Dear Dreamer,
Have you ever woken up from a dream
and wondered if what you saw and experienced was from The Creator or just from
your own imagination? Many of us have had that experience.
Thankfully The Creator hasn't left us
in the dark about dreams!
"I will
bless Adonai, who counsels me.
Even at night my
heart instructs me."
Psalm Of
King David Chapter 16 Verse 7
What Simple Steps Can
We Take To Discern A Dream?
1. Know The Written
Word (Read the Scriptures
2. Become Familiar
with the Rhema Word (Listen for the Spirit)
3. Petition (Ask in
Prayer)
4. Worship (While you
Wait)
5. Fast (Away from
Distractions)
5. Seek (Wise
Counsel)
6. Notice (Patterns
in Messages)
7. Look for
(Scripture)
Let's look at these
steps in detail.
We see many levels of understanding a
dream or any spiritual experience discovered by the prophets and kings and
others.
As the Scripture says of their lives,
these are "there for our instruction".
"For whatever
was written before was written for our instruction, so that
through patience and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope."
Letter To The Romans
Chapter 15 Verse 4
One of the first indicators that a
dream is from The Creator is the "weight",
also called the heaviness or
"Kavod" of the dream. The dream was meant to add weight to one side
of the scales in our decision making. Just as the well-being of our parents is
to be taken into consideration when making decisions. This is how we
"honor our parents" and also honor a Divine Revelation.
When Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Joseph
husband of Mary, Pilate's wife, and even the Apostle Paul had a dream from The
Creator that dream had weight to it. The dream wasn't an experience they could
simply shake off or forget about by dinner the next day.
Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar were both
so burdened by their dreams that they threatened the lives of their top
advisors in an effort to find understanding and also relief from the weight of
it. They even became desperate enough to seek spiritual wisdom from those they
despised in the natural.
As an act of mercy perhaps, the Dream
Giver gave these dreams to rulers who served other elohim. And as an act of
mercy for the people under their rule, He provided someone in covenant as an
interpreter. In this way, interpreters such as Joseph and Daniel brought Good
News and served to bring light to the nations. Dreams were used to saved the
lives of those dwelling in darkness and perhaps many of their souls as well.
When God gave dreams to the Patriarchs
like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob it changed the destiny of not only individuals
and families of the time, but also entire nations not yet born. These dreams
were told and retold for generations to come as they were testaments or a
testimony of their walk with God.
When God gave a dream to Joseph, it
compelled him move to Egypt that very night, just in time to save the life of
baby Jesus (Yeshua). When God gave a dream to the Apostle Paul it was for the
salvation for the homeland of Alexander the Great (the land of Macedonia) (Acts 16) and it rerouted Paul's mission trip that he had planned
for the next day.
So yes, some dreams from God do carry
a sense of urgency.
We should be careful to note, however,
that these were believers in Covenant and their families were in Covenant.
Their lives were those of continual prayer, worship, fasting and study of the
Word as they had it at the time. They continually walked in close relationship
with The Creator and with others who knew Him. They walked with those who
bore good fruit which was witnessed in person on a daily basis and their lives
were centered on Covenant with The Creator. They already knew with certainty His
Voice in so many areas of life before making life-changing decisions based upon
a dream.
Even in times of urgency, prayer was
still involved in all of these decisions. Both Daniel and his Levite friends
were going to lose their lives in Babylon if he could not interpret the dreams
of the king. Yet Daniel still sought fasting and prayer instead of making a
guess.
Even with fasting and praying, Daniel
understood only some of the dream. As he never knew in his lifetime all the
details of the coming empires that would replace Babylon.
Fasting and praying were methods of
not only removing distractions in life but also of acknowledging that
interpretation ultimately comes from The Creator and not the dreamer.
"These words,
which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart.
You are to teach them
diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit in your house, when
you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.
Bind them as a sign
on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes and write
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Deuteronomy Chapter 6 Verse 6
We also know a dream is from The
Creator when it is in alignment with His Character and His Covenant. The
Creator has revealed both in His Written Word (Logos) and the Whispered Word
(Rhema) will never stand in opposition to the Written Word.
There are times in which He may be
speaking in symbolic language ("eat My Flesh and
drink My Blood") that we may not
understand. For example, many times in a dream someone dies, but this does not
mean their physical death (Nekros in Greek), rather more their
death spiritually or the death of that relationship (Thanatos in
Greek). There are also times when our understanding of God needs to be
corrected, as some forget about His Justice while others forget about His
Mercy. The meaning of the dream however will never stand in opposition to who
He is and what He is about in Scripture.
Being unstudied in the Written Word
allows a lot of room to misunderstand not only a dream but also a message from
God in any form. (2nd Peter Chapter 3). It also allows us to be misled by those claiming to
speak for The Creator that are actually only speaking for themselves or for The
Destroyer.
Dreams from God usually include
Scripture directly or have a key to understanding within Scripture. Most
symbols we see in a dream link back to the Bible and can easily be found with a
Word Search on a site like http://www.biblegateway.com or http://www.biblegateway.com . God responds to and speaks through His own Word
(symbolized by Bread or a Sword usually) instead of the words of man.
Dreams from The Creator (The Light of
the World) are also often marked by brilliant color. Colors are simply
reflections of light, and The Creator spoke through the ephod which held twelve
reflective stones as does the New Jerusalem. Each of these stones were for a
different tribe of Israel, each with their own personalities and traits and
missions in the world. He also spoke through the Umim and the Thumim and
the service of the priests were illuminated by the seven branches of the
Menorah. So, we see that God often speaks through "highlighting" and
through illuminated colors.
As we age, we lose the rods and cones
in our eyes that let us experience brightness the way that children enjoy.
There is also much of the spectrum of light and the ranges of sounds that
humans simply cannot experience in corrupted bodies. But we are not held by
those limitations in dreams, nor will we be in the Kingdom to come.
"But as it is
written,
“Things no eye has seen and no ear has heard,
that have not entered the heart of mankind— these things
God has prepared for those who love Him.”
1st
Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 2 Verse 9
We see from The
Creator appearing to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with a recurring message that a
dream from The Creator is usually a continuation of what He has already been
saying by other methods. Sometimes the message has been repeating to an
individual but sometimes to the same family or congregation or city over a
length of time. These dreams serve as an encouragement and a reminder and
sometimes a desperate last plea for repentance or obedience.
In the Epistles we
see those like Paul being given a dream that reinforces the Great Commission (a
general instruction) but with more detail to a certain person or even to a
community (like the Letters to the 7 Churches of Revelation).
Speaking of
Community, this is often one of the most untapped resources we have in
discerning spiritual matters. We can't just ask anyone, however. Consulting
those who meet the qualifications of a Deacon or Deaconess in the Epistles
(Letters to the Churches) is the best place to start.
We must also be
careful to avoid seeking counsel from those who are unqualified. Examples would
include anyone that would fit the definition of a "fool" (morally
bankrupt and impulsive person) in Proverbs. Also, anyone that consults a spirit
that isn't the Holy Spirit.
Such as King Saul who
found out the hard way in Endor!
We have to seek
wisdom and not friendship in choosing our advisors (this particular mistake by
Solomon's son split the entire nation in half for centuries), as we see
in 1st Kings
12.
We also have to seek
to understand and not seek to discover a guarantee of our own desires being
met. This was the fatal error of the dreaming prophets in the time of Jeremiah.
"Behold, I am
against those who prophesy lying dreams,” declares Adonai, “and tell
them, and so lead My people astray with their lies and with their reckless
boasts. Yet I never sent them or commanded them. Nor do they benefit this
people at all.” It is a declaration of Adonai."
The Prophet Jeremiah
Chapter 23 Verse 32
God (The King of the
Universe) cannot be kept in a box! Unless He built the box Himself, While He
never violates His own character or His own Word. He will break out of our
formulas from time to time. For example, while God often uses brilliant colors
and is the Light of the World, He also appeared to Abraham in a terrifying
darkness.
While He is the
Author of Peace, He can show us events and outcomes that will shake us out of
our complacency.
Even in these dreams
though, He usually ends with hope and a promise
and a way of
escape.
Dreams from The
Creator may warn us of dark times ahead
but they won't leave
us in the dark forever.
Comment Below If You Have Ever Had A Dream You Are Sure Was From Above?
