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Every word, every dream, every vision, every encounter with God must be held up to His Word for discernment and understanding. The more you are in the Word, the more you will be able to discern if you are hearing from God and what He is saying.

Today we are going to discuss dreams, visions, and interpretation. Joel 2:28 is a scripture I’ve heard quoted since childhood. Today we are watching it unfold in monumental ways.

“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.

While the Bible is filled with visions, dreams, and prophetic words, never before in history has there been the numbers of people receiving and sharing them until now. Every day we are hearing about new and profound dreams and prophetic words. From children to grandparents, people are receiving supernatural communication but few know what to do with what they receive.

I am happy to report that there is also an influx of dream interpreters or decoders coming to the forefront. The only danger is that they do not all use the Bible for interpretation.

If you are having dreams regularly, are you writing them down? Are you recording them on a voice recorder or keeping any other record of them? God speaks to us through dreams and it is important to record them. If you only remember one element, write it down. You may hear one sentence. Write it down. These small bits may appear to be meaningless. Yet, later you may hear the same small bits, the same sentence uttered over a newscast or prophetic utterance. Understanding and fulfillment of our dreams may happen days, weeks, months, or years later. Write them down.

So, let’s begin with how to be a good steward of our dreams. 

Dreams and Interpretation

1. Keep a pencil and paper near your bed–Jot down the main elements of the dream so you can fill in the rest when you get up. 
2. Voice recorder–If you won’t disturb your spouse, keep your phone by your bed in airplane mode so it won’t ring. Then when you have a dream you can use your voice recorder to record the dream. 
3. Now for Rule #1–Pray and ask Holy Spirit to help you. Before you start trying to interpret the dream, pray and ask Holy Spirit for help. Only He knows what God is trying to convey.
4. GO TO THE BIBLE FIRST –this is key. God speaks in line with His word –ALWAYS. We will share more about this next. 

How to Search the Bible for Interpretation

Dreams are arrows and the Word is always the target.

God will speak to you from His Word.

You may see your mother or a woman in the dream. She can represent the church or an aspect of nurturing. You may see an American flag. It may be representing something patriotic or something America needs to know good or bad. God may be giving you a national word for intercession or one to be shared with others.

Holy Spirit needs to be your partner through the entire process. Only He knows the meaning and only He knows how and when to give you the interpretation. Understanding may come a long time later. Don’t panic. Leave it with Him and He will bring it when you need it

You may have elements that are not in the Bible like a jet plane or computer. Ask Holy Spirit what it means or if there is something similar you can research. He will lead you.

I am happy to report that there is also an influx of dream interpreters or decoders coming to the forefront. The only danger is that they do not all use the Bible for interpretation.

6. LAST, OF ALL, look in dream books. – There are many dream interpretation books on the market today. Some are by some very reputable Christians. Others are written by new age proponents and those with varying degrees of godly character or understanding.

There are two books my husband and I use occasionally after we’ve done Bible research. One is “The Divinity Code to Understanding Your Dreams and Visions,” by Adam Thompson and Adrian Beale. And the other is “The Dream Interpreter,” by Billy C. S. Wong. Both of these are BIG books full of symbols, numbers, colors, names, feelings, etc. Beside each element, there is at least one Biblical reference. But from experience, I can tell you that their references do not always align with the element. I am not sure how they came up with some of their connections. 

So, if you are using these books or others, go back to rule #1–Pray and ask Holy Spirit to guide you. The problem with dream books is they are based on someone else’s research and understanding. God wants to create with you, your own dream book of interpretation. He may show you some of the same elements over and over in many dreams. Through experience you begin to know when you see a bear in a dream, God is referring to fear. Or if you see blue in a dream, He may be pointing to fresh revelation or grace. To someone else, bears may represent Russia and blue may not represent revelation or grace, but the Democratic Party in America. It is part of building a relationship with Him.