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God loves to communicate with His children, and one of the ways He chooses to do so is through the avenue of dreams. Dreams seem to draw attention from everyone, probably because there is much intrigue and mystery surrounding them.
Welcome to part 1 of a 5 part series on dreams (posted every Thursday). I chose to tackle this topic because it was part of what I wrote about for my guest post God – The Good Gift Giver on Sunday August 23rd at SusanBMead.com . Please, come back here or hop on over to Susan’s blog to join in the party for the release of her new book: Dance With Jesus from Grief to Grace.
Did you know it is a proven, scientific fact that everyone dreams?
Yes, it’s true.
Scientists have proven that when our bodies enter into REM1 sleep, we enter into a state where we dream. So, if we all dream, then why don’t we remember it? There could be several reasons for this, and one of them could be lack of understanding. By this, I simply mean that if you haven’t received teaching about how God uses dreams to speak, a dream becomes an unimportant piece of mental junk.
When I teach on dreams, I ask how many people don’t dream. There are always a few individuals who raise their hands. However, once they receive teaching on dreams, their spirit is awakened. Their natural mind is made aware that the average dream may be God speaking a message. I frequently get reports back from amazed students that they have begun to dream.
I grew up in a very conservative Christian denomination, and we didn’t really talk about dreams. The first time I heard someone talk about dreams, I had two reactions. My first was a knee jerk reaction – this is insane; God doesn’t speak to us through our dreams – shoot God didn’t speak to us at all, or at least not to me. However, at the same time my spirit leaped at the teaching on dreams. I was drawn to them, partly, because I am a vivid dreamer. I dream in color – bright, bold, technicolor dreams, so when someone said, dreams could be a message from God, I had to know more.
Dreams and visions are very prevalent in the world today, in large part due to the “New Age” movement and the enemy working overtime to counterfeit and confuse the authentic. When people find out I teach on dreams, they immediately want to know more, and I am peppered with all kinds of questions. There are a number of scriptures referring to visions and dreams throughout the Bible.2 I encourage you to grab your Bible and concordance and take a look.
Tweet ThisIn the Old Testament, generation after generation searched for the truth. In particular, Daniel lived in a time and society that didn’t know the difference between the real truth and the perceived truth. Daniel, himself, was grouped with the astrologers, soothsayers, and magicians – the “New Agers” of his day. Ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, satan has been trying to counterfeit the true things of God. In doing so, many people are led astray, wandering the hallways and exploring rooms filled with only partial truths. Society has always been given glimpses into the world’s view of the supernatural perceived truth. We must be ready to respond to society’s intrigue and give them the real truth!
“This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy’” (Acts 2:16b-18).
Some of the below portion on dreams and visions comes directly from my training manual Releasing God’ Heart Through Hearing His Voice.
Stay Focused
Dreams are one of the ways God speaks to individuals. We must be careful to keep our eyes focused on the Giver of the visions and dreams, Jesus Christ, and not on the visions or dreams themselves. Remember, God and the Bible are our source for everything; without Him we have and are nothing. It is because we focus and have our eyes set on Him that we are invited to walk in the supernatural.
Let’s take a closer look and delve into what Scripture has to say about dreams. I will cover visions ever so briefly because visions and dreams are very similar, with a few exceptions. However, the remainder of this post will be dedicated to dreams.
Vision: Seeing images (either a picture or a series of pictures) unfold when you are awake.
The dictionary describes a vision as “the act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight; an experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not actually present, often under the influence of a divine or other agency.”3
Dream: Seeing images (either a picture or a series of pictures) unfold while you are asleep.
The dictionary describes a dream as “a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.”4
The concept of both visions and dreams is that God speaks to an individual on the screen of their imagination, either while they are awake or asleep. Once an individual receives a vision or dream, the next step is figuring out what message, if any, God is trying to convey to them. One of the ways to figure out the message is to apply God’s symbolism language and interpret the meaning. Sometimes people will experience seeing images as they are waking up in the morning or just as they are going to sleep at night, and they won’t know if they are dreaming or seeing visions. It doesn’t matter which it is; it is the message of what is being seen that is important.
Basic Understanding
For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction (Job 33:14-16 NKJV).
In order to have a solid foundation pertaining to dreams, we need to realize a few basic things.
- Dreams and even visions are similar to parables.
Scripture tells us God gives us sealed instructions in the form of dreams. These messages are sealed in the form of parables so we seldom recognize it is God speaking to us.5
- The average dream can be God speaking.
Most people discount their dreams or view them as unimportant or “junk mail.” They often miss the real message – just as many did in Jesus’ time when He told parables – when in actuality dreams are the answer to the very questions about which they have been petitioning heaven.
- People are drawn to dreams because of their supernatural nature.
We as Christians need to think of dreams as being a part of the supernatural. We need to view dreams as normal occurrences where God can speak a divine message to an individual and be prepared to talk to believers and non-believers alike about dreams.
- God can speak to the non-believer through dreams.
God speaks to non-believers in hopes of bringing them to an understanding that He is real and to turn their hearts toward Him. In Scripture we see God speaking to the following individuals who did not believe in or follow Him: King Abimelech,6 Laban,7 Pharoah’s butler and baker,8 Pharaoh,9 Midian,10 King Nebuchadnezzar,11 the wise men,12 and Pilate’s wife.13
Dreams can have three sources: God, self, or the enemy. Any time we receive a dream, we must discern the source. (more on this next week, in Dreams – Part 2)
- Dreams are biblical and scriptural.
Just because the enemy has counterfeited the realm of dreams and dream interpretation it doesn’t mean we need to reject them too. To reject the supernatural realm of dreams would not be scriptural. Daniel15 was a man who interpreted dreams. During his time, the world didn’t understand the difference between the source of Daniel’s knowledge and understanding and the other wise men serving the king. Daniel served God in humility and obedience, and in return God allowed Daniel to excel in the area of dream interpretation. God’s favor on Daniel allowed him to be in charge of all the wise men.
- Be willing to record and write out dreams. (more on this in two weeks, in Dreams – Part 3)
Dreams fly away.16 We need to be willing to write out and record dreams we believe are from God so we can interpret, remember, and review them.
Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you and how God has spoken to you through the avenue of dreams.
I invite you to join me next few Thursday’s as I continue teaching on Dreams.
Thursday August 27th: Dreams – Part 2, Who’s the Source?
Thursday September 3rd: Dreams, Part 3 Write it Down
Thursday September 10th Dreams, Part 4 – Symbolism
Thursday September 17th Dreams, Part 5 – Interpretation
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I just LOVE gifts, and I love free stuff too. So, as promised, someone will win their very own Signed copy of Dance with Jesus from Grief to Grace. A HUGE Thank You to Susan who has generously offered a FREE Signed copy of the book to one of my readers. To enter, click on the link here at : Book Review Monday – Dance with Jesus, and utilize the Raffle-Copter at the end of the post. Also for an extra entry leave a comment on the book review post. I will announce the winner in two weeks on Monday August 31st. You can enter every day, so make sure to do so, plus come back and see if you won.
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[1] REM: rapid eye movement
[2] A full listing of these scriptures is found in the Dream Journal by Debbie Kitterman.
[3] Dictionary.com [4] Dictionary.com [5] Job 33:14-16 NKJV [6] Genesis 20:3
[7] Genesis 31:24 [8] Genesis 40:5 [9] Genesis 41:1,5 [10] Judges 7:13-14
[11] Daniel 2 [12] Matthew 2:12 [13] Matthew 27:19
[14] See Releasing God’s Heart Through Hearing His Voice page 88 for further details.
[15] Daniel 5:11-26 [16] Job 20:8
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Learning about dreams has always fascinated me and you teach this subject so well, and backed up with lots of Scripture. I loved your course but this will be a good refresher for me.
Thank you and blessings to you my friend,
Patti
Patti – Thank you so much for stopping by and always leaving an encouraging word. You are such a blessing to me as well and I appreciate you taking the time to give yourself a refresher on dreams. Blessings my friend
Very interesting! Thanks so much for this information. Joining you today from #DancewithJesus linkup.
Ellen – thanks for stopping by and I hope you will come back for the rest of the series. 🙂 BLessings
Thank you for this interesting post! I enjoy the late John Paul Jackson’s video teaching on dreams on the Daystar network, too. Many blessings to you!
Beth – thank you for stopping by today, I hope you will be able to join us for more of the series. Yes, John Paul Jackson has some amazing teaching – I have never heard his stuff on dreams, but I am glad you have been able to. Blessings to you as well.
Interesting topic. I have never really studied dreams and what they mean before. I am sure this will be a great series.
Mary – Thanks for stopping by and checking out my new series on dreams – I look forward to hearing what you think as we progress. Blessings to you 🙂
Ah! I am so happy to have come across your blog today. I have always had amazing dreams. As a child they were more frightening and scary but since I have decided to follow Jesus they have been amazing. He has taught me so much through dreams. Given me revelation, direction and even showed me what is distracting me in life. It is awesome. I will be back to read more of your series. Be blessed always! Misty
Misty – Welcome!!! I am so glad you found my blog too!!! Yes, God given dreams are truly amazing! He has taught me a lot too. My favorite dreams, are when He gives me revelation. I am so glad you will be back, I look forward to your next visit 🙂 Blessings and favor to you!
God often speaks to me through dreams… Thanks for sharing!
Oh yes… I always joke (well – only half-kiddingly) that if I remember a dream, it is from God and He is trying to speak to me! I rarely remember my dreams and usually, if I do, they really do have a spiritual impact or message! I do however get visions often… usually during prayer or worship. Looking forward to this series!
Karrilee – So glad you stopped by today and I look forward to hearing more from you over the course of this series. Isn’t it great how God can speak to us. Visions during prayer or worship times are fantastic! Blessings and again thanks for stopping by 🙂
Oh girl, I’m so excited for the rest of this series! I had a dream a week or two ago that I can’t shake. It was so vivid and is in need of interpretation!
Thank you for stopping by – It sounds like it was a God dream! I sent you an email message 🙂
It is amazing how the spirit can be awakened in us all. I think it is fascinating that you teach on dreams. I believe when I became a Mom, is truly when I was ready to live for Christ. Ever since, I have been open to hear things and my own Mom is amazed at holistic things she has tried to teach me, that I was not open to before. Blessings to you and thanks for sharing with #SocialButterflySunday! Hope to see you link up again this week 🙂
Kelly – thanks for stopping by again and leaving a comment. Yes, it is amazing how the Spirit moves and awakens things in each of us. You will definitely see me again this Sunday 🙂