TSM's Treasure Hunting Adventure!
By Cathy Tankersley

On September 21, 2019, TSM began Treasure Hunting with a time of praise, prayer and teaching before seeking the Lord for where He might lead us to find His Treasures.

First stop on our hunt was Burger King on Parham and Patterson. We were looking for a couple with large drinks that were thirsty for God and we were to fill them up. We did not find our treasure. Our timing might have been off but we honored the Lord in obedience to go!

Next stop on our Treasure Map was the Firehouse at Patterson & Forest Ave to offer prayer for a sick son whom Jesus wanted to heal.  No one at the firehouse door acknowledged a child was sick.  We (TSM) shared our business card with phone # in case the word was for someone not at the door or in case this was a prophetic word for a soon to be sick son.

Then we headed to Verizon where we encountered a man named “John” – a name on our Treasure Map. When we showed John our Treasure Map, he remarked. “Isn’t that interesting.”  He willingly accepted prayer and we prayed for his business to be blessed.

 We then stopped in the Mixing Bowl Bakery, another clue on our Treasure map, where we encountered a clerk who gladly accepted a prophetic prayer of blessing.

One of our clues was wedding and we noticed a display of wedding cakes in the bakery, so we
 approached the lady working by the wedding cakes and asked her if we could pray for her. She tearfully shared that her brother-in-law, Kevin  was in the hospital from a heart attack and that her sister Joyce was days away from dying.  She gratefully accepted prayers from the team.

Next stop was A.C. Moore, where we were hoping to find a female with sparkling jewelry and possibly items dealing with clowns and a  circus.   We did not discover these treasures.
We had several other places and treasures to discover but time had run out for the group, reminding us God has many treasures that are waiting to be found. There is much work to be done for the kingdom!

Some of us headed to lunch at Panera’s where we found a treasure not on the Treasure map.

We were able to share with our cashier a prayer of blessing, a bible tract & a love letter before we sat down to pray, eat and process our day.
 
Although, we had a few stops that failed to yield the desired results of finding a treasure, we realize that if we had not stepped out in faith, we would not have had the opportunity to bless those we were able to bless. God rewards faith & risk with a pure heart not the actual performance or outcome.
We are looking to Treasure Hunt again on Saturday, Oct 19. Details to follow. Please pray whether God would  like you to join us on this next adventure. It’s great fun !!!

             TSM's Treasure Hunting Adventure
                                                           by Cathy Tankersley
 
On Saturday, July 20, 2019, TSM started its Treasure Hunting adventure with asking the Lord where He wanted us to go to find His treasures.

We heard Him say Lowe's - to look in the wood construction and the garden sections - and Red Robin!  As to exactly where, we discerned we were to start our hunt at Chesterfield Town Center where Red Robin borders the food court and Lowe's is across the street.

Praying for Clues
When we prayed for identifying our treasures, we were told to reach the lost and to look for:

     -young mother with 3 children,
     -braids,
     -pink shirt,
     -stars and stripes
     -physical healing
     -pregnant mom with financial concerns
     -big smile
     -man with a limp

The Hunt
 
We started at Chesterfield Town Center’s Red Robin restaurant.  This was a new type of place for us to do a treasure hunt. We weren't real sure as to how to look for someone in a restaurant when we were not going to be customers there!  HELP!  So we asked the Lord for strategy.  We discerned that we were to ask the hostess if we could walk through the restaurant as we were looking for someone.

Braids
We spotted a woman whose hair was woven in braids with a braided bun.  Not sure whether we should interrupt the lady, we exited the restaurant. Later, we returned to Red Robin and quickly blessed the lady in braids as lunch was being served! We felt she was God's  treasure. We told her “We know it sounds strange but we are on a treasure hunt and you are one of our clues.” She seemed intrigued and delighted. She gladly accepted the gift of a bible tract and love letter from God.

Young Mother with 3 Children
In the mall, as we walked around the food court, we saw a young woman with 3 children (and her husband who arrived later). We approached the woman and showed her our treasure map. She agreed she was one of our treasures and we had the pleasure of praying for her and her husband!
                                        
 
At Lowe's, based on our clues, we started out in wood construction section.
Finding no treasures there we headed toward the garden shop.
Pink Shirt and Stars & Stripes
As we crossed the store, we saw two treasures walking together that were like neon lights flashing at us - a lady who had stars & stripes on her pink shirt & shoes and a man with stars & stripes on his tee shirt.  We shared our treasure clues with them. The lady said that she almost didn’t wear stars & stripes that day but decided to change into these clothes.  They were gladdened by our encounter and requested prayer for their children especially for their daughter traveling to Jamaica. They were Christian and accepted a copy of a love letter from God as well.

Physical Healing
In the garden center, we encountered  a women sitting in a garden chair in obvious need of healing - another clue we had been given!  She was wearing an arm compression wrap and had a nasty scar on her foot.  She shared she had had melanoma cancer on her foot and had the cancer & lymph nodes removed and had resulting circulation issues.  She gladly accepted prayers of healing.


Pregnant Mom with Financial Concerns
Next, we encountered our pregnant mom (with her husband) who had financial concerns in a gardening supply aisle.  When asked for her prayer needs, she shared that she had to quit her job when she got pregnant because she worked around toxins and mold and that they were concerned about living on one income. They were overjoyed to be our treasure and appreciated our prayers.
 
Big Smile
As we were heading out of Lowe's, a salesman yelled out to us “Are you looking for a TRANE?”   This opened the door to share what we were looking for – God’s treasures We gave testimony that we indeed can hear from a real God by showing him our treasure map with a corresponding picture of the stars & stripes couple matching treasure clues. The man, Bill, whom we found to be an atheist, shared that he was raised a Christian but walked away due to the actions of a pastor that offended him. He expressed no need of prayer but accepted the gift of a gospel of John bible tract along with a love letter from God. We gently stated we hoped he would reconsider faith in Christ – that his eternity depended on it.  We prayed for Bill as we walked away – hoping for his salvation & ability to forgive a pastor that had offended him.
 
We Found God's Treasures!
 
Our 2.5 hour adventure felt very productive for the kingdom of God. We were encouraged and blessed as we experienced God’s guidance and saw God blessing others through us in so many different ways.  We enjoyed seeing how we needed each others clues together to complete the puzzle to find our treasure. Just think of the pieces of the puzzle we are missing without your presence.
 
We are looking to Treasure Hunt again on Saturday, Sept 21.
Details to follow. Please pray whether God would like you
to join us on this next adventure.
It’s great fun !!!
  For more information, contact Cathy at 804-833-1256.

Intercession:  How To Pray
Becoming a Prayer Warrior by Elizabeth Alves
Beyond the Veil by Alice Smith
Needless Casualties of War by John Paul Jackson
Rediscovering the Ministry of Blessing by Russ Parker

The Lifestyle That Supports an Intercessor-What You Need to Know:
Spiritual House Cleaning:  Protect Your Home and Family from Spiritual Pollution by Eddie and Alice Smith

The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila
Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
Practicing the Presence by Brother Lawrence
The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous

Devotionals
Come Away My Beloved by Frances Roberts

Visionary and Allegorical Resources About the Spiritual Life
Visions From Heaven by Wendy Alec- a good read for those experiencing long illness and trials
The Call and The Final Quest by Rick Joyner - about the spiritual journey and the path to growth
Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson - stages of spiritual journey using the grapevine!

Intercessors For America offer multiple prayer guides at their website.  Go to: LINK

New Prayer Guide:
IFA prayer guide for Immigration issues: https://www.ifapray.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Immigration-Special-Report-Prayer-Guide-WITH-EO-1.pdftsm

Hearing God by Dallas Willard.  InterVarsity Press
Can You Hear Me?  Tuning Into the God Who Speaks by Brad Jersak.  Traffor Press.
Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God  by Mark Batterson.  Waterbrook& Multnomah
A Divine Confrontation by Graham Cook.  Destiny Image
The Day of the Saint’s by Dr. Bill Hamon. Destiny Image
The Prophetic Advantage: Be God’s Mouth Piece by Michelle McClain-Walters. Charisma House Four Keys to Hearing God's Voice by Mark Virkler.  Destiny Image
Basic Training for Prophetic Activation by Dan McCollam.  iWAR (Institute of Worship Arts Resources) and SOUNDS OF THE NATIONS LINK
                                                                                                                    

Prayers That Heal the Heart by Mark Virkler
Blessing or Curse:  You Can Choose by Derek Prince
Deliverance From Evil Spirits:  A Practical Manual by Francis MacNutt

PRAYING "FOR" OTHERS AND NOT "AGAINST"
SEE FULL ARTICLE FROM IFA AT THIS LINK


The italicized information below is from the IFA article in the link above. 
What follows is a meditation and practical application for prayer.


"Focus our prayers on God’s increasing kingdom instead of the world’s crumbling systems.
Apart from Christ, this world will continue to fall apart. We shouldn’t be surprised at the failure of man’s attempts to secure peace and freedom. God will continue to shake everything that can be shaken in order for the reality of His kingdom to be clearly demonstrated through His people (Heb 12:27-28). Instead of praying “against” things, pray FOR the purposes of God to prevail!"
___________________________

The Lord tells us to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44).  
If we love our enemies, do we pray "against" them? 
What is our prayer of love for those who hurt or offend us?

Is praying that the driver who cuts us off, gets thrown in jail and gets his/her 'just desserts' a prayer of love?  How would God see that prayer?  Is it a prayer that builds His kingdom?  Would it not be more loving to pray that the spirit of peace will fall on him/her, that they will drive safely and look out for others? 

How about the prayer of praying "against the spirit of deception"?   Shouldn't we be praying for what we want...such as asking for His Spirit of truth to come and renew hearts and minds?

Note: Praying "against" puts one in a position of anger-not a good position to be in to pray for the redemption of another!  Praying for those who wrong us is a challenge because we have to let go of our anger and offense.  Praying the good-and what needs to happen to build God's kingdom-changes us, so we are not focused on our hurts and anger.... and.... keeps us out of offense!  We are looking for our prayers to always build His kingdom in whatever circumstance and to do that we must ask our Father in heaven to help us.

I hope you will take this challenge and begin to prayer in love at all times and to pray "for" others.  This is a big step up into building His kingdom but we can't do it alone.  We must have heaven's help for it is a big challenge!

Lord Jesus we ask for Your favor to be able to pray for those who offend us,
that we will pray for their good as You have taught us. 

We cannot do this on our own and we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit,
who is our Helper and our source of truth. 

We know that we are YOUR handiwork, that YOU have begun a good work in us and
that it is YOU who will complete it. 
In Jesus' name.  Amen.