The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. – 1 Kings 18:44-46 NIV

Elijah was earnestly praying a breakthrough and for the rain to come down. He sent his servant to go check and when his servant saw a cloud the size of a mans hand coming and told Elijah, that was enough to convince him that God was about to do something great. If you are believing God for something BIG, look for the smallest signs that it’s coming and engage your faith to expect it soon. But you have to have the vision of the small beginning in your spirit first.

I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. – Genesis 24:3-7

Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” – Genesis 24:12-14 NIV

This one is especially for those listening and believing God for a spouse. Once you’ve prepared yourself to find your spouse you then have to have a vision on the type of husband or wife you would like to meet just as Abraham guides his servant here. It’s only when you have a clear picture of that person that you will know when God brings them into your life. Here we also see that Abrahams servant prayed to God for success and mentioned some clear things that he would use as confirmation, that when he sees it he will know that he has found the right woman. God answered his prayers and he was successful but if he didn’t have a clear vision he wouldn’t have know when he saw Rebekah.

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. – Proverbs 29:18 NIV

When you don’t keep a vision of your future in your mind you are more likely to go astray and follow the results of your circumstances because you don’t have anything to keep you focused. The person who applies wisdom to their life will have a clear vision and make correct decision concerning their future.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. – Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV

God created everything that we see in this world. That should encourage us that God may be doing extraordinary things in our lives for our good even when we can’t see with our natural eyes what that is. But we have to have a vision by faith that God is going to reveal something great in our lives at any moment.

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. – Genesis 19:24-26 NIV

So this is an example of having the wrong vision for your life. Good always wants us to look forward towards the good promises that he has for us. When we take our eyes off what God wants for us to look back at our past we change our trajectory and no longer can see the vision that God has for us. Symbolically when we do this, we turn into a pillar of salt. So keep your vision always looking forward to what God has for you. Don’t look at your past and want to go back to it.

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my Lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. – 2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV

Oftentimes we find ourselves in a situation where we think we are outnumbered or have all the odds stacked against us. This is so far from the truth when you are a child of God. Here we see that Elisha had to pray that his servants eyes were opened so that he could see the heavenly host that were ready to fight on his behalf. We need to catch this vision for ourselves as well. As long as we are in Gods will He is always for us and wants us to be successful. All of us (myself included) need to remember that there is a heavenly host of angles that God has placed over us to fight on our behalf. There are more with us than against us.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! – Matthew 6:22-23 NIV

Spiritual vision is our capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from his point of view. This point of view can be easily clouded by the things of the world. The vision that you have for your life has to see through the lenses of the word of God. It’s only then that your vision will be healthy and lead you to the fullness that God has for you.