Prayer Cloud Over the Sea of Galilee

By Karen Barber Prayer Igniters International

Sea of Galilee Monday Sept. 26, 2011

I was snapping photos of the Sea of Galilee on Sept. 26, 2011. I’m not photographer. I don’t even know how to focus a camera! I was using a Sony Cyber-shot 8.1 mega pixel camera set on automatic focus. This shot was taken randomly from inside of a moving tour bus as we drove around the Sea of Galilee in Israel nearing Tiberias around noon. I had been clicking shots because there was a lovely reflection of the mountains on the distant shore in the lake that day.

Bad Shots from a Moving Bus

Most of my shots weren’t good because between the time I clicked and the camera recorded the shot, the bus would move and there would be a power pole or some other flaw to the scene, often even a glare from the glass of the window.

An Unusual Cloud Around the Curve

As the bus wound around curves we had different views of the lake. Then I took three shots that showed an unusual cloud coming into view.

Pleasing Composition

When I downloaded my photos I really liked this one because of the colors and composition. But I didn’t look at the cloud closely until Oct. 27, 2011 when a friend said she’d like to see my shots of the mountains reflected in the Sea of Galilee.

What Do You See in the Cloud?

In order to better see the cloud, I copied it into a Word Document and cropped it so I could enlarge the cloud. I don’t know how to change and enhance photos other than to enlarge them and change the size, so this photo has not been enhanced in any way. When I enlarged the cloud I began to see interesting details that suggested angels in the cloud.

Angel with Outstretched Hand

The top blue arrow in the preceding picture points out the face of an angel with thick curly hair facing forward. Next to the head on the left is the left wing. The bottom arrow points out the angel’s outstretched hand, which is palm upwards.

Angel Kneeling in Prayer

The arrows in the previous picture show the figure of a kneeling angel with the back turned. The arrow on top left points out hands clasped in front of the head and the forehead of the angel resting on the praying hands. An arrow on the right points out the right wing. Arrows on the bottom indicate the outline of the robe as the angel kneels. The middle right arrow shows that within the angel’s robe you can see a very slight, irregular heart shape.

Moses Resting on a Pillow

Under the arrow in the previous picture is a small cameo of a face that looks like the great leader of Israel, Moses who is often pictured with a long beard. He seems to be lying peacefully on a pillow.

St. Paul Blinded by the Light

The arrow in the previous picture points out another cameo face that looks like St. Paul looking upward toward heaven. He was blinded by an intense light on the Road to Damascus. In the light Christ himself appeared to Paul. Up until this point, Paul had been a violent opponent of the new Christian movement and this experience was his milestone conversion to Christianity.

What Does it Mean?

I don’t know if this is a divine sign, but I do believe that God can use anything in creation to help us meditate deeply on the unseen spiritual realm. My calling is to encourage Christian prayer and to help others become closer to God by using creative ways to mediate and pray. (www.prayerideas.org ) Here’s a meditation that came to me during my morning prayer time about these strange and glorious clouds.

Meditation on the angels

Because of the praying angel, I saw this as a message about prayer. The kneeling angel represents the act of prayer. The angel with the outstretched hand represents God’s responses in answer to our prayers. The outstretched hand might in some cases bring us the things we request. At other times it might reassure us that even when our situations don’t change for the better, God reaches out to us with his comforting presence when we must go through times of difficulty.

Meditation on Moses and Paul

The cameo appearances of Moses and Paul represent the Bible. Moses is the great law giver of the Old Testament and Paul is the great letter writer of the New Testament. Specifically, Paul wrote in Romans of how none of us are able to keep the law of Moses but how through Grace we are saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus our Lord in whom we have new life and become new creatures.

The Heart in the Angel’s Robe

The slight impression of a heart in the angel’s robe shows the centrality of love in our prayer relationship with God – both His love for us and our love for Him. Prayer is about relationship. Prayer is God’s gift to us as a means through which we might enjoy His comforting presence. We invite you to explore this glorious world of supernatural wonder via prayer at www.prayerideas.org

• He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. Psalm 104:3,4

• Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds, that do his bidding. Psalm 148:7,8

• Quoted from the New International Version

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