How blessed I was to take a road trip with my sweet Sister in Christ, Veronica Conde. We both like to see things through the lens of wonder, through the lens of a child, and so this story filled us both – thank you God!
We took a road trip to Kansas City to attend an 8-day prayer immersion workshop called “IMMERSE”, with a focus called “Prayer & the Prophetic”. Veronica happily volunteered to drive, and so it left me with the rare pleasure to gaze out on the countryside and ponder and meditate as we headed up the highway through Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. My job was to keep us entertained throughout the journey.
As we headed up Highway 69 through Oklahoma, I was looking out my passenger side window and thinking about the different landscapes, and reflecting on nothing in particular. Suddenly, I felt a prompting to look left, out the driver side window past Veronica, and there it was….plain as day…marked in the sky…71. I continued to stare and calmly asked Veronica, “Do you see 71 written in the sky?” She turned her head and with a quick glance, she said “Yep, I sure do.”
I quickly snapped several pictures in rapid fire succession, and I could not take my eyes off it. So clear – in italics! Scripted in the sky! With no other clouds like it in site! And all I could think was “How marvelously detailed and attentive and communicative is our God!” As I scrolled back through the pictures, I saw that there were pictures that showed Cloud 71 in two versions: the scripture :71, and a date 7/1. (And interesting we were about to enter the year 2017.)
We drove on for another hour, and I looked out of my window, keeping vigilant watch over the clouds. Again, the Lord instructed me to look left, out the driver’s window past Veronica, and there was the number 4 written in the sky, just as plainly as the 71. (Not sure why we never got a good picture of the 4). We immediately wondered what verses this might correspond to; as it turned out, Psalms is the only book that has a 71st chapter, so we looked at Psalms 71. This psalm was particularly poignant for Veronica, a chapter that spoke to her profoundly over the next 8 days.
As I poured over the pictures again, I thought about the :71 version. Here are all the :71st verses in the NASB bible:
Numbers 7:71 – “and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This [was] the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.”
Nehemiah 7:71 – “Some of the heads of fathers’ [households] gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.”
Psalm 78:71 – “From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.”
Psalm 119:71 – “It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
Matthew 26:71 – “When he had gone out to the gateway, another [servant-girl] saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Mark 14:71 – “But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
Luke 1:71 – “Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US”
Luke: 22:71 – “Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
John 6:71 – “Now He meant Judas [the son] of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.”
I continue to ask God for further revelation, and I praise the Lord for His desire to have a conversation with us, however it gets through. : ) I also look forward to July 1st of this year (7/1/17) to see if anything is noteworthy.****
The Lord impressed upon me that He created the clouds for dreamers and seers, and I will always have a fond place in my heart for Cloud 71.
****Postscript to this blog: The 7/1 cloud was seen on the way to an intense time of prayer at IHOPKC, preparing my mind for the rigors of stepping into being a missionary. As it turns out, and unbeknownst to me prior to a week before, I would temporarily step away from my role at ADRN on July 1, 2017 (7/1/17) to dive into partnership development, which has been a time of intense prayer as well so far. Thank You Lord for Your heart to prepare us for what is to come!
The Lord also made known to me in January 2016 that there would be a shift in July and that November 2017 would be the fulfillment to His promise He made to me back in January 2016. For more on that promise, check out the blog entitled “God’s promises, God’s faithfulness”. : )