It is the desire of our Heavenly Father that we do not wander the earth like sheep without a shepherd. God's original intention wasn't to make man and leave him alone to traverse the world all by himself, using just his instincts. After the creation of man, God had intended to guide man and oversee all his activities in the earth realm.
Our God desires a relationship with us, so that through it He could become part of our daily lives. Because our bond with Him is borne out of love, God always wants to be there for and with us. He longs to have a say in everything concerning us. He wants to guide us in our daily choices and decision making. He wants to lead us aright, so that we don't miss our steps and bring destruction upon ourselves.
Because we live in the end times, our world today is witnessing heightened spiritual activities. Many have opened up themselves for diverse spiritual encounters. Many are on different paths of spiritual journey. New age practices are widely accepted and promoted.
I believe that every genuine Christian knows how much they need spiritual guidance in these last days. They also should know that such guidance shouldn't come from just any source, but from God Almighty.
I've overheard newagers say that they have spiritual guides who visit them to teach them about spirituality, and even appear to them in dreams to instruct and guide them. As Christians, we need to be careful that we don't dabble into the path of the newagers, who have no clue about what they're dealing with.
Dreaming is one of the most common spiritual experiences that almost everyone has. The ability to see dreams is a powerful spiritual ability. Though when it comes to spirituality, any powerful thing could easily destroy, if misused. If we must use dreams for spiritual guidance, it is advised that precautions be put in place and adhered to.
Job 33:14-15 NLTFor God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.
It is no news that God speaks to us in dreams. He speaks to us because He wants to inform, guide, instruct and lead us. But let's be reminded that God isn't the only One who causes people to see dreams. Dreams can also stem from the human mind or from spirits that are not of God.
Since ungodly spirits can as well manipulate and conjure dreams into human minds when they sleep, we cannot treat every dream as a revelation from God.
As many people continually come to the knowledge that a spiritual world exists side-by-side with the physical one, there will be more longing to explore and to 'experience'. There's this innate desire in every human to be guided by a superior, supernatural power. The enemy and his cohorts have seized this opportunity and capitalized on it to lead many astray.
For the records, God wants us to be spiritual. But He also wants us to be cautious when venturing into the spiritual. We must always remember that the supernatural realm is slippery, a single mistake can turn out very disastrous!
Dreams can be a source of spiritual guidance. Most of us receive God's instructions and leadings daily through dreams. But let's neither be carried away or depend on them. It is recommended we practice to hear God's voice while awake, than depend wholy on dreams for spiritual guidance.
While I also acknowledge the fact that not every Christian is at the level where they can hear God while awake, let's always ensure that we filter every dream through the lenses of holy scriptures and the Holy Spirit—to ascertain whether or not they are from God. So that we don't fall for the enemy's deception.
How To Know If A Dream Is From God
Before venturing into using dreams for spiritual guidance, it is important to learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. We must learn to separate godly dreams from ungodly ones.
There are prophetic dreams (which always come from God) and there are deceptive and misleading dreams from other sources apart from God.
Lest we forget, dreams can make or mar anyone. Dreams can lead aright and can as well lead astray. Not all dreams are from God. The Bible lets us understand that if deceptive dreams from agents of darkness are mistaken to be from God, they can mislead and destroy.
Zechariah 10:2 (NASB)For the teraphim speak iniquity, and the diviners see lying visions and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
Before we conclude that a certain dream is from God and begin to act on it, we should first consider the following:
- Was your dream clear or confusing? The Bible makes us understand in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that God is not the author of confusion. When God speaks or reveals a thing in a dream, He does that with clarity and specificity. God doesn't give dreams that leave the dreamer perplexed on what it's all about or what to do with it.
- Did the dream confirm something God has already spoken to you? God will sometimes give dreams that confirm to us what He has already spoken to us about—either through a prophecy or through previous dreams. If a supposed prophetic dream is strange to you, it is advisable you ask God to confirm it through other sources before you go on to act on it.
- Does it align with God's character or personality? God will not give anyone a dream that questions His character (which we've known through our personal relationship with Him and through studies of the holy scripture). Any dream that conflicts with God's character and personality is not from Him.
- Did the dream appear godly or demonic? If a dream appears demonic, we shouldn’t try to paint it holy. A godly dream is not hard to spot, it will always carry God's presence, peace and clarity. If it came with an eerie feeling, it is demonic.
- Does it confirm or contradict God's Word? God will not give us a dream that contradicts the holy scriptures. What God speaks to us (be it in dreams or while awake) will always align with His written Word.
By passing your dream through the above steps, you're sure going to arrive at the proper conclusion, on whether or not your dream is from God.
Spiritual Dreams And Visions
The Lord God made a promise to us through the prophet Joel, that in the end times He will speak to us through dreams and visions.
Joel 2:28 NIVAnd afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
At the same time, not all spiritual dreams are from God. There are spiritual dreams and there are mundane and demonic dreams. Demonic dreams and nightmares are also spiritual dreams. There are many people having encounters with ungodly spiritual entities in their dreams. Such are also a kind of spiritual dreams. For Christians, our only endorsed spiritual dreams should be prophetic dreams.
The Lord has already promised in His Word that He will pour out His Spirit upon us, enabling us to see prophetic dreams and visions. Some dreams are beyond ordinary dreams, they are night visions (Genesis 46:2, Daniel 8:1-27). They are too powerful to be mere dreams. Whenever you see such dreams, you will readily know that they are visions.
God's original plan wasn't for our dream life to be plagued with nightmares and all manner of demonic activities. If you are one of those who rarely see godly dreams, ask God to start giving you dreams from Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to take charge of your dream life and fill it with Heavenly dreams.
Ask the Lord to instruct and guide you through dreams. Those dreams will not leave you the same. They will definitely have a life-changing impact upon you. They will draw you closer to God.
How To Receive God's Guidance Through Dreams
God can guide us into making the right choices, taking the right steps and walking in His will through dreams. He did that with different people in the Bible, and He is still doing the same today. We just have to align with Him in order to receive this guidance. The following steps can help us position ourselves to receive God's guidance through dreams.
1. Get Saved And Filled With The Holy Spirit
You don't expect to receive guidance from God if you are not connected to Him through salvation. So make sure you're genuinely saved.
Secondly, in Joel 2:28, we are told that those whom God has poured out His Spirit upon will see prophetic dreams and visions. Being filled with the Holy Spirit equips us to receive dreams from God.
2. Live A Consecrated Life
Living in sin will naturally pose a hindrance to a person's ability to see prophetic dreams and visions. When the mind is full of impure thoughts, even dreams from God may get interfered and corrupted on their arrival, or even turn out to be confusing. Living a totally consecrated life equips and makes us receptive to dreams and visions from Heaven.
3. Ask God To Speak To You In A Dream
If you are confused about a particular decision you are about to make, and you've had a hard time discerning God's mind concerning it, you can simply ask God to speak to you about it in a dream.
The dream may not come in form of God's voice directly speaking to you, but God may give you a dream that brings you just the perfect answer you've been seeking. You just have to trust Him and He will give you the dream in a way He thinks it's best.
4. Be Expectant By Faith
After praying to receive guidance from God through a dream, remember to go to bed with full assurance that God has heard your prayer, He will answer your query through a dream. It may not come the first, second or even the third time you pray. But don't lose faith, just keep praying and expecting.
I also recommend midnight prayers. If you're seriously seeking answers from God through prophetic dreams, you should consider waking up to pray within the hours of 12am to 2am, then going back to bed. The answer you're seeking will come.
5. Test And Validate Your Prophetic Dreams
Once you've gotten the dream that seems like a prophetic dream from God, use the steps I outlined earlier in this article, to test and ascertain the source of that dream. When you're sure that you saw a dream from God, you can then proceed to the next steps.
6. Pray For Understanding And Interpretation
Go on to pray for better understanding or interpretation of your dream. Most of our blog readers have commented that after they prayed for an interpretation of their dream, God led them to this website. Your dream interpretation could come from your pastor, a friend or an online sources. You just have to stay open for the interpretation and confirmation after you've prayed.
7. Document And Act On The Guidance Received
It's a good idea to have a dream journal where you write down dreams from God that you see. Even after gaining understanding concerning your prophetic dream, you still need to be cautious when it comes to acting on the guidance you received through your dream. Make sure you feel God's peace concerning it, and be 100% sure God wants you to act on it.
Understand that God's instruction and guidance you receive through a dream may also be for an appointed time, not to be acted upon immediately. So make sure you are led by the Spirit and you have full understanding from God concerning what you should do with the dream.
Final Thoughts On Using Dreams For Spiritual Guidance
We've learned that God still guides people through dreams. But some dreams can also come from the human mind. Such dreams could just be the mind offloading the excesses it accumulated throughout the day.
The devil and his cohorts also give people dreams. Nightmares and all sorts of demonic dreams are also spiritual dreams, so not all spiritual dreams are from God.
Don't try to predict how God's guidance will come to you in a dream. Some may come as warning dreams from God, while others may come as simple instructions from Him.
Always make sure you filter your supposedly prophetic dream through the lenses of God's Word. Do they align with or contradict God's character? God won't give anyone a dream that misinterprets or misrepresents Him.
If you have not been receiving guidance from God through dreams, make sure you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then go on to ask God to start giving you prophetic dreams. He said in Jeremiah 33:3 that He will do just that if we ask Him.
By following the guide in this article, I believe you can start receiving dreams from God and use them for spiritual guidance.
God bless you.
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