacket, he looked at me standing over him, stood up, and said 'no, but that man over there does." I could tell from his demeanor that he wasn't really enjoying my presence, and I felt I needed to let him know I was 'ok.' I explained that I was there to pray for anyone who wanted it. He nodded, laughed, and relaxed. It was clear he was a nice guy and that I’d just surprised him a bit.

Five minutes later, after learning that the second man's mother was in the ER after suffering a minor stroke, and that he was related to the larger family that Jen had already befriended and was making small talk with, we got down to praying. Jen and I prayed for the woman to be fully restored and to have no repercussions from the stroke. We asked for the Kingdom to come, and for Jesus to heal her body.

When we were done, a curious thing happened. The entire family, and the man in the Comcast jacket, began to give me pointers. "Don't just come running up to people without introducing yourself first!" said one the three women Jen had been talking to. "You've got to let us know who you are and why you're here."

Then, Comcast jacket guy stared in, and as he talked, I felt my face growing red. "You come up to me with your hand in your pocket. Your hand in your pocket! You certainly got my attention. And I'm sitting there, and I'm like, man I'm not even on my feet. You know, that's not really going to put anyone at ease."

There's not much I can say except "You're right." I'm feeling embarrassed, but it's the good sort of embarrassment that comes when you realize you've made some silly mistakes, but that you can learn from them. Comcast guy is being very polite, and he's not exaggerating things. He's actually doing me a favor. He's pointing out that if you want to do the work of Christ, if you want to contend for the Kingdom, and if you want to pray for healing, you've first got to convince the person that you're talking to you're not there to shoot them in the face.

I'm thankful to Comcast guy. He gave me the opportunity to see how my spectacular level of nervousness which led to me shoving my hand into my pocket and approaching him far to directly out of fear that if I didn't, I never would, had created walls that never needed to be there. He showed me, and explained in detail, what I already knew: that developing rapport is essential. What I knew, but what I couldn't apply because I let my fear get in the way of expressing the love of Christ. It's clear to me that God put that man in my path and not someone who would have taken offense, closed themselves off (or worse!) so that I could learn some valuable lessons.