Do you dream? Most people do and sometimes it’s hard to discern whether it truly was just a crazy dream that didn’t mean anything or if it was something significant to pay attention to.
Sometimes it’s hard enough to just remember them! As soon as you open your eyes the details fade away and it’s like swimming through a thick pool of mud to try and bring them back to consciousness.
But God can speak to us through dreams – His voice is not limited to just our waking hours. I’m a dreamer – I dream almost every single night. There was a period in my life I distinctly remember I didn’t dream at all and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that was the time in my life I was farthest from my Heavenly Father. God uses dreams to speak to me and uncover nuggets of wisdom or direct my attention to things that are going on around me. I’ll share one example of a dream I had, well actually it was the same dream with varying details I had three times back in Albania on the World Race. This dream showed me that dreams aren’t always what they seem on the surface – maybe there’s something greater God wants to reveal.
So, when something is declared or happens three times, it usually means it is significant. The three dreams all followed the same theme – my wedding. In the dreams, it was around 9pm at night and the church was full of guests (and my groom) waiting for me. There were guests there, but my brother and sister were missing and not there yet. I rushed to the church and was in the bathroom, dress on, but staring at myself in the mirror, near tears because I had no make-up on, my hair was not what I wanted it to be and there was no time to fix it, everyone was waiting! Skittles served as dessert and it was just a mess. The wedding happened, but the ceremony wasn’t the focus of these dreams. The focus was all on the leading up to it and how rushed and frazzled it all was. How it wasn’t what I had envisioned and how empty and disappointed I felt because of that.
At first I was like this is about me. Okay Lord, as much as I desire marriage, do I just need to be patient and not rush into the first sign of something because it isn’t all you have for me? Or Father, is it about expectations? But after praying about it each time I dreamed it, and by the third recurrence, I knew God was pulling me into a deeper revelation.
He showed me my dream was a reflection of the Church, yes with a capital C. We are Christ’s bride! So much detail goes into planning a wedding from the flowers to the colors of the napkins. All of the effort and time that goes into planning is brought to fruition the day of the wedding – when bride and groom are united. Without preparation, it might turn into more of a disaster, like the wedding in my dream. Are we, as the Church, preparing for the wedding banquet we know is coming? Are we daily preparing our hearts and minds – focusing on Him? What it will mean when He comes back? I feel as though we’ve thrown our planning book to the side and forgotten it. The wedding will happen, that much is certain, but there is so much potential for the beauty of that moment – are we putting any thought, attention, and energy to it? We should be.
That’s one example from my life – God speaks to me through dreams. Maybe He’s talking to you too! Here are four things you can do to find out and better discern if that’s the case.
1. Write them down. It is key that you do this. Dreams are freshest right when you wake up, so be sure to take the time to write them down in the moment. Have a notebook and pen right by your bed and reach for them before your phone. Writing them down allows you to go back and do the next two steps – pray about them and go back and reflect.
2. Pray about them. God is the one who will be able to give you further clarity or wisdom. Ask Him what they mean, if anything. Start the conversation and even if it doesn’t feel significant, maybe a part of it is! Even if it isn’t, it’s a fun thing to talk about with your Heavenly Father! Ask Him for more and to help you remember them in greater detail.
3. Pay attention to recurring dreams or themes. As in the case with my wedding dream, it didn’t hit home that it might be a God dream until I had the same dream multiple times – all with the same exact themes. Usually repetition means something important is going on – or that God is trying to turn your attention to this one thing. That’s why it is important to write down dreams so you can go back and watch for themes over time.
4. Tell someone and talk it out with them. Speak out these dreams with someone you trust. Telling someone about your dream can help bring further clarification or questions for you to bring before the Lord. It can lead to some verbal processing. An outside perspective can help to bring new eyes or insight to the table.
God speaks to us in all kinds of ways and dreams can be one of them. If you dream often, maybe it’s time to explore this a little with the Lord. Try writing your dreams down, praying through them (even if they seem ridiculous) and ask for clarity! Talking about them can also help make things more clear.
Try these things out for a week or two and then answer the question, does God talk to you through your dreams? You might be surprised at the answer.
