Being good stewards of prophetic dreams

God never sleeps or slumbers, He watches over all things at all times. Psalm 121:2-3 says,“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber” (NKJV). It should therefore not be surprising if He chooses to communicate with us while we sleep, when our logical human minds cannot interrupt Him with doubt. God has communicated through dreams for thousands of years and His nature has not changed (Malachi 3:6). In fact, the written word of God says that in the Last Days, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on us and we will prophecise, see visions and dream dreams (Acts 2:16-18).

(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 做个预言梦的好管家 | 繁體中文 > 做個預言夢的好管家)

Types of prophetic dreams

A prophetic dream is a dream where the Spirit of God conveys a message through our spirits while we are asleep. The Lord shares His heart with those who seek Him with all their hearts (Psalm 27:8).

Prophetic dreams from God will always:

• bring God glory
• be for the good of His people
• build His church
• be aligned with the written Word of God

God sends prophetic dreams to ordinary people as well as to kings, including their enemies. The Lord or His angels can appear in dreams to speak with us face-to-face. Other times, He may show us different scenarios while we dream that carry a prophetic message. Such dreams will be out of the ordinary for us and they can be recurring. The Holy Spirit will impress on our hearts that He is bringing an important revelation and help us retain vivid memories of key details. Some can even make us feel fearful because they reveal something ominous or terrifying. One such example is king Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream about a powerful statue that was totally demolished (Daniel 2:1).

Job 33:15-18 NKJV  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. In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

Here are some examples from our spiritual forefathers. 

• Promise | God appeared to Jacob in a vision of the night and promised him that He would make a great nation out of his descendants (Genesis 46:3-4)
• Encouragement and strengthening | God encouraged and strengthened Gideon through a dream and its interpretation by Gideon’s enemy (Judges 7:9-15) 
• Reassurance | God sent an angel to reassure Joseph in a dream to take Mary as his wife and told him to call the boy, Jesus (Matthew 1:19-21)
• Blessing | God visited king Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted (1 Kings 3:3-5)
• Instruction | God sent an angel to instruct Joseph to go back to Israel after it was safe to do so (Matthew 2:19-21)
• Admonishment | God chastised Laban and warned him against continuing to treat Jacob unfairly (Genesis 31:24,36,42)
• Warning | God warned the wise men not to return to king Herod who wanted to murder Jesus (Matthew 2:1,11-12)
• Revelation | God revealed to the wife of Pilate that Jesus was righteous (Matthew 27:17-19)

Dream interpretation

Some people have the gift of dream interpretation, such as Daniel and Joseph (Daniel 1:17, Genesis 40:8). Whatever the case, it is important to always ask the Lord for His revelation and not presumptuously make any conclusions of our dreams. Here is one example.

Testimony 1: A dream to forewarn about betrayal 

A ministry leader prophetically dreamt that their spouse was divorcing them. Rather than jump to conclusions that the Lord was warning about an impending marriage break-up, they were spiritually mature enough to know to ask the Lord what the dream meant. The Holy Spirit explained He was showing them what betrayal felt like, and warned them that they would experience several Judases in ministry the new year. This warning turned out to be true and the dream helped them prepare their hearts. Praise God!

We ought to remember that human beings are fallible and so are dream interpretations. The written Word of God warns us to test the spirits operating behind a person (1 John 4:1) because it could be a lying spirit that is working through them to entice us to form idols in our hearts (Jeremiah 23:32). One can find dream interpretations and dream “specialists” online. Some claim to be Christian. While it may be tempting to refer to these resources, as believers, we go directly to the Author of our prophetic dreams. Ultimately, every dream interpretation must be tested against the Word of God. We should not rely on prophetic dreams as if they were the gospel truth (Jude 1:8).

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 NKJV  “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Clear indications of non-prophetic dreams

There are some dreams that should not be confused as prophetic.

• Our personal issues | The brain processes, categorises, and stores information from daily our experiences while we sleep. We may find that our suppressed emotions and stress can come out in our dreams if we don’t consciously confront them. These can manifest as dreams about falling down, failing an exam, interpersonal conflicts, arriving somewhere late or without clothes, etc.
• Activity before sleep | We also find that we dream about the things we read or watch, or games we play just before we go to bed.
• Worldly pleasures | Dreams that glorify us or the things of this world are not from God, but from our own fleshly desires.
• Sexual lusts | Sexual immorality is a sin against our own bodies. God will not cause us to sin against our bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit, in our dreams.
• Demonic nightmares | We may find ourselves, for instance, being attacked by a demon, chased by a monster, or tormented by a dark shadow. They are usually a sign that we need to turn to God and seek the Holy Spirit’s counsel. He may show areas of sin that we need to repent of – particularly occult related – or any darkness we have allowed to slip into our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit. When we walk in God’s light, we will not fear the terrors of the night (Psalm 91:4-5).
• Bloodshed, murder, death, or gore | The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life, He will not glorify death, murder, bloodshed, etc. (Romans 8:2) If we experience such things in our dreams, it is likely we have given unclean spirits access by indulging in horror and paranormal stories, games where we plot revenge and murder, death wishes, and anything that grieves the Holy Spirit and invites other spirits to influence us.
• Sleep paralysis and eerie feelings | The Holy Spirit is kind, gentle, and good. He will not force anything on anyone. Feelings of being gripped, choked, or paralysed in our sleep are not from God. These are the work of unclean spirits. We won’t feel any joy or peace, but a general sense of unease and deep cold dread. We may even experience goosebumps and feel our hair stand on end.
• Visitations by dead people | God hates necromancy and will not allow the dead to advise the living (Isaiah 8:19). 

Beware not to form demonic covenants through dreams

From the examples of Jacob and king Solomon, we see that God can appear in dreams to form covenants with His people. In the same way, evil spirits can also attempt to do the same thing and we need to stay alert. Such spirits can disguise themselves of someone we know (such evil spirits are known as familiar spirits) to deceive us into:

• Eating unclean or poisonous food
• Signing contracts in the spirit realm
• Performing a ritual to represent a covenant
• Having sexual relations with them
• Being in a wedding ceremony with them

Testimony 2: Renouncing a contract signed in a dream

“I once dreamed that my spouse approached me about signing a contract. Without thinking too much, I signed it. It turned out to be divorce papers. The next morning, when I woke up, the Holy Spirit instructed me to renounce the act of signing those papers in my dream. I am not sure what the implication of those papers would have been spiritually, but I thank God for His revelation.”

The example above shows us the importance of having a close and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, where we keep our hearts and ears always open to Him and obey the Spirit of truth (John 16:13-15). The written Word of God assures us that when we keep the Lord’s commandments, He will ensure that our sleep will be sweet and we do not have to be afraid of any terror or wickedness in the night. He will keep our feet from being caught in any of the snares of the enemy (Proverbs 3:21-26). 

Proverbs 3:21-26 NKJV  My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

Real-life examples of prophetic dreams

Here are more examples of prophetic dreams.

Testimony 3: Re-igniting the gift of prophetic dreams after repenting of the occult 

“When I was a teenager, I decided that “I wouldn’t dream anymore” because I couldn’t understand my dreams, and the dreams stopped. Nonetheless, I continued to be afflicted by nightmares because of the occult in my life. After repenting of the occult in my life, the nightmares stopped and I slept soundly. I remember thinking, “Oh, the nightmares have stopped, but shouldn’t God turn the nightmares into prophetic dreams?”

After repenting for choosing “not to dream,” I realised I chose not to dream because I wanted control of my life. Because I could neither understand nor control my dreams, I didn’t want them. But walking with God means trusting God with everything, including dreams over which I have no control. Now, God uses dreams to show me if there are areas in my life that I need to pray about, and sometimes He gives me dreams to bless others too. Here is one example. I once dreamed that I bumped into a sister in the neighborhood where she lives. She was selling new food creations that looked beautiful, delicious, and creative. I wasn’t sure it was a meaningful dream but since we are good friends, I thought she would find the dream funny so I shared it with her. As it turns out, she was exploring a new interest related to food, and the dream coincided with other encouragements she received that week to pursue her fun, new hobby.”

Testimony 4: A vision of the night that led to repentance

“Once in the middle of the night, I woke up feeling strangely very much awake and I saw a vision of dice stacking on top of each other. Because I was sure it was not a scene I have seen in my life, I immediately consulted the Holy Spirit. Following Father’s instructions to read His words, He gave me Proverbs 16. I had no idea why I was given such information but I was aware it was a day which I was interceding for a sister-in-Christ. With hesitation, I shared what God had revealed and later found out the vision reminded her of some divination practice that she had done and needed to repent of.”

Testimony 5: A series of dreams that led to encouragement

“In one week, I dreamt about my high school friend three times. We were not close and had lost touch for almost 10 years. In one of the dreams, I was trying to find my slippers and saw my friend wearing slippers that were similar to mine. As I prayed over the dream, there was a deep sense of loss, of not knowing one’s direction, and identity (somehow represented by the slippers). I felt prompted to reach out to my long-lost friend to catch up. To my surprise, he was open to meeting up. When we met, I found out that he was going through one of the hardest times in his life. At the end of the conversation, I asked if I could pray for him and he willingly accepted! I even told him about my dreams and affirmed our Heavenly Father’s love for him. Praise God!”

Testimony 6: A dream that led to a correction

“I dreamt about making a mistake and I complained to my friend that “I am stupid!”. After saying that, I immediately reminded myself and my friend that I should speak words of blessings and not curse myself. I was reminded of James 3:9-10: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” Then I was led to declare my identity, along the lines of being precious and worthy in God. When I woke up, I shared the dream with my friend who at that time was struggling with self-condemnation. She was encouraged to hold onto God’s words of blessings about her.”

Testimony 7: A dream that led to reassurance

“I dreamt of a brother who built a big house high on what looked like a cliff but the water levels were not reaching the level he wanted it to be. As I prayed over the dream, I received the words,“It will rise when I let it rise”. When I shared this with the brother, it spoke to him. He had been praying for God’s direction in ministry yet have been afraid to think far too ahead because it may overwhelm him. God reaffirmed that He has the best timing and to patiently wait upon Him.”

Testimony 8: A dream that showed God’s will

“I was once offered a job that meant a big promotion and also leaving a role I felt God had led me to. It was a big struggle because the new role came with a global title. On the night before I had to make a decision, I dreamt I was walking on a narrow path when someone rushed over and knocked me off my feet. He felt demonic and had no eyeballs, and began chanting over me. Startled and upset, I commanded it to leave me in Jesus’ name. I woke up instantly and felt a lot of peace, knowing that I needed to turn down the job offer, which I did.”

Testimony 9: A series of dreams that revealed generational sin

“After praying with a friend, I had three nights of bad dreams, all of which revolved around family, power, fear, and being trapped. One of them involved helping my family bury or hide a dead body. The emotions in the dreams felt very real but I was not impacted or afraid, which made me realise that it had nothing to do with me. I decided to tell a friend about my dreams. She was reminded of an incident in her family history where a sick grandaunt was accidentally buried alive by her relatives. She realised she needed to confess her family’s wrong decisions, sinful responses, and lies before God, and break any generational curses that came as a result. After that, my bad dreams stopped.”

Testimony 10: A dream that revealed hidden pride

“I have been retired for 20 years but have been troubled by the same dream in this period of time. In my dreams, I get lost and cannot find my way. One day, I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to understand the meaning of the dream. I recalled that I used to be quite successful at my workplace and received much favour. The Holy Spirit reminded me that I should have given God the glory. I used to be too proud! So I repented in Jesus’ name and asked God to forgive my sins. Thank God, the dream of being lost has stopped.”

Some practical advice regarding prophetic dreams

Here are some things to take note when God sends prophetic dreams.

First check the Lord

The very first thing to do is to ask the Holy Spirit if the dream is from Him, who it is for, what He is showing us, and if there is anything He would like us to do with them. Let us not make the mistake of jumping presumptuously into any conclusions (Deuteronomy 18:20) and misrepresent the Lord. Most prophetic dreams only reveal a partial picture of the full story (1 Corinthians 13:9) and the Lord has to be the One who gives us our instructions. Remember, all dream interpretations belong the the Lord (Genesis 40:8), If the Holy Spirit does not respond immediately, we can simply take note of it for later.

Keep a record

Maintain a record of all our dreams, taking note of their dates and times. This is a practice the prophet Daniel kept (Daniel 7:1). If a dream seems particularly significant, do not wait until the morning but get up immediately and make a record of the details. We do not want to forget what the Lord is trying to show us. The Holy Spirit may lead us to reference our dream records later. Records can also help us identify patterns in our dreams. 

Know God through His written Word

If we are to test our dreams against God’s Word, we first need to be familiar with the written Word of God, beginning with the book of Genesis right through to the book of Revelation. 

God will often use imagery and text taken right out of the Bible to communicate His will. If He shows us a rainbow, a valley of dry bones, or battle armour, for example, we should instantly know that they refer to God’s covenant (Genesis 9:8-17), new life (Ezekiel 37:1-14), and standing and being strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10-20) respectively. When our minds are renewed based on the written Word of God, we will be able to discern God’s will and prophetic messages correctly.

Purify our dream vessels 

Jesus has warned us of a time where false prophets will lead God’s people astray (Matthew 24:24). To ensure that we do not become like false prophets who dream false dreams out of their flesh or evil imaginations (Ezekiel 13:2), we ought to first actively deal with un-repented sin in our lives – this would include “sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly (Mark 7:20-23)” for example. We want to be “vessels for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” Otherwise, we may only be deceiving ourselves and end up prophesying lying dreams.

2 Timothy 2:21 NKJV  Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Another thing we ought to do is to filter and protect what our eyes take in through the media we expose ourselves to. Satan can seduce us into planting ungodly imaginations into our subconscious minds that he may try to manipulate and use in our dreams later. The written Word of God counsels us that our eye is the channel for spiritual darkness or light into our souls (Matthew 6:22-23) and that we ought to guard our souls (Proverbs 22:5).

Be patient

There will be times when the meaning of prophetic dreams will not be revealed until years later. In the case of Joseph (Jacob’s son), his prophetic dream of his brothers bowing down to him was not realised until some twenty years later (Genesis 37:5-8, Genesis 42:6,9). Sometimes, we will need to practise enduring faith and patience.

Be careful not to turn to divination

One temptation for people with the gift of prophetic dreams is to start imagining or daydreaming about the future. This is when our soul or even another spirit starts to lead the charge, rather than the Holy Spirit. Even if this is not our intent, there is the danger that we fall into divination. It is something we ought to avoid.

Give all glory to God for the dream and the interpretation

Finally, all prophecies should point people to God, the Source of all prophetic dreams.

We see that the prophet Daniel boldly proclaimed to king Nebuchadnezzar that he spoke on behalf of “God in heaven who reveals secrets” and that “this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living” (Daniel 2:27-30). God blessed and protected Daniel for his faithfulness to the Lord.

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love with Lord with all your heart and be a pure vessel for the dreams that He gives you.

For another testimony, see Jesus blesses MS patient with spiritual gifts.