I would like to share a few thoughts with you about three different clouds in the Bible and how they point us to truths for this journey with a prodigal.

The first cloud is part of the story of Elijah that we find in 1 Kings 17 and 18, when he proclaimed a drought during the reign of Ahab, an evil king of Israel. Just as Elijah said, it didn’t rain for “many days” (1 Kings 18:1 NKJV).

During the third year of the drought, the Lord told Elijah to present himself before Ahab, and that He would send rain.

So, Elijah presented himself before Ahab and called for the prophets of Israel’s false gods and had them build an altar, put a sacrifice on it, and pray for their god to consume the sacrifice with fire. Of course, that didn’t happen, because their gods were no gods at all; but when Elijah repaired the broken altar of the Lord and built another altar with twelve stones, laid the sacrifice on it, and then saturated the sacrifice and altar with water until it pooled, he prayed a simple prayer, and “the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.” Then “the people saw it” and “fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” (vv. 38-39).

Let me briefly digress to tell you that in the Prayer for Prodigals ministry, we call evidence of answered prayers in the lives of our prodigals “raindrops.”A raindrop can be anything that is a direct answer to prayer: an estranged son calls his family, or an addicted daughter checks into rehab, or a prodigal husband visits his wife, or a prodigal who is a really good person and citizen begins to read her Bible or goes to church with her family.

A raindrop for Elijah was a “‘cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’” (1 Kings 18:44). After the Lord’s fire consumed the altar, wood, sacrifice, and water, and the declaration of the people that the Lord is the true God, Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and waited for the promised rain. The first evidence that the rain was coming was that tiny cloud. Soon afterward, “the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain” (v. 45). That particular tiny cloud was evidence of the coming of a promise from the Lord to Elijah when He said: “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth” (1 Kings 18:1).

I find three parallels in this story to the journey of loving a prodigal.

The Bible tells us there was no rain for “many days,” even into the third year (v. 1). The first parallel here is that it can feel like God has withheld His promise, His raindrops, for our prodigals for many days, even years. That is hard.

Then the next parallel is the evil committed by the children of Israel that consumed those many days of no rain. The children of Israel worshiped idols instead of worshiping the one true God. The parallel is that our prodigals are in servitude to Satan and are worshiping things and people other than the one true God.

But there is one more parallel for us to draw from this event: like Elijah, we’ve also repaired the altar of the Lord and prayed. I believe the Lord is showing Himself to our prodigals in answer to our prayers, even during their servitude to Satan, and they will fall on their faces before the Lord and declare that He is God! Then they can overcome the world (1 John 5:5) and God will abide in them, and they will abide in God (1 John 4:15). Yes! Grant it, Lord!

We learn from Elijah’s tiny cloud that when God makes promises about our prodigals, He keeps those promises, just like He kept His promise to Elijah in sending rain.

That’s the first cloud. What about the other two clouds in the Bible? The first one I want to mention is the cloud the Lord used to guide the Israelites in the wilderness years before they were living in the promised land with kings, long before the Elijah story. Exodus 13:21 tells us: “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way” (emphasis added). God promises through His Word to direct our steps and our decisions, also, just like He did for the children of Israel in the wilderness.

But, one of my favorite verses also talks about clouds. Deuteronomy 33:26 says “‘There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.’” We learn from this cloud that God is always aware of us and stands near and ready to help us in all of His excellency, even in this very difficult time.

Recap?

Clouds can remind us of the coming of promises in the lives of our prodigals.

Clouds can remind us that God guides us in this journey full of unknowns and teaches our hands to war (Psalm 18:34; 2 Samuel 22:35).

Clouds can remind us of His promises to stay close in this journey.

There is never a time God isn’t with us, and there is never a time He is less than perfectly able to help in whatever way we or our prodigals need or in whatever way is best. Clouds can remind us!