From studying the Bible we discover that before it existed, God used dreams and visions as a way of communicating with people and personally revealing something to them – His will, His commands.
Nowadays, we have God's Word to help us determine His plans and His instructions for us. However, God can still share things with His people through dreams and visions in this modern age.
Do you believe that God has spoken to you in a dream? Do you think that he has revealed something to you in a vision?
A note of caution: The dreams and visions that some people may claim to have experienced which they think came from God may not always be His work. The Bible remains as the best tool that we have for determining whether or not something stems from God or from something else.
Because we have the Bible, we don't need to rely on dreams and visions to identify and understand what God wants us to do, what He wants to happen and what are His works.
But if you think that God has communicated with you through a dream or vision, the Bible is the best place to confirm whether the message you received truly came from God. It's also worthwhile sharing what has been revealed to you with other Christians who know God and His Word well.
Even if God hasn't contacted you yet via a dream or a vision, you can still learn a lot about Him and how He manifests in dreams or visions by reading and studying the Bible.
Here are eight Bible verses that give examples of biblical dreams, provide guidance on how to verify the source of this type of revelation and show God's purpose in using them.
Amos 3:7 – "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets."
Daniel 1:17 – "To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds."
Genesis 37:5-7 – "Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
1 John 4:1 – "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Job 33:14-15 – "For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds."
James 1:5 – "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
Habakkuk 2:2 – "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it."
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 – "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul."
