As far back as my early childhood I can remember having very vivid dreams. Some I still recall with great clarity. It wasn't until adulthood as my walk with Christ became more intimate that I learned that God can and often does speak to us through dreams. As I began to study more on the subject, I found a plethora of scripture pertaining to dreams and visions. God began showing me through his word that all through the ages this is one of the ways in which he has always communicated with man.
Job 33:14-18 "For God may speak in one way or 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. In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword."
This is another glorious way in which God has shown his love for me. He is a personal God. He knows his children as individuals and cares about everything going on in our lives. When I first truly got the revelation of this I was just amazed and astounded. That God, creator of heaven and earth would concern himself with me and my everyday life! It is a wonderful feeling when you get that down in your heart and soul. He loves and cares for us so much that he would speak and guide us through life if only we would be willing to receive from him. As I stated in an earlier blog posting, God speaks to his children in many different ways and that doesn't always include dreams.
Acts 2:17 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams":
I have learned over time (through prayer and time in the word of God) ,how to decipher the dreams that are from God and those that are just dreams. Dreams that are from God have a different feel to them. These dreams are usually full of symbolism and there is always a feeling of importance and urgency. I have even had some nightmares that I have come to KNOW were from God.
Daniel 7:15 "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me"
The Lord sends these types of dreams to get our attention. Usually the message in such a dream is of great importance and contains some type of warning. I would encourage you to take these warning type dreams very seriously. Spend time in prayer over it and ask God to lead you in what scriptures you should be meditating on.
I have found that writing my dreams down in a journal is of great help. This is also found in scripture, some of the great prophets in the bible wrote down their dreams and visions.
Daniel 7:1 "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of the dream."
There will come a time when you will have understanding of what the warning/revelation was. When you look back on your writings you will be amazed at how accurate the warning in that dream was. You will literally see how Gods plan unfolded and what purpose the dream served in that plan. Dreams are a spiritual gift. Embrace that gift with humble gratitude. If God is speaking to you there is a reason for it. Trust and draw near to him and allow him to work in every part of your life.
*** Angela Jennifer***