by Michele Connell

Created on: February 25, 2009

How does one know upon waking whether the dreams they lived in during those hours or moments of sleep are spiritual? There are many key elements to understanding why we dream and determining where those dreams are coming from. It is first and foremost, important to understand that not all dreams are spiritual. There are three places that dreams can arise from: The spirit, the soul, and dark dreams. In seeking for spiritual dreams it is important to unseal and then reveal each dream before accepting or rejecting it.

In searching for spiritual dreams the first thing to look for is color. Did you notice certain colors in your dream? Were you wearing a blue dress and driving a brown car? These are important elements to a spiritual dream. How did you feel upon awaking? Were you stirred in your spirit? Did you feel troubled by the events of the dream? Did you wake with an unusual feeling of joy? This has always been a major factor in my life. When a dream permeates my very being upon awaking; then I know that there is something essential that the Lord is trying to tell me.

Spiritual dreams can be revitalizing. They can bring joy, healing, hope and life to the dreamer. I am a firm believer that dreams carry purpose, destiny, and instructions. In the Bible (Job 33:14,16) it says, "For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction." Joseph (Mary's husband) in the New Testament was told in a dream to take Mary as his wife. He was then told how she conceived, what to name the child, and the purpose for the child's existence. The Wise men (Matthew 2:12) were told in a dream to not return to King Herod, "...being divinely warned in a dream...they departed their own way..." So what if they had cast this dream aside as nothing more than nonsense? What if they had merely scoffed at their dreams?

Our lives are no different today. God still speaks through dreams just as He did in those days. The Bible reminds us that God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change. He is still imparting words of wisdom and knowledge through spiritual dreams. It is up to us; however, to open our hearts and minds to receive these dreams, and then we must pray for interpretation. Not all dreams are as straightforward as the two examples I listed. Most are in parabolic form, dark sayings, which must be unraveled and deciphered through symbolic meanings and interpretation. One example would be the dream of Pharaoh in Genesis 41 where seven lean cows came up out of the river and ate up the seven fat, healthy cows. This dream required an interpretation from a skilled interpreter. The seven cows represented seven years. Seven would be good and seven bad. The good would be eaten up by the bad because a great famine was coming to the land. This would be considered a spiritual dream of warning, and because Pharaoh heeded the message; he preserved the land and all was not lost during those great years of famine.

As we begin to seek and receive our dreams we will find the messages within and directions, corrections, and instructions to help us in our daily walk. If we begin to see our dreams as more than nonsense or a slice of bad pizza before bedtime, then we will find answers to our questions and situations. I encourage everyone interested in dreams to seek out the meanings, pray for wisdom, and listen closely to the night parables you live in during those hours of sleep.

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