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In Song of Solomon 5:2 is my favorite text about dreaming of God: 'I slept, but my heart was awake. Listen, my beloved knocks on the door. Open me, my sister, my love." (NIV 51) At night our bodies sleep, but our spirit is always connected to God. When we sleep, God can come to us to show us in dreams that He knows us and guides our lives, day and night.
In the Bible we see that God often speaks through dreams. A few examples of this are:
Jacob and the ladder. Jacob fled from his brother Esau. Lonely and afraid, he slept in the wilderness. God appeared in a dream and told Jacob about his hopeful future. He assured him: 'You don't have to be afraid. I will protect you and I will always be with you." When Jacob woke up, he said, "God was here!" and called the place "House of God."
Joseph and the angel. Joseph was confused because Mary was pregnant, but the baby was not his. While he was thinking about this, he fell asleep and dreamed. An angel explained to him that Mary was pregnant with the Holy Spirit and that their son Jesus would be the Savior. The dream gave Joseph direction and reassurance to marry Mary.
Paul and the Macedonian. Paul knew he had to spread the good news, but he was always stopped. He asked God for guidance and then dreamed about a Macedonian man asking for help. Paul understood that God was calling him to Macedonia, where a large congregation later arose.
There are many more examples that show that God guides in dreams. God warns the pharaoh of a famine. In a dream, he gives Jacob a strategy to become rich. He gives Gideon courage and Solomon wisdom through dreams. Joseph (Old Testament) is revealed his destiny in two different dreams. And there are many more like that.
A friend told me about a special dream. Her colleague lived with his wife in an asylum seekers' center. When his wife became pregnant, they decided to go for an abortion because having a child seemed too difficult in their situation. But then the woman had a dream. In her dream, she was in the asylum seekers' center with many other people. At one point, someone knocked on the door, but no one seemed to hear. She walked to the door herself and opened it. There stood Jesus and He asked: 'May I come in?' Although she was a Muslim and did not know Jesus, she said, "Of course," and let Him in. Jesus took her to the bathroom. There He washed her and His power was so strong that she fell to the ground, overwhelmed with happiness. After a while Jesus went away, but she stayed there for a while. When she went back to the other residents, she shouted: 'Jesus was here!' But no one else had seen anything. 'Thanks to that one dream, three lives were saved.'
After this dream, she woke up with a strong desire to get to know Jesus. She told the dream to her husband, who had just gotten in touch with a pastor. Together they went to the pastor to hear more about Jesus. After their conversation, they both decided to follow Jesus and also keep the baby. Thanks to that one dream, three lives were saved.
Symbol language
Every human being dreams and God still speaks through dreams. Yet we do not always recognize His voice immediately. This is because many dreams do not contain a literal message from God, but a message in symbolic language. These are dreams that need an explanation. In the Bible we see that God gives the interpretation. For example, God told Joseph (Old Testament) that the seven fat cows in Pharaoh's dream represented seven years of abundance.
Even if you do not understand your dream immediately, you can recognize whether your dream comes from God. Dreams of God are often full of color. They are so lively that it seems like it is really happening. They are the dreams that you keep thinking about. Did you have a dream as a child that you still remember? Then it might have been a dream of God.
Questions you can ask God after a dream: 'Was this a dream of yours? What does this dream mean? Would you like to tell me more about it?' Go to God with it. Watch your dreams, if you don't want to miss anything God wants to tell you. Even if you are not sure if your dream is from God, or if you have had a bad dream, you can talk to Him about your dream. In this way, every dream becomes an opportunity for a moment of contact with God.
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