We were at cell group when my leader introduced the idea of Treasure Hunting to us.

It’s not what you might think – ever heard the term, “word of knowledge”? Treasure hunting is about finding strangers to touch their lives with a word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8).

My leader’s instructions were to spend 15 minutes praying for God to let us know who were the people there He wanted us to minister to. We were given suggestions like locations and names to pray for so we could fill up our “treasure map”.  Then we would walk around the vicinity to find these people and pray for them.

As I prayed, I jotted down the description of people who appeared in my mind. The one image that stuck for me was of an auntie in a black dress and red scarf. I felt that one of her legs was in pain, and as I pressed in, I became sure that it was the left one. I also saw a boy in a yellow striped jersey, and a girl in sports attire – they both had things I knew to pray for as well.

Honestly, I wondered if I was imagining things. I wasn’t used to operating in the spiritual realm so I was doubtful if it would work. I was also scared of being stared at or rejected by people.

Can you imagine going up to a stranger and asking if there’s something wrong with them? Not the best way to start a conversation. But my divine opportunity had arrived.

“Isn’t that her?” my friend exclaimed. I didn’t need to look: My wide eyes were already fixed on that lady in the black dress and red scarf. The noise of the shopping centre seemed to fade into a soft buzz. I turned back to my cell mates – we all had petrified looks.

I looked back at the woman. A thousands what-ifs ran through my mind as my heart started to race. It was one thing to pray for God to show us who He wanted us to bless – it was quite another to actually approach them to pray for them!

I sized up the situation quickly: The auntie was watching a movie at a public screening with her husband. Because she was sitting down, I couldn’t tell if there was anything wrong with her left leg – It was too risky.

So, I thought of a way out. “Um … It’s awkward to interrupt them in the middle of a movie,” I told some of my cell group mates. “Maybe we come back later and see how?”

Relieved by my suggestion, they nodded in agreement and we headed off. But as we walked away from the auntie, I couldn’t help but feel that she was the one God wanted us to pray for. The burden of praying for her grew stronger by the minute, and by the time we walked back to the movie screening area, I was certain she was the same person I saw in my vision.

The movie had just ended when I began looking for the auntie in the crowd. I saw her husband who was walking away. I was worried that the auntie was going off as well, until I saw that she remained seated.

You are driven by either fear or faith. Choose wisely.

I could scarcely breathe. The timing was impeccable: It would be easier to talk to the auntie without her husband there. I knew this was a divine opportunity given to us. My friends started nudging each other to take the first step, but I knew time was limited.

It was now or never. I was fearful, but I knew I would miss out on experiencing God’s power if I didn’t take that leap of faith. So I marched up to the auntie, who turned towards me as I sat down on the empty chair beside her.

“Hi auntie,” I started out, “Can I ask you a question?” She looked at me curiously and nodded. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger: “Does your left leg hurt?” She recoiled and stared at me in shock, “How did you know?!”

I was shocked as well – taken aback by how accurate the word of knowledge for her was. I explained to her what my cell group was doing, and she began telling us about her knee surgery two years ago and her medical checkup that upcoming week. We asked if we could pray for her, and she obliged.

Before we went off, I told her, “God must really care about you to bring us to find you.” There was a chill down my spine as I said that.

I’ve previously written about trusting God despite the risks. There are honestly many times I choose to escape from a situation rather than to face it with faith.

But when I find it hard to have faith, I remind myself that faith is a muscle –  it will never be strengthened if we always choose to escape in fear. In fact, after our encounter with the auntie that night, my cell group members and I became emboldened to reach out to more!

You are driven by either fear or faith. Choose wisely.