Out team consisted of Donna Napolitano, Jana Lutovsky and myself.
Many of the clues on our Treasure Maps we found including: Red Hat, Candy Isle, Violet, Yogurt, Green Shoes, Pink Scarf, Right Knee, Lower Back, and Jean.
Our clue was green shoes and this young girl with her mom and dad was wearing them. I approached the father who was named James and told him about the Treasure Hunt and that we had Green Shoes as a clue. I pointed to my list and asked if he had a knee problem (right knee was a clue on my map) or a lower back problem (another clue on my map). He said he had a lower back problem and his wife had a right knee problem. James motioned for us to pray for her but she didn't want any part of this at first. I showed her my Map and that we had the clues Green Shoes, Lower Back and Right Knee. She was then more responsive to our requests to pray for her.
Her name was Lina and it turned out she had a tumor on her right knee. She felt hot when we were praying for her but the tumor didn't dissolve. We prayed multiple times for her. Then we prayed for her husband James for his lower back problems. His pain level was at 8.5 (from a scale from 1 - 10) when we started praying for him. After our first couple of prayers he said the pain went down to about a 4. After more prayers he said the pain was down to 0.5 and he was good.
We also prayed for a young girl (Katrina) who was by the Yogurt (Jana's clue) for her shoulder and after a couple of times she said she was completely healed. It turned out we had prayed for her Grandmother two weeks earlier when we were on another Treasure Hunt here at Wal*Mart.
We prayed for Justin who had a broken arm and Donna was able to share Jesus with him. We challenged him to ask Jesus to reveal Himself to him when he goes home and prays. His mom was blessed we prayed for him.
I had Red Hat on my list and near the end of out hunt we found her. Jana spotted her and her name was Geraldine. She had bunion problems and we prayed for her to be healed and after Jana said "bunions be gone" the woman said don't you need a physician to cut them off. We said something like Jesus is the Great Physician and He can totally heal her. She said something like "that can happen"? And we said Jesus can totally heal her. We prayed for her a number of times and she said her feet felt better. A friend with her was name Jean and Jana had her name on her Map. We prayed for God's wisdom for her. They were Christians and we talked about each other's churches. It was a great time talking to Jean.
We ran into a woman with a pink scarf (on my map) as we were leaving. She was an employee who said she didn't want to get fired because of us praying for her so we prayed for her as we walked out. She was naming a number of people to pray for too as we were walking out.
It was a wonderful night and it was a blessing to pray for so many people. God is good and people felt His presence tonight. Praise God.
Bob Holzner
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
First night at the ERs
First stop was West Suburban Medical Center.
Our team, Dan Pietrini, Carrie Rubenking and myself (Bob Holzner), walked up the the hospital and stepped through the doors to the Emergency Room. This was way out of my comfort zone. Each of us eased our way to a seat at different parts of the Waiting Room and blended in. It was very awkward at first as to what to say. What does one say? How do you start the conversation? I sheepishly looked around for the right someone to pray with in my area.
How in the world did I get to this point?
I must say it has been a journey and God was putting the pieces together gradually for me.
I was first blessed to be able to take the three Healing Classes VOP offered. Two things radically set me on a wonderful new course in my life. The first was when we were asked to come up with a healing word for someone in the room. While the directions were being said I had a thought about a particular illness. I first thought it was just me but it turned out to be a correct word about someone's illness. This never happened to me before. This was new territory and God was laying some foundation in my life.
The second exercise was to pray for healing for someone in the group. I was amazed that while I was praying for someone during this exercise the presence of the Holy Spirit fell upon the man and he felt God's healing hand. Nothing ever happened to me like this when I prayed for someone before and it was a break through for me. More foundation work from the Father.
I learned that God does talk to us today and that He heals people today. This was a bit new for me but I was excited to move forward with this new revelation in my life. After this I had been praying for people in church off and on but God was about to take me further still.
I was hanging with Mike McGee around this time and learned about Bill Johnson and Bethel Church. They actually went out and would pray for people on the streets to be healed. If someone had a cane, walker or wheelchair they were open encounters and they would offer to pray for them to be healed. Now that was radical and way out of my comfort zone. Praying for people in church was one thing but people I don't know on the streets was another.
Nonetheless, God was doing a work in me and I saw a woman with a walker and I felt the gentle urge from God to pray for her but I didn't have the courage. I still had fears and I felt bad I didn't pray for her. God worked with me through this and I eventually started praying for people I didn't know while I was out shopping. If I saw a cane I would ask them if I could pray for them. Remarkably nearly all of them let me pray from them. It wasn't that bad either after getting over the initial fears.
The downside was I felt a bit like a lone warrior for Christ. I wanted to be part of a team.
My desire to pray for people continued to grow and to be part of a team doing this. Then I heard about the Healing Seminar at Bethel Valparaiso and I joined the Prayer Team soon after. I was able to go to that seminar and we went on a Treasure Hunt and many people were healed miraculously (See Dan's post My Power Week # 1 & 2).
Great things were happening at VOP now with many people getting healed and I was stoked. Dan talked about his encounters on one Sunday and I talked to him briefly after church. The excitement was growing. The next week Dan dropped the bomb and said on Tuesday they were going to the ER to pray for people to be healed. After church I mentioned to Dan I would like to come too. God was moving, something beautiful was starting, and I wanted to follow.
So here I am. I turned to the young man with a small baby on my left and asked if he was waiting on the doctor? Seemed like a good starting conversation. He said no and someone he was with was inside getting taken care of. That seemed to end the conversation but I stumbled further and asked what they were being treated for if you don't mind me asking. Then I felt I needed to tell him who I was and what I was trying to get at. I said something like I wanted to pray for their loved one and I believe Jesus heals today. He said yes and that she might be having problems with the pregnancy. I prayed for her to be healed and there would be no problems with the pregnancy and the doctors would be amazed at her recovery. He thanked me and seemed very blessed.
I breathed a sign of relief as I began to get a feel for how things were unfolding this night. This was new ground for me and I am still learning. I looked around and I saw there was one small boy with a white identification wrist band. I made my way over to him and his mother. He had a rash on his chest and was waiting to see the doctor. I asked his mom if I could pray for him and she said yes. I asked the rash to be supernaturally healed and gone and when he went in to see the doctor the doctor would say "what rash." He seemed very happy to receive prayer. This wasn't so bad after all and to tell you the truth it was addicting. What we have been freely given we should freely give.
We went through the room and prayed for those who wanted prayer. It was still early so we decided to go to another ER to pray for people. We decided on Loretto Hospital in the Austin neighborhood.
As we walked out of the hospital a young man called out to us. It was the young man with the baby that I prayed with. He thanked us again as we were leaving and we blessed him again. That really felt good. Praise God.
Continued in The First Night - Part Two.
Our team, Dan Pietrini, Carrie Rubenking and myself (Bob Holzner), walked up the the hospital and stepped through the doors to the Emergency Room. This was way out of my comfort zone. Each of us eased our way to a seat at different parts of the Waiting Room and blended in. It was very awkward at first as to what to say. What does one say? How do you start the conversation? I sheepishly looked around for the right someone to pray with in my area.
How in the world did I get to this point?
I must say it has been a journey and God was putting the pieces together gradually for me.
I was first blessed to be able to take the three Healing Classes VOP offered. Two things radically set me on a wonderful new course in my life. The first was when we were asked to come up with a healing word for someone in the room. While the directions were being said I had a thought about a particular illness. I first thought it was just me but it turned out to be a correct word about someone's illness. This never happened to me before. This was new territory and God was laying some foundation in my life.
The second exercise was to pray for healing for someone in the group. I was amazed that while I was praying for someone during this exercise the presence of the Holy Spirit fell upon the man and he felt God's healing hand. Nothing ever happened to me like this when I prayed for someone before and it was a break through for me. More foundation work from the Father.
I learned that God does talk to us today and that He heals people today. This was a bit new for me but I was excited to move forward with this new revelation in my life. After this I had been praying for people in church off and on but God was about to take me further still.
I was hanging with Mike McGee around this time and learned about Bill Johnson and Bethel Church. They actually went out and would pray for people on the streets to be healed. If someone had a cane, walker or wheelchair they were open encounters and they would offer to pray for them to be healed. Now that was radical and way out of my comfort zone. Praying for people in church was one thing but people I don't know on the streets was another.
Nonetheless, God was doing a work in me and I saw a woman with a walker and I felt the gentle urge from God to pray for her but I didn't have the courage. I still had fears and I felt bad I didn't pray for her. God worked with me through this and I eventually started praying for people I didn't know while I was out shopping. If I saw a cane I would ask them if I could pray for them. Remarkably nearly all of them let me pray from them. It wasn't that bad either after getting over the initial fears.
The downside was I felt a bit like a lone warrior for Christ. I wanted to be part of a team.
My desire to pray for people continued to grow and to be part of a team doing this. Then I heard about the Healing Seminar at Bethel Valparaiso and I joined the Prayer Team soon after. I was able to go to that seminar and we went on a Treasure Hunt and many people were healed miraculously (See Dan's post My Power Week # 1 & 2).
Great things were happening at VOP now with many people getting healed and I was stoked. Dan talked about his encounters on one Sunday and I talked to him briefly after church. The excitement was growing. The next week Dan dropped the bomb and said on Tuesday they were going to the ER to pray for people to be healed. After church I mentioned to Dan I would like to come too. God was moving, something beautiful was starting, and I wanted to follow.
So here I am. I turned to the young man with a small baby on my left and asked if he was waiting on the doctor? Seemed like a good starting conversation. He said no and someone he was with was inside getting taken care of. That seemed to end the conversation but I stumbled further and asked what they were being treated for if you don't mind me asking. Then I felt I needed to tell him who I was and what I was trying to get at. I said something like I wanted to pray for their loved one and I believe Jesus heals today. He said yes and that she might be having problems with the pregnancy. I prayed for her to be healed and there would be no problems with the pregnancy and the doctors would be amazed at her recovery. He thanked me and seemed very blessed.
I breathed a sign of relief as I began to get a feel for how things were unfolding this night. This was new ground for me and I am still learning. I looked around and I saw there was one small boy with a white identification wrist band. I made my way over to him and his mother. He had a rash on his chest and was waiting to see the doctor. I asked his mom if I could pray for him and she said yes. I asked the rash to be supernaturally healed and gone and when he went in to see the doctor the doctor would say "what rash." He seemed very happy to receive prayer. This wasn't so bad after all and to tell you the truth it was addicting. What we have been freely given we should freely give.
We went through the room and prayed for those who wanted prayer. It was still early so we decided to go to another ER to pray for people. We decided on Loretto Hospital in the Austin neighborhood.
As we walked out of the hospital a young man called out to us. It was the young man with the baby that I prayed with. He thanked us again as we were leaving and we blessed him again. That really felt good. Praise God.
Continued in The First Night - Part Two.
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!!!
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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!
(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!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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.
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.
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