Dreams & Visions: Is God Communicating with You?

Understanding Why You Dream

The act of dreaming at night is one of the most natural things our mind is capable of. Every 90 to 110 minutes your body cycles through the four stages of sleep, entering REM sleep, which marks the onset of dreaming.

In the Bible, communicating with God through dreams and visions is discussed in more than 10 instances. For example, the prophet Joel speaks of a time when God will come to us in dream form:

“I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.” Joel 2:28 (NLT)

However, the four stages of sleep can make it difficult to recall your dreams and decipher if they are a message from God. Since our brain remains active at night, other stimuli can trigger a dream. For example, your brain could be overloaded from a long day, stress, worry or poor health. Even eating certain foods before bed can trigger odd dreams.

Is Your Dream Divine?

You will have many dreams that are a result of a busy lifestyle or directly related to your health. It is important to understand that not every dream is a message from God.

After a vivid dream remain still and recount what you just experienced. This exercise can help you retain more information about your dream, which can be helpful when determining its purpose.

After you’ve awaken from your dream, consider the following:

Is the message clear to you? Do you feel a sudden purpose or understanding that was not present before?
Are the activities performed in the dream logical or fantasy-like?
Is the dream or vision easily related to something in your life?
Was the dream or vision life-like? Did it feel real?
Were the colors bright and vivid?

Answering the questions above can help you better distinguish a regular dream from a divine message. In most cases the dreamer will be able to identify exactly what the dream was referring to and will awake with a solution that he/she no longer doubts. If God sends a dream or vision, He makes His message clear.

Other ways to identify a God-driven message include:

Dreaming in full color
Biblical/religious references
A message that lingers throughout the day and often for weeks
If comes true or the solution worked
The message aligns with scripture
Dreaming the same dream twice – a thing is established

In determining if the dream is divine, it is important to rule out other stimuli in your life that might have produced the dream. Are you stressed, worried, exhausted, in poor health?

Acting on a Divine Dream or Vision

After determining that your dream/vision was indeed a message from God, remember that the most important line of communication you have with Him is prayer. Don’t abandon this line of communication, and when you find yourself confused and facing many potential solutions, seek religious guidance.