In typology the cloud from the heavens signifies God in the sense of God's presence. When the cloud was in a certain place with God's people, God's actual presence was with His people. When they saw the cloud, they knew that God was present with them. When the cloud, God's presence, remained, the children of Israel stayed where they were. But when the cloud moved, that was a sign that God was ready to move and that the people should also get ready to move. Thus, when the cloud set out, Israel moved, and when the cloud stopped, Israel stopped. From this we see that the guidance was God Himself in the form of a cloud.

Now we need to consider how to apply the matter of God's guidance by the cloud to our experience today. Christians should always follow the Spirit. However, whereas the cloud in the Old Testament was visible, the Spirit is altogether invisible. Also, the cloud was somewhat concrete, but the Spirit is altogether abstract. The children of Israel could see the cloud, but we cannot see the Spirit. How, then, can we know that God is with us? What is the sign of God's presence? Concerning these questions, we need to learn a lesson from our forefathers—go where there is water.

Water comes from rain, and rain is from the cloud. In a sense, rain is another form of the cloud. The cloud and the rain are the same in substance. In essence the cloud and the rain are the same. The cloud becomes rain, and when the rain comes, we have water. Therefore, we may say that the cloud, the rain, and the water are three-in-one.

Today we cannot see the Spirit, but we can see what issues from the Spirit. This issue is the sense within us that we are being watered. However, often as we move we have the sense deep within that we are dry. When we are dry, we should not move, but neither should we stay. This dryness is a strong sign that we are wrong with God, either in our position or in other matters. Hence, we need to pray, not in a general way but by confessing. Often we do not know in what we are wrong. Since our dryness is a sign that we are wrong and since we may not know in what we are wrong and therefore do not know what to confess, we need to grope. In our groping, we may confess from different angles concerning our mistakes, shortcomings, wrongdoings, defects, and even fleshly activities and lustful desires. We may need to confess from many different directions. We need to confess by groping until our feeling in our prayer reaches something, and the cloud is there. Then we know the Lord's leading.

The presence of the Spirit today is altogether invisible and abstract, and it has absolutely something to do with our situation before God, especially in our spirit. When our spirit is wrong, we need to go to God to adjust our spirit. We may not be able to adjust our spirit in a morning watch of only ten minutes. It may take more than half an hour for us to adjust our spirit in full. If we are wrong in something and if the Lord has the purpose of teaching us to know His way, He may not be quick to show us in what we are wrong. Rather, He may leave us in a puzzled state for quite a while, even for several days. During this time, we may pray in a groping way seemingly without getting anywhere. Because the Lord has a deep lesson for us to learn, He will train us during these puzzling days of groping. Then one day we will reach the point where the Lord wants us to be. There we either touch the rain or see the cloud. It is in this way that we learn.

We need to keep in mind that God's guidance is actually God Himself in His presence with us. In ancient times, God's guidance was in the form of a cloud. Today we do not have the cloud; we have the Spirit within us.