Does God speak to us in dreams? According to the Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, yes, absolutely. God or God’s representative may speak to us in sleeping dreams, and also in visions, which can happen both awake and asleep. I have known persons who reported such dreams to me. And I have been blessed with a few “God dreams.”
Dreams are one of the most overlooked forms of communication used by God. God has consistently spoken to people through this universally experienced and mysterious phenomenon. The Lord uses dreams for different purposes. A few Biblical examples:
– To warn global leaders of future events (Genesis 41:1-8).
– To provide revelation to His prophets: “Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. And he said, ‘Hear my words: When there are prophets among you, I the LORD make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams’” (Numbers 12:6).
– To warn us against certain decisions: “So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him’” (Matthew 27:17-19).
– To reveal His divine destiny for our lives: Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37:5-8).
– To answer our recent petitions and prayers: Solomon and his prayer (1 Kings 3:5-15).
Acts 2:17 confirms that God continues to use dreams as a means of communication in the New Testament age. Since this is the case the question must be asked, “Are all dreams from God?” Are we to wake up every morning looking for some hidden, spiritual message in our dreams? The answer is no.
How can we tell whether a dream is from God? The difference between a natural and spiritual dream can sometimes be difficult to discern. No doubt it is a very subjective experience. But most of us have had the feeling that some dreams are not like the rest. The images linger, the emotions are strongly affected, and we get this feeling that what we just experienced is a message from above; a message that needs explanation. When we do receive a spiritual dream it is usually one of three types.
1. Warning Dream – This type warns us about some difficult time ahead. This could be a warning about a friend, spouse, or child. These are given so that we might pray and intercede for the individual. Often the calamity is not decreed from above and through prayer the hardship can be avoided. A Scriptural example is when “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him’” (Matthew 2:13).
2. Confirmation Dream – This dream confirms what you believe to be true about yourself or another person or situation is in fact true. The dream can give you the impetus to act on what you now believe to be true, but needed some confirmation. An example from Scripture, when God confirmed Jacob’s place as the next Patriarch. Jacob “dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Genesis 28:12-15).
3. Prophetic Dream – A dream which reveals the future concerning yourself, another individual, a nation, etc. An example from Scripture: As a 17-year-old, Joseph dreamt about his future place of honor and high governmental service (Genesis. 37: 5-8).
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