Learn from Your Dreams

The dream you had last night could be much more than just random thoughts or a reaction to a bedtime snack. God still uses dreams to communicate with people, just as He did in biblical times.

Sometimes God uses dreams to help your mind process subconscious thoughts and feelings. And sometimes, God Himself or one of His angels may speak to you through your dreams. Either way, dreams can be a powerful communication tool for God to reveal messages designed to help you grow as a person.

Here are some ways you can learn from your dreams:

• Don't discount the spiritual value of your dreams. Remember that the Bible records more than 200 references to dreams and visions (dreams are experienced while asleep and visions are experienced while awake). Recall famous dreams from the Bible, such as the dream Joseph had before marrying Mary, Daniel and his interpretation of the king's dreams, and Pilate's wife's dream that led her warn to Pilate about Jesus' innocence.

• Try to recall your dreams as much as possible. Ask God to help you remember significant dreams. Then, before you fall asleep, remind yourself that you want to remember them. As soon as you wake up, record whatever details you can remember about your dreams by writing them down in a journal or speaking them into a tape recorder by your bedside. Even if you can only remember what was on your mind just as you awakened, that can prove valuable.

• Think about the images in your dreams, and consider what symbolic meaning those images have in your life. Look for connections between what you see in your dreams and what's going on in your waking life.

• Test the spirit of your dreams. Pray about each one, asking God to confirm or deny whether it's from Him. Consider how you felt when you woke up from each dream. Did you sense God's presence with you, or did you feel disturbed? Share your dreams with a few faithful people and ask for their advice. Evaluate each dream's content to consider whether it aligns with Scripture and glorifies Jesus. Think about whether each dream is consistent with other ways God is currently speaking to you.

• Don't expect God to directly speak to you through every dream you have, or even through most of them. But always be open to hearing from Him, knowing that He may choose at any time to speak through one of your dreams. And whenever your dreams simply help you process subconscious thoughts and feelings, seek to apply those insights in your life in ways that glorify God. Ask God how He would like you to respond to each dream you experience.

• If a nightmare or a recurring dream is troubling you, consider how it might reveal an emotional scar for which God wants you to seek healing.

• Don't worry that you're crazy if your dreams seem bizarre. Realize that, dreams are strange by their very nature, because they often contain hidden meanings.
  

Adapted from God Still Speaks through Dreams: Are You Missing His Messages?, copyright 2002 by Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tn., www.ThomasNelson.com, 1-800-251-4000.

Greg Cynaumon, Ph.D., is perhaps best known as the co-creator of The Phonics Game, a home reading program. He has developed games and toys for Focus on the Family, as well as for his own company, Family Games, Inc., and has written several previous books, including Bible Trivia Quiz Book, Empowering Single Parents, and How to Avoid Alienating Your Kids in 10 Easy Steps. He can be reached through his Web site: www.dreamfocus.org.

Do you remember your dreams? If so, how has a recent dream affected you? What messages did it convey? Do you believe that God has ever spoken to you through a dream? If so, how? Visit Crosswalk's forums to discuss this topic by clicking on the link below.