If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision and I will speak to him in a dream. – Numbers 12:6
How often do you pay attention to your dreams? Do you simply ignore them? What is a dream and do dreams matter? Dreams are night visions. From a natural perspective, we were designed to dream during the cycle of sleep. The capacity for dreaming was encoded into our genetic structure and studies show that dreams contribute to our overall mental and emotional health. From a spiritual perspective, too, we were created to dream both sleeping and waking. This is the process of reflection when we ponder our aspirations and the direction of our lives. Although this process of reflection often occurs during our waking hours, when we engage in it deliberately, it can also manifest itself in our dreams while we sleep. While many of our dreams are the manifestation of inner thoughts and reflections upon events that occurred during our waking hours, dreams are often also ways in which God communicates with us at a deep level. In other words, God often makes himself known to us in our dreams while we sleep. Our inner spirit is quiet and undistracted by the world. We can hear God’s voice more clearly then. We call these occurrences night dreams. While these types of dreams occur during sleep, the messages are conveyed differently from the way God speaks to us in our waking hours. In the messages He sends us in our night dreams, God does not usually speak to us in a rational, straightforward manner. Instead, He speaks to us through symbolic images and stories and sometimes, even directly with His voice.
Here are some examples of God’s voice speaking through different kinds of dreams:
Warning dreams
- Joseph is visited in a dream by an angel of the Lord who instructs him to leave Bethlehem and travel to Egypt with Mary and the infant, Jesus (Matthew 2).
- The magi were warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod but to return to their own country (Matthew 2).
In both these instances of dreams, we see individuals receiving information, which they could not have learned otherwise.
Destiny dreams
- Dreams during which we see ourselves living out God’s intentions for aspects of our future. For example, you might have dreams of yourself standing and speaking before large crowds or operating a successful business.
- Joseph had a destiny dream where he saw his family bowing before him (Genesis 37). This dream angered his brothers who then sold Joseph into slavery. Many years later, when a famine was ravaging Canaan, Joseph’s family traveled to Egypt. Having not seen Joseph for many years, his brothers did not recognize him. They only saw a powerful Egyptian official whom they needed to please, and they bowed before him, thereby fulfilling the dream.
Destiny dreams encourage us to trust that God has a plan and purpose for our lives.
There are many other types of dreams. The point is to be aware of your dreams and recognize when they are giving you a message from God. Job 33:15 (AMP) says, “In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice], when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction.” It is important to recognize the fact that God speaks to us messages in our dreams as much during the time we are sleeping as when we are awake. The book of Daniel chapter 2, referred to this aspect of God and described Him as the “Revealer of Secrets.”
Choosing to ignore your dreams can result in missing vital information God is communicating to you. We all have our share of dreams that are what I call “pizza dreams” or “late night meal dreams.” These dreams don’t necessarily carry supernatural information and should be ignored. However, prophetic dreams always carry a deeper meaning and must be spiritually interpreted.
Here are a few suggestions that can help you note significant dreams, interpret and understand them.
- Write them down. When you awaken, take time to record your dreams in your journal. This should be done immediately, if possible, and you should write down every detail you can remember. Details of our dreams are very often meaningful, and they tend to fade over the course of the day.
- Refer to the scriptures. Review your dream in light of scripture. Take note of the symbolism used to convey the message. What does scripture tell you about the symbolic representations in your dream? It is possible that the same meaning in scripture can apply to your dream.
- Find reliable biblically based dream interpretation resources. I encourage you to avoid New Age or Occult materials. Since the source of these materials is not from the Kingdom of God, they will be of no value in helping you to interpret a God-given dream. There are numerous spirit-filled authors who focus on dreams and visions and they can provide bible-based interpretation methods. One such author is Barbie Breathitt, who has published numerous dream interpretation books.
- Pray. Since God is the revealer of secrets, he wants you to know the meaning of the dream He has given you. Spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to give you understanding of the dream. Record your impressions in your journal.
- Seek counsel from mature prophets. Each of us has different “dream language” and the meaning may not be the same for everyone. For example, one person may interpret the presence of dogs to mean an attack or a symbol of something unclean, while another person may interpret the presence of a dog to signify friendship. This can be very perplexing. It is good to seek prophetic counsel when dreams leave you perplexed. Prophetic counsel can help you gain balanced biblical understanding of your dreams but does not absolve you of responsibility to pray and ask God for understanding.
- Watch. Once you have interpreted your dream, watch for the manifestation. Prophetic dreams give us supernatural insight into things to come. They also reveal events and issues we are unaware of but need to become aware of. Watching in prayer will help you “see” the events revealed in your dreams as they unfold.
- Faith and trust. It is important to have faith and trust that not only is God speaking to you in your dreams, He will bring what is hidden into manifestation. If God is giving you destiny dreams, He is encouraging you about your future. Trust that He will help you to fulfill the destiny He has designed for you.
Remember, dreams are one way that God speaks to us, making known His will, revealing His design for your life. But, without interpretation and understanding, we remain ignorant in this area. Commit today to pursuing understanding of your God-given dreams. Let’s go.
Venner Alston is the author of Next Level Spiritual Warfare: Advance Strategies for Defeating the Enemy. To purchase your copy or to learn more about VJ Alston Ministries, contact https://drvjalston.org
