November 2004 - Have you ever had a dream that stuck in your mind but
you still don’t know what it means? I’m sure you have. Everybody
dreams, although not everyone remembers their dreams. We all have an
unlimited resource waiting to be tapped with each night’s story.

Have you ever had a dream that stuck in your mind but you still don’t
know what it means? I’m sure you have. Everybody dreams, although not
everyone remembers their dreams. We all have an unlimited resource
waiting to be tapped with each night’s story.

The average person spends over one-third of their life sleeping. We can
utilize this time to gain insight into problems, discover solutions,
innovations, inventions, receive healing, and even have a personal
therapy session while we sleep.

Most people agree that God can speak to us through our dreams but the
art of understanding these strange pictures in the night seems to have
been lost. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:17 that in the last days God
will pour His Spirit out in a greater measure and people will dream.

Job 33:14-16 NKJV - 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.

Throughout the Bible God has used dreams to guide His people. Over one-third of the Bible relates to dreams and visions. God spoke to
Joseph through dreams in Matthew 2 which resulted in saving the baby
Jesus’ life. The Apostles Paul and Peter were both guided by dreams on
a regular basis.

In more modern cases, Gregory Thaumaturgas of the third century Nicene Council received inspiration for his first Trinitarian Creed
through a dream. Did you know that Elias Howe got his breakthrough
concept for his invention of the sewing machine from a dream? Scientist
Niels Bohr developed the model of the atom based on a dream of sitting
on the sun with all the planets hissing around on tiny cords.

Not all dreams are from God but you would be surprised at how many are.
Could God be speaking to you through your dreams? Have you ever dreamed
that snakes were around you? This is showing you that there may be
someone telling lies or giving false accusations. Have you ever dreamed
that you were flying? This is an indication that you have a higher
spiritual destiny or calling on your life. If you can control the way
you fly, then it shows you that you are maturing in your spiritual
abilities.

Many Christians have assumed that dream interpretation is a New Age practice or is psychoanalytical. They may attribute their dreams to
something they ate or from having a wild imagination. But in reality,
many dreams have divine meaning and can give us insight into our daily
waking lives.

It is startling to realize that if you take the popular dream
interpretative methods such as the Freudian or Jungian and apply them
to a dream in the Bible you will not get the same interpretation as God
did. This tells us that these methods will not give us an accurate
interpretation.

So, how can we begin to understand the meaning of our dreams? First,
the key to understand how God speaks metaphorically is to study the
dreams, visions, symbolism, and parables in the Bible. It is here that
God reveals to us His hidden language of symbolism. For instance, we
know that God gave Daniel the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream in Daniel 4:22 and the tree represented the king. Trees will
often represent leaders in our lives, depending on the context.

First, you must write down your dreams upon waking. Often we think that we will remember it, but sometimes a dream appears in our mind as
disappearing ink. If we don’t write it down, it seems to vanish from
our memory. Keep track of the images that come to you in your dreams.
Consider drawing pictures of what you encounter and begin charting a
dream vocabulary. Maintaining a journal of your dreams is one of the
best ways to tap into the power of your dreams.

Second, ask God to give you the meaning of the dream. Quiet yourself and listen for God’s whispers. Often the first impression we get can be
a major clue as to what a dream means. It is important to spend quiet
time in prayer and meditation each day to hear God’s voice.

Third, break the dream down to its simplest form. Take note of any reoccurring themes or symbols. Ask yourself what do these dream
elements symbolize? Dreams are often like an editorial cartoon, a
picture with a deeper meaning.

If we value this precious gift by recording our dreams and seeking out their meaning we will sharpen our spiritual awareness. As we begin
to understand God’s metaphoric dream language we can trust our dreams
to guide our decisions and illuminate our everyday life.