ARE YOU DREAMING? Larry W Peebles January 8, 2021 21.01
When I was a small boy, I suffered from many sore throats and earaches. Growing up, I was given more penicillin shots than I can count. The doctor would also prescribe a regime of oral medicines to take to knock out the infection. My mother was so loving and faithful to set her alarm clock and administer the pills on schedule through the night if required. She would often come to my bedside in the middle of the night with a flashlight, a glass of water, and the pills I needed to take.
One night I remember being awakened, but I was in another room. When she did not find me in bed, she went through the house looking for me. I don’t know how I got to the other room. My first recollection was seeing the flashlight pierce the darkness, followed by her voice asking “Are you dreaming?” I don’t remember my response, or if I was dreaming. She led me back to bed, I took my pill with water, and went back to sleep. To my knowledge, I never walked in my sleep again.
These days the phrase “Are you dreaming?” has a negative connotation similar to “are you crazy”, “have you lost your mind”, and “what were you thinking”? These negative connotations are not considered here, as this article will touch on the basics of dreams from God. Not all dreams are from God, and it is important and wise to discern.
Since the covid shutdown in March of 2020, my wife and I have experienced a stronger presence of the Lord as we gather each morning for worship and prayer, our highest priority when we wake up. We have heard Him speak words of encouragement, and direction on how/what to pray. We have often felt the literal weight of the glory of His presence in the room.
By early August, the intensity of those prayer times went to a higher level. We both felt the call to pray intently for the nation, and for the church, including the one we attend. My wife had already begun to keep a diary of the words from the Lord, and a record of her visions or dreams. My dream activity began to increase, and I also started a diary. She began to get daily a word, vision or a dream from God. I would get a word or dream about every five days. This has continued even through the writing of this article. Some of the words and dreams have been meant to be shared, and we have done so. All have been recorded, waiting for the time the Lord tells us what to do with them. Needless to say, dreams have been a recent topic in our home, and are the genesis for this article. I am not an expert, so this article will include some advice from others, as well as my own experiences.
We start by determining if the dream was from the Lord. First, one will tell the dream to the other. By speaking it out loud, the sequence, events, and details of the dream are captured and organized. Once spoken out, the listener and the speaker are quickly able to tell if God is the source for the dream. In finding the words to describe the dream, the dream largely interprets itself. The meaning of most objects, symbols and numbers becomes apparent with the help of Holy Spirit. Second, we write the dream down in our diary or journal, including all the details spoken when recounting the dream. Third, we read aloud the written version, and ask the listener if what was read accurately and completely represents the dream as it was spoken. Fourth, we will pray together over that dream asking the Lord to reveal anything we missed, and to have His will in what He has revealed. Finally, especially if the dream is to be shared, we might seek trusted Godly counsel on the meaning and timing of sharing the dream. We then come humbly to the one for whom the message is intended, present the dream, and ask if that resonates within their spirit so that it is received.
If this is new or unusual information, read these words spoken to Aaron and Miriam by the Lord- “Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house, I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings, and he sees the form of the Lord.” (Numbers 12:6-8). This tells us clearly that God speaks to most of us in visions, dreams, and words, sometimes vaguely concealed so we will search for the answer. The search is a vital part of the process. Moses was the notable exception, as God spoke directly to him. Though the meaning is somewhat concealed, we are ignoring God if we do not search out these dreams and try to understand them. If we continue to ignore a dream, word or vision, the Lord may stop communicating with us.
The story of Job contains this passage- “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)
The subject of the dreams can vary greatly. Bible scholars put them into a number of categories in order to help us study and understand them. Some of the examples overlap in categories. Here are a few of those categories:
Warning– dreams can warn us about some future plan or spiritual attack from the enemy, or some danger or difficulty ahead. These are given so that we might pray and intercede for the situation or the person. Because it is a warning, often through prayer the calamity or hardship can be avoided. If the warning is not ignored, and corrective action is taken, one would expect and pray that these dreams would not come true. An example is the dream of Abimelech where he was warned not to sleep with Abraham’s wife Sarah (Genesis 20:3-7) Abraham and Sarah had already received the promise of a son, and that Abraham would be the father of a great nation. God told Abimelech he was a dead man if he took Sarah as his wife. He had given His word to Abraham, and used a dream to protect it.
The three Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod after visiting Jesus (Matthew 2:12). The dream was powerful enough they defied the order from the king to report back when they found the child. In the very next verse (Matthew 2:13), Joseph was warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus, and flee into Egypt. The child Jesus was protected and spared from Herod’s order to kill all male children two and under. The fate of the world was changed by two dreams.
Confirmation– dreams can confirm what you believe to be true about a person or situation. These are intended to prompt one to action on what they already know, but they have not previously responded. An example is Pilate’s wife’s dream confirming that her husband should release Jesus from custody. (Matthew 27:17-19). Pilate had no evidence to convict Jesus, announced to the crowds he could find no wrongdoing, and washed his hands of the matter. In spite of his own findings and admission, which were confirmed by his wife’s dream, he yielded to political pressure and ordered Jesus’ crucifixion. We do not know Pilate’s fate, but he demonstrates the ultimate political dilemma- to do the right thing, or to do the popular thing. The ruler is in dangerous territory when he knows the right thing to do, has it confirmed by a dream from God, and still does not do it.
Prophetic– dreams can reveal the future concerning oneself, another individual, or a nation. An example is seventeen year old Joseph’s dream about his future place of honor and high government position. (Genesis 37:5-8). That future was sealed by his gift of dream interpretation. When he interpreted Pharaoh’s warning dream about the coming famine, he was put in command of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. (Genesis Chapter 41) His own prophetic dream became reality. Egypt was saved from seven years of famine, along with the seventy direct descendants of Abraham and Sarah who came to Egypt for food. The nation of Israel was saved.
Alexander the Great spared Jerusalem because he was shown the prophecy of his conquest in the writings of the dreams of Daniel (Chapter 7). He did not know God or Daniel, but he had respect for a people and a culture with a prophet who predicted his coming.
Answer to prayer– Early in Solomon’s reign, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked what He could give him. Solomon answered that he wanted “an understanding heart to judge your people [wisdom], that I may discern between good and evil.” This pleased the Lord, and still in the dream, He answered “you have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings of your days.” (2 Kings 3:5-13) Many know the story of the wisdom and riches of King Solomon. Most do not realize this came to him in a dream, or that the dream conversation was two-way between him and God.
When Jesus’ time on the earth was finished, He was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven saying He would go back to the right hand of the Father, but would send a Helper. That Helper was the Holy Spirit, who came to live in the hearts of believers. He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until that happened. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter stood and boldly began to preach. He quoted Joel 2:28 and said- “And it shall come to pass in the last days says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18)
We still live in the age of the Holy Spirit in the earth, living in the hearts of believers. A believer filled with the Holy Spirit should expect dreams from the Lord. Our sleep may be the best or perhaps the only time we slow down enough to hear the Lord. My wife and I now go to sleep asking the Lord to speak to us in dreams or visions in the night. Often in the morning we get a cup of coffee and tell each other what the Lord has said in our dreams during the night.
Are you dreaming? I encourage each of us to not miss the night messages from the Lord. Then spend time during the next day asking Him the meaning. If we keep a diary, we will be amazed when we look back at what He has said. Ask the Lord to teach and guide you. Do not miss the incredible adventure of dreaming with God!
