"And it shall come to pass in the last days," saith God, "I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:17)
Give Me the Facts Ma’am, Just the Facts
There’s something “airy-fairy” about dream interpretation that gets our rational minds all riled up. A few of us love facts and objective truth so much that thinking about art and symbol seems questionable—perhaps even bordering on demonism. Our God-given motivational gift(s) determine, to a large degree, how readily we embrace the metaphoric qualities of our “right brain.”
The Science of Sleep
Everyone dreams, and all of us remember our dreams once in awhile. One writer says, “Sleep laboratories have proven that everyone dreams one to two hours each night during a certain period of sleep known as alpha level, which is light sleep. Every 90-minute cycle of sleep begins with alpha, then goes into deeper sleep which is called theta, and finally deepest sleep which is called delta…
Alpha level sleep is where one has what is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Rapid Eye Movement is exactly what it sounds like: the eyes of the dreamer begin moving rapidly. He is actually watching the scenes in the dream, and thus his eyes are literally moving back and forth, observing the action. By observing the alpha level sleep when Rapid Eye Movement occurs, researchers in sleep laboratories have determined when a person is dreaming and how much time is spent dreaming in an average night… Dreams can be considered guardians of our mental and emotional well-being.”
Interpreting our Dreams According to Scripture
Evidently, God has designed man to experience night time images whether we remember them or not. But does He use them to speak directly to us? GotQuestions.org unequivocably says "Yes. "
“We strongly believe that a person’s dreams and the meaning of those dreams are between them and God alone… God spoke to people many times throughout the Scriptures in dreams. Examples are Joseph, son of Jacob (Genesis 37:5-10); Joseph, the husband of Mary (Matthew 2:12-22); Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15); and several others (Daniel 2:1, 7:1; Matthew 27:19). There is also a prophecy of the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28), quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 2:17, that mentions God using dreams.
However, there is a difference in how we apply that truth today. We must keep in mind that the Bible is finished, having revealed everything we need to know from now until eternity. This is not to say that God does not work miracles or even speak through dreams today, but anything God says, whether it is a dream, vision, impression, or “still small voice,” will agree completely with what He has already revealed in His Word. Dreams cannot be put into a place of authority over the Scriptures.
If you have a dream and feel that perhaps God gave it to you, prayerfully examine the Word of God and make sure your dream is in agreement with Scripture. If so, prayerfully consider what God would have you do in response to your dream (James 1:5). In Scripture, whenever anyone experienced a dream from God, God always made the meaning of the dream clear, whether directly to the person, through an angel, or through a messenger (Genesis 40:5-11; Daniel 2:45, 4:19). When God speaks to us, He makes sure His message is clearly understood.”
Ten Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation
Looking for more information on this subject? Consider reading this article, “Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation” by Mark & Patti Virkler. The authors cover the following points:
1. Seven Reasons We Should Listen to Our Dreams
2. Five Things You Can Do to Help Recall Your Dreams
3. Seven Foundational Principles for Interpreting Dreams
4. Discerning Dreams About Yourself
5. The Simplest Method for Interpreting a Dream About Yourself
6. Dreams About Others
7. Clues Which May Indicate Your Dream Is About Others
8. Additional Thoughts Concerning Working with Dreams
9. Rules for Interpreting Dreams in a Group
10. Method for Interpreting Dreams in a Group
There’s something “airy-fairy” about dream interpretation that gets our rational minds all riled up. A few of us love facts and objective truth so much that thinking about art and symbol seems questionable—perhaps even bordering on demonism. Our God-given motivational gift(s) determine, to a large degree, how readily we embrace the metaphoric qualities of our “right brain.”
The Science of Sleep
Everyone dreams, and all of us remember our dreams once in awhile. One writer says, “Sleep laboratories have proven that everyone dreams one to two hours each night during a certain period of sleep known as alpha level, which is light sleep. Every 90-minute cycle of sleep begins with alpha, then goes into deeper sleep which is called theta, and finally deepest sleep which is called delta…
Alpha level sleep is where one has what is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Rapid Eye Movement is exactly what it sounds like: the eyes of the dreamer begin moving rapidly. He is actually watching the scenes in the dream, and thus his eyes are literally moving back and forth, observing the action. By observing the alpha level sleep when Rapid Eye Movement occurs, researchers in sleep laboratories have determined when a person is dreaming and how much time is spent dreaming in an average night… Dreams can be considered guardians of our mental and emotional well-being.”
Interpreting our Dreams According to Scripture
Evidently, God has designed man to experience night time images whether we remember them or not. But does He use them to speak directly to us? GotQuestions.org unequivocably says "Yes. "
“We strongly believe that a person’s dreams and the meaning of those dreams are between them and God alone… God spoke to people many times throughout the Scriptures in dreams. Examples are Joseph, son of Jacob (Genesis 37:5-10); Joseph, the husband of Mary (Matthew 2:12-22); Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15); and several others (Daniel 2:1, 7:1; Matthew 27:19). There is also a prophecy of the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28), quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 2:17, that mentions God using dreams.However, there is a difference in how we apply that truth today. We must keep in mind that the Bible is finished, having revealed everything we need to know from now until eternity. This is not to say that God does not work miracles or even speak through dreams today, but anything God says, whether it is a dream, vision, impression, or “still small voice,” will agree completely with what He has already revealed in His Word. Dreams cannot be put into a place of authority over the Scriptures.
If you have a dream and feel that perhaps God gave it to you, prayerfully examine the Word of God and make sure your dream is in agreement with Scripture. If so, prayerfully consider what God would have you do in response to your dream (James 1:5). In Scripture, whenever anyone experienced a dream from God, God always made the meaning of the dream clear, whether directly to the person, through an angel, or through a messenger (Genesis 40:5-11; Daniel 2:45, 4:19). When God speaks to us, He makes sure His message is clearly understood.”
Ten Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation
Looking for more information on this subject? Consider reading this article, “Principles of Christian Dream Interpretation” by Mark & Patti Virkler. The authors cover the following points:
1. Seven Reasons We Should Listen to Our Dreams
2. Five Things You Can Do to Help Recall Your Dreams
3. Seven Foundational Principles for Interpreting Dreams
4. Discerning Dreams About Yourself
5. The Simplest Method for Interpreting a Dream About Yourself
6. Dreams About Others
7. Clues Which May Indicate Your Dream Is About Others
8. Additional Thoughts Concerning Working with Dreams
9. Rules for Interpreting Dreams in a Group
10. Method for Interpreting Dreams in a Group
“When you total up all dreams and visions in the Bible, and all the stories and actions which come out of these dreams and visions, you have about one-third of the Bible, which is equal to the size of the New Testament! Dreams are a central way God has chosen to communicate with us, and thus they must be given great weight!”—Mark Virkler
Photos: pusspaw, PhtotoA & jamelah (Flickr)
Up Next—Author Interview: Living on Less so Your Family Has More
How do you feel about Christian dream interpretation? Had any “prophetic” dreams?
Up Next—Author Interview: Living on Less so Your Family Has More
How do you feel about Christian dream interpretation? Had any “prophetic” dreams? 
14 Comments:
This is such an interesting subject. I once had a very vivid dream about The Enemy. It was frightening, but I felt it was a loving warning to me personally. However, that's the only kind of dream like that I've had.
My aunt has had a few dreams that have been prophetic in nature, but she has only told a few people about them because we do tend to find that sort of thing strange. And we do need to be careful . . . .
I've read stories of how God has used dreams in modern times to reach people in countries hostile to Christianity. I find great comfort in the fact that He reaches how He chooses regardless of what we think about it!
Very Interesting. I agree that God speaks through dreams and that it is personal, and must line up with scripture. I don't remember many of my dreams, actually quite a few, but one recently I remember. I have been struggling with the direction our church is taken in some issues. Without going into it, God spoke to me in a dream about what I should do.
I think God sometimes speaks through dreams, but I think He probably did so more often before He gave His Word in written form. Peter says Scripture is a more sure word than even the experience he had of being an eyewitness to Christ's transfiguration. I'd much rather depend on His Word than a dream.
Dream interpretation seems to something God gave to specific people like Daniel and Joseph. I don't know that there is a reliable science to it. I read some about that several years ago, and it was really odd what "the experts" said certain things supposedly meant in dreams.
I believe without a doubt that God speaks to us through dreams. I don't believe every dream is a message from God, like the recurring one that I forgot to take my Physics final and thus, never actually graduated from high school. Some dreams, though speak to my heart so deeply, it can only come from the Father.
I am not sure about Christian dream interpretation.....sometimes seems a bit too much like getting into the arena of "witchcraft"....then again I don't know a whole lot about it so....I would much rather rely on God's Written Word to us (the Scriptures) altho my husband IS a person who moves, in the power of the HOly Spirit, in the prophetic. It is never done in a dream tho....as for myself, I have had dreams that have then "come to pass" but...they have been extremely rare. I believe the Lord COULD use a dream to speak something to us but I think He usually uses other people or His Word.
I totally believe God still speaks through dreams. I have seen it too many times through my children. God has given them dreams that brought confirmation to a decision we were making and they didn't even know what we needed a confirmation on.
Good post...will send it to my children....
Janette
If I had not experienced the Lord speaking to me through dreams I would be so extremely skeptical of this. BUT the Lord spoke so very clearly to me through a dream once that it caused me to call off a disfunctional engagement where most wedding plans had been made - the dream was so vivid that I can still see it clearly in my mind today - if the Lord had not been so specificin this dream I would not have had thecourage to call it off.
More recently a friend had given me a teaching tape on how God does not speak in the way we think he does and specifically dreams were mentioned. I was troubled by this teaching and in some ways istarted to doubt many things that I had believed. One night I dreamt that my sister had been in a park at a festival and in passing with agroup of friends she bad met a man and his name was Riley. In passing I told my sister the dream thinking nothing of it
and joked saying whatch out for Riley - well the details of the dream played out and we were all amazed - but to me I felt that the Lord was affirming the fact that He can choose how to communicate with us. I dream alot and remember most of my dreams but not all my dreams are God speaking - if a particular dream resonates with me then I will talk to the Lord about - but I would not counsel
somebody to believe that all dreams are of the Lord and I'm very set that the Word is key. But saying the I have had dreams that have resonated with me that have proven real. I dontgo around saying - oh I dreamt this, I dreamt that etc. This is extremly personal to me and something that when happens is the focus of my prayers.
God often speaks to me through dreams. Once He sees you are listening, he will increase them.
Glowing Girl: This is news to me and really fascinating: I've read stories of how God has used dreams in modern times to reach people in countries hostile to Christianity. I wasn't aware, but I do know that third world countries are much more open to the super-natural power of God.
Amen to this: I find great comfort in the fact that He reaches how He chooses regardless of what we think about it!
A Stone Gatherer: Awesome... God is so good. He is so tender: Without going into it, God spoke to me in a dream about what I should do.
Barbara H: Yes, I agree, the Word of God is the surest source of information about God that humans have.
When speaking to us in dreams, I believe God always provides an accurate interpretation. According to some Christian sources, the best dream symbol interpreter is the Bible. Most self-help books are not Christian, and are therefore unreliable.
April: I agree... most of our dreams are not from God... just the normal way our heart and brain "blow off steam." (Sorry about your recurring physics final nightmare!)
Faith: So Dave is used in the gift of prophecy? That's very interesting. In some ways, he must be a sensitive soul. (No wonder you fell in love with him. :~))
Janette: I would love to meet your very spiritual children!
Anonymous: Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience. I hope you reveal your identity here in the future.
Jan: I believe you're right. When we are sensitive to the movement of the Spirit through dreams, he increases them.
I remember a lot of dreams and they often seem to have a message for me. I'm not sure if I want to go so far as to say it's a message from God however. It's more to do with my mood and emotions at the time e.g. dreaming of flooding or having arguments with people.
One of my more interesting dreams was after my father died. I dreamt he came to me and told me that he had spent his whole life believing that God did not exist, only to find out he does.
Oh, yes, I believe that God speaks to us in dreams. One of the dreams he gave me was about how the Holy Spirit had moved in our family long befor me and how it would move again.One powerful dream was about how satan was going to try to destroy my son, but God would save him (I had this dream when he was 5). A friend had a dream that symbolized her husband was going to be attacked - and a few weeks later he had a heart attack. I think God sends them to us so we may gird ourselves for the struggles to come or to comfort us about His presence.
Dreams from God have a different vividness than regular dreams. And, they always line up with scripture.
Buffy: I agree that most of our dreams are an emotional release, like your dreams about arguments with people. Your dream about your father's death... quite interesting.
BlueCottonMemory: It sounds like you're quite sensitive to the Spirit's movement in your dreams. Bless you!
I totally agree that God still communicates with us in our dreams as He did in the Bible. During sleep everything but our sub-concious shuts down and I feel like this is the perfect time for our souls to really commune with God.
I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have woke up in the middle of the night with a poem, a song, or some other type of message that I had to write down before I could go back to sleep. I believe that these were the results of dreams sent from God. I am sure that most people have had similar things happen to them but have never associated them with dreams or communion with our Father.
There have also been times in my life when something urgent was going on and I have been awakened by a dream. Once, on a trip from Massachusetts to Texas I was sleeping and I dreamed that my Grandfather and Step-dad, both of whom had passed away, were yelling at me to wake up. I did wake up in reality only to realize that the person driving had fallen asleep at the wheel and we were headed for the ditch on the side of the road. God had intervened to save our lives.
PhoenixPhire: Your driving story is amazing!!! Scripture is clear that God does speak through our dreams. I suspect he uses familiar imagery (like your deceased relatives) to give us comfort in emergency situations like that. ღ
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