Hearing God in Dreams Getting Practical

Today, we’ll look at two important aspects of how we hear God in dreams: honouring dreams and interpreting dreams.

‘One of the ways you can ‘honour your dreams’, if you’ve been asking the Lord to speak to you in this way, is simply to keep a notepad or some other means of recording your dreams by your bed. If you wake in the night from a dream, take it seriously. If it seems significant in any way, write it down. If you don’t, you are highly unlikely to remember it the next morning. And if you ask God to speak in this way but consistently forget everything he tells you, don’t be surprised if he stops giving you dreams!’

Of course, once you’re recording dreams, you’re going to face the question: is this from God, or is it from my own brain? Sometimes it may be a mix of the two.

‘My first step in such situations is always to check the dream (or other prophetic revelation) against the ABC filter, asking, ‘Is it affirming, biblical and Christlike?’ … [for a] major, directional word, I would also seek the corroboration of other, less-dramatic but equally authoritative sources such as wise counsel, personal conscience and simple common sense.’

‘Both Joseph and Daniel were careful to say that the interpretation of dreams was not a skill they had learned, but a gift they had received from God (Gen. 40:8; 41:16–39; Dan. 1:17; 2:28; 4:18). We will never understand dreams and visions until we ask God to give us insight.’

‘John Sanford goes on to say something refreshingly straightforward: ‘One way to uncover the symbolism of a dream is for the dreamer to talk about it. It is, after all, the dreamer’s dream and has occurred in his or her psychic world, so it is reasonable to assume that the dreamer might hold the clues to the dream’s meaning.’ Here we have another reason why it’s important to process significant dreams with those we respect and trust.’

Lord, give me the insight to recognize it when you’re speaking to me, the grace to understand your meaning, and the humility to seek wise counsel where I need it.

Amen.