Can God speak to us through dreams?
Yes He can.
Many Christians may not believe it, but the Bible is clear in this: that God is powerful and can do anything that He wants.
If He desires to tell us something, He has every little method at His disposal:
- He has the word of God primarily;
- His Holy Spirit speaks to us;
- He uses people to speak His word to us;
- And yes, He can use dreams to speak to us.
But does God really speak to His people in dreams?
Well, yes. He can use dreams to speak to those who believe in Him, and even those who do not.
Let's talk about that.
When God speaks through dreams
Friends, the Bible is the way by which God primarily speaks to His people. everything that is written in the Bible is from the Lord Himself:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
If God's word is what He uses primarily to speak to us, we should check it to know who God is, what He wants and does, and how He does things.
The Bible gives us several examples of people who have received God's message through a dream. Let's look at some examples:
1) The unbeliever
Genesis 20:2-7 gives us an interesting scenario wherein God came to a pagan king in a dream to stop him from sinning. The king's name was Abimelech, the king of the Philistines in a place called Gerar.
Abraham, wanting to be safe, introduced Sarah his wife as his sister. Abimelech, believing Sarah was indeed just Abraham's sister, took her. God stopped him.
"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."" (Genesis 20:3)
Later on we read that God spoke to Abimelech in a dream because He didn't want him to commit sin:
"And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."" (Genesis 20:6)
2) The heir
God, not one to break His promises, spoke to one of Abraham's descendants in a dream to remind Him of His promise. This descendant's name was Jacob.
"Then [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."" (Genesis 28:12-15)
3) The promised Savior
One last thing, perhaps one of the most important dreams we have to note is that of a man engaged to be married to a young virgin. God, through this dream, told this man that the Savior of the world will be coming through his bride, and that he must take her and marry her and protect the child.
This man's name was Joseph.
I'll let you read the whole passage instead of telling you about it, for it is beautiful to read:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." (Matthew 1:18-25)
God does speak to us in dreams
Friends, God speaks to us in dreams. He has been doing that for a long time. In fact, many of us will continue to receive dreams from Him:
"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." (Acts 2:17)
Thus, we should be excited to receive dreams from Him.
