Dreams, what do they mean?

Recently, I had a dream that when I woke I not only remembered every detail of the dream, but I heard clearly as I woke the Lord say to me, this dream has many meanings.  I shared this dream with a friend, my daughters, and my husband to see what they thought of it.

I am not a person who goes around sharing my dreams on a regular bases, nor do I have dreams of significance very often.  But, the clarity of this dream and its meaning was obvious to me.  After discussing the dream for a few days with my friend and family, my daughter said, “so what now?”  My daughter has been a dreamer since she was very young.  She has lots of dreams and recalls most of them.  She wanted to know, what are we to do with these dreams.

I decided I would share my answer here on my blog post.  This is my personal feelings about dreams.

I believe that the majority of dreams are for the dreamer.  When I have a dream I first assume that it is a message to myself either from myself or from God.  Often I find my mind sorts its thoughts and feelings out in my dreams.  Dreams can help us cope with situations and help us deal with stress.  Dreams are the brains way of dealing with the overload of information, feelings, and stresses (positive or negative) of life.  So, I believe most dreams are just a way for us to communicate to ourselves, to maintain a healthy brain balance.

Secondly, I believe dreams help us sort out communication from God.  God speaks to us through His Word.  He speaks to us through others.  He speaks to us through our experiences.  He speaks to us through a gentle whisper.  But often life is busy and loud and we can’t hear Him.  So, when we close our eyes and sleep, our mind recalls all those times that He was speaking to us, and we remember and hear from Him.

These types of dreams are personal and should be pondered and considered as a word of encouragement, discernment, or even a warning from God to the dreamer.

There are other types of dreams or nightmares.  I believe they come from the Spirit realm.  Angels and demons do not have the ability to read our mind, but they can whisper into our ears, they can be present in the spirit realm with us.  These dreams often feel very intense.  They might involve storms, earthquakes, running, falling, fighting, fire, moving water, etc.  Often these dreams are about the spiritual battle for our souls or the souls of those we love or are called to minister to.  I believe when Yehovah allows us to have these types of dreams (or visions)  it is to help us understand the battle that is going on all around us, and that He is for us, and He and His angels fight for us and with us for Truth.  (Unless we are running from Truth, or living in sin, then these dreams are a warning to us.)  Again these types of dreams I believe are for the dreamer.  (The demons will crowd into a space and cause confusion if let in, so be sure to keep your mind on the things of God and His Word, or you can be deceived in your dreams.)

There is also the dreams like we see in the Bible of visions of the future or possible future.  These are clearly messages from God to the dreamer.  They often require interpretation.   They can be given to help the dreamer prepare for what is to come, to warn someone else of what is to come, or to pray about what is to come.

Dreams are a way for us to understand ourselves, God, and His perfect will better.

In the dream that I shared with my family and friend.  There was a clear message to me, an answer to me from God about something I had been praying about.  In my dream God gave me a specific job to do, and even though I wanted to do a different job, He told me the job He has given me is necessary and important, even if I don’t see it that way.  He made it very clear where He wants me to focus my attention and that I only have so much time to do my job, so I need to take it seriously and do it well.  He also gave me a clear word of encouragement about people in my life and their relationship with Him.  He showed me that I may not see all that is going on inside these people but He does, and they are right where He has placed them for the work He has for them to do.  He also showed me that sometimes people think they know more than they know, but He will gently and patiently bring them back to the basics and I can help by doing my job well.  Lastly, He made it clear to me that I need to spend just as much time in His Word as I spend doing work.  There was a lot more in my dream.  But the main point was I need to do the job that  I am given well, and I need to trust Him to use others too.  I don’t have to do their job, I can trust that the teachers will teach, and the evangelist will evangelize, and He will surround those who need training with those who are trained.

When you have a dream and your not sure what it means or why you had it, ask yourself a few questions:

Is this just my brain running on overdrive?

Is this me trying to cope with stress or unknown circumstances?

Is this a warning?

Is this a message of hope and encouragement from God to help me in my faith?

Is this a message for someone else?  Who?  If it is for someone else, am I supposed to tell them or just pray for them?

The Bible tells us that God indeed speaks through dreams and visions, so don’t discount your dreams.  But be discerning and wise as you consider the reason for your dreams.

Written by Katie