God still uses dreams to speak to us

I believe the Lord can and will speak to us in our dreams, giving us messages of hope, prophecy or peace to name a few. If we pay close attention to our dreams, they will sometimes have very clear messages for us. The reason I believe this to be true is purely backed up by scripture.

Numbers 12:6 (NIV)
He said, “Listen to my words:
When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.”

Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17(NIV)
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.”

One of my favourite examples of this in scripture is the story of Joseph and his dreams of prophecy.

Genesis 37: 5-9 (NIV)
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

This is a wonderful example of a dream of prophecy. It is another example of the symbolism I spoke of earlier. In Genesis 42, Joseph is now the governor of the land, selling grain to the people during the seven years of famine. Jacob (his father) sends his brothers to go buy grain from him. When his brothers arrived, they bowed down to Joseph, not knowing who he was. Joseph recognized them immediately. Joseph’s prophetic dream is brought to completion.

In the New Testament God speaks to Joseph (another Joseph) in a dream to explain his fiancé’s pregnancy.

Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

And then again God warns Joseph in a dream when baby Jesus’ life is in danger.

Matthew 2:13 (NIV)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

There are many more examples of dreams in the Bible; I have only mentioned a few. I am speaking from personal experience when I tell you that God still speaks to us in dreams. Check back here every once in awhile and you will see new postings of some of my own personal dreams and my interpretations of those dreams.

You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t dream” or, “I can’t remember my dreams.” Everyone dreams, it is just a matter of training yourself to remember them. Keep a pen and paper beside your bed. You are most likely to remember your dreams when you first get up. Just jot down key points or words. Sometimes you may find yourself waking up in the middle of the night from a very vivid dream. Grab your pen and paper and jot down key words. I did that once in the middle of the night. My room was completely dark. I fumbled around looking for my paper and began writing words down in the dark. I had no idea if it would be legible in the morning, but when I woke up I was actually able to read my chicken scratch. When you have more time later in the day, come back to your notes and, to the best of your ability, write or type out your dream.

When you are writing out your dream, try to remember the key events, key characters, colors, sounds, music, feelings you had in the dream, etc. Once you have finished writing out your dream, you can begin the process of interpreting. I find there is a lot of symbolism in dreams. For instance, something like a bird or other animal may symbolize you in your dream. Ask God for help interpreting your dream. Ask Him if this dream has any significance and for understanding and guidance.

I am not in any way saying that all dreams are messages from God. Some are just what I like to call yesterday’s trash. Some can just be leftovers from watching a movie or television show the night before or too much pizza, spicy food or chips before bed. I am talking about the dreams where you wake up with strong feelings or emotions. Sometimes those emotions stay with you throughout the day.

I just recently came across a website where another Christian has posted a write-up called, “Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language??” I have attached the link below if you are interesting in reading more:

http://www.actsweb.org/daily.php?id=1663

I hope you have enjoyed this post. God bless you.