I am an active dreamer.
And I have dreams that are created by my carnal mind and have dreams that are revealed to me by the Holy Spirit (God).
Just how do I know my dreams are from God? I have had more than 1 instance where I dreamt, knew the message and the content clearly and the information that was shown to me in the dream, came to pass soon after.
3 days before my hb told me that he was going to Philippines for an interview for his current position. I was shown in a dream that the family will be separated physically. I woke up and I wept, as I knew that this was from the Lord, and I said, “Not my will, but your will be done.” I didn’t have any knowledge of this information from my husband prior the dream at all.
I was first resistant when I got the message, but I eventually accepted it. As I knew that the dream was a confirmation from the Holy Spirit that this was the will of God.
The other experience was when I was showed a friend whom I didn’t meet for sometime. I dreamt that she had a physical ailment in the female productive part of her body and I contacted her the following day to ask her about it. She confirmed what I was revealed is true. We met the following week and we prayed together for her healing.
There are some more that are too numerous to quote. So in terms of track record of dreams coming to pass, I am no stranger to these things.
Why does God speak in Dreams?
God still speaks to his people by the means of dreams. Here are the examples in the bible; Joseph son of Jacob (Genesis 37:5-10), Joseph the husband of Mary (Matthew 2:12-22), Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15), also others (Daniel 2;1, 7:1, Matthew 27:19).
There is this passage from the prophecy of prophet Joel (Joel 2:28), which was later quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:17, that mention that God will use dreams to speak to His people.
So I still believe that God have and still speak in dreams. Often it is in our state of sleep, that our conscious mind will not get in the way of hearing from God.
So how do we tell when dreams are from God or they are from our carnal minds?
1. I found that God dreams are very concise and usually short. It only takes the first sentence or a first image that I see in the dream, that sets the tone in the dream.
2. The dreams are often symbolic, and the symbols used are scriptural (found in the bible).
3. Often if the dream are from God, the dreamer immediately wakes up when the dream ends. The dreamer can be highly alert after experiencing the dream and will be pondering over the things that he/she sees and it is hard to go back to sleep. I have had instances where I drift back to sleep, and there will be a direct interpretation of the meaning of the dream through another person (unrecognisable).
4. If the dream is prophetic in nature, it will occur exactly as what is revealed to the person in the dream.
5. It can also provide revelation knowledge, as it can be a confirmation to a certain passage from the Word of God, or it will not contradict the Word in any way. It can reveal prior knowledge, like in the case of the two dreams I have shared above. Dreams from God can also reveal to a person their relationship with God, a truth about the person, or the future, or something that He wants the dreamer to share.
6. If the dreams are from the carnal mind, it will not have the divine characteristics from the above points 1-5. Instead these things will be key in the carnal dreams; personal desires, fears, impressions, confusion, temptation and thoughts to lust, anger, greed, jealously. So unfortunately, that dream you had about the new holiday/bungalow/windfall is likely not from God 😛
7. If God can give us dreams, so can Satan. Things are bugs, snakes, demonic-like creatures can come to torment a person in a dream. So it is important to guard our minds. I never watch horror movies or movies with excessive violence.
Dream of 5th April 2015
So when had this new dream on Saturday night. I woke up right after the dream, then I had the words to the beginning of the verses that gave the reference of the validity of this dream from the Word of God.
The Dream on the morning of 5th April 2015;
I was on a journey heading back home with someone (non recognisable in the dream), and waters from the sea was covering the path that I usually took leading home. (I seem familiar with this path in the dream and knew that it was the path to go home). With the water rushing in, I knew that I could no longer depend on this path that I was familiar with.
Nonetheless, I was not in panic or in fear. Rather, I knew confidently that there was a new path that I could take, the new path seemed to be a detour that went through the forest and different plains. But the path seemed to be very narrow, as it was surrounded by deep waters to the left and right side of it. So it was imperative that I stayed on the narrow path. By staying on the narrow path, I was confident that I wouldn’t risk getting my feet wet or being overcome by the waters.
I was not alone in taking this new path, as I remembered that I was leading someone with me. I was very determined in this dream, as I had a knowing that I had to focus on reaching home and will not be in fear of the waters that were surrounding me.
—-
The verses that I had accompanying this dream are from Isaiah 43:15-16,18-20
I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, And a path through the mighty waters,
“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
Behold I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
The beast of the field will honour Me, The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert
To give drink to My people, My chose.
This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.
And here is a supporting verse in Matthew 17:13-14 why the path is narrow;
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Here are the articles and a video link that further explains what is this new thing that God will do (I found these relevant references only after I got the dream + the supporting verses);
God is Doing a New Thing in His Church by David Wilkerson
What is that Strange Thing by Evelyn Brooks
‘He was about to raise up a new church, not a replica of the old. And he would make it brand-new from the foundation up. It would be a church of new priests and people, all born again in him.
Meanwhile, the old work would drag on. Crowds would still come to the temple to observe their dead rituals. Shepherds would still rob the poor, adulterers would sin at will, and people would drift into idolatry. Each day, the old work would grow increasingly dry and weak. Why, you ask? God’s presence was no longer in it.
This brings us to the church of the present day. Let me ask you: is what you see going on in the church today representative of who Jesus is? Consider all the denominations and movements, everything associated with Christ’s name. Is what we’re seeing truly the church triumphant, the spotless bride of Christ? Does it reveal to a lost world the very nature of God? Is this the best that God’s Spirit can produce in these last days?
Or, has the modern-day visible church become the old thing? Has it become defiled, teetering on the very brink of being replaced by some new work? In short, will God make a change one last time before Jesus returns? Will he abandon what has become corrupt, and raise up a final, glorious church?
Yes, I believe he will.’ – David Wilkerson God is Doing a New Thing in His Church
P.S.
I am not a prophet, nor claim to be one. I only share insights from my dream, so anyone reading this who is a Christian needs to prayerfully discern. Often people will just write-off what is written at first glance, or read without prayfully submitting to the Lord to confirm it for them.
This is also not a spooky or weird phenomenon, or that you definitely need to be a pastor or leader in a church to receive messages from God from dreams. I am confident to say that I am walking closely with the Lord, so hearing from Him through this way is not unusual for me.
I do what I am led to do, thus I am sharing this on my blog.
As it is already written in Acts 2:17-18
And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
——–
So do you truly know God or do you just know about God? Maybe it’s time to be truthful and bring this to the Lord prayerfully to confirm with you.
Why is it important to do this? This video on The End Times – Are we really there, is a good video to watch to understand the times we are living in.