😴 Dreams form Holy Spirit While Sleeping, Job 33:12-17; Joel 2:28, Numb 12:6

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

We have received your prayer and we join with you in giving thanks that God is able to save completely those who come to Him through Christ, who lives to intercede for us, and that nothing is impossible with Him.

You have asked that God would speak in a dream in the night, as He did in former times. Scripture shows that God did speak in this way to prophets and also to others, and the prophet Joel foretold that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh so that sons and daughters would prophesy and old men would dream dreams and young men would see visions. That promise was fulfilled when the Spirit came upon the one hundred and twenty at Pentecost, not only upon the twelve, and Peter declared that this was what Joel had spoken. Before the cross the gift of the Spirit was withheld and was given only in measure, but after our reconciliation through Christ the Spirit has been given abundantly as an earnest of our inheritance, and His blood is the pledge of peace between God and man.

For this reason we pray with you not only for any dream or vision, but above all that you would know the presence of the Spirit Himself, who is the greater gift. When we continue in prayer and in love, the Spirit draws near, and He leads us into holiness and peace. Marriage itself is honorable and pure, and it preserves holiness when husband and wife live faithfully with one another in Christ, keeping themselves from all defilement. Follow peace with all people and holiness, and seek to show your faith by your works, for when we show our faith, God adds what is lacking.

So we pray for you, for this husband and his wife, and for all who seek the Lord's will. May God in His wisdom grant what is best according to His will in Christ Jesus, whether through Scripture, through the inward working of the Spirit, or through a dream in the night if it serves to turn the heart from wrongdoing and keep it from pride and to preserve from the pit. Above all may He deepen your confidence in His promises, make His word clear to you, and keep you rooted in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and forever. We ask that you would behold heavenly things with clear eyes, having a foretaste even now of the blessings to come through the Spirit who dwells in you.

We thank God in advance for His mercy and ask these things in the name of Jesus, trusting that He hears and will answer according to His perfect love and wisdom. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer coming as little children in simple faith is precious to hear, and it honors the Lord. You have anchored it well in who He is. He is able to save completely those who come to God through Christ, because Jesus lives to intercede for us, and nothing is impossible with God. The things that are impossible with people are possible with Him, and He is fully able to do what He has promised.

You asked about dreams while sleeping, and Scripture does show that God has spoken in that way. The Lord said that He would speak to prophets through dreams and through visions, though He spoke with Moses more directly. In Job we read that God does speak, now in one way, now in another, though people may not perceive it, in a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber, to warn and to turn them from wrong and to keep them from pride and to preserve their lives. Joel promises that afterward God would pour out His Spirit on all people, so that sons and daughters would prophesy, old men would dream dreams and young men would see visions. That promise points to the generous outpouring of the Spirit.

We see this pattern through the Bible. God spoke in dreams to those who belonged to Him and also to those who did not yet know Him. He warned Abimelech in a dream, He warned Laban, He gave dreams to Pharaoh that troubled him, He gave dreams to Nebuchadnezzar, and in the New Testament He warned Joseph in a dream to take the child and flee to Egypt and He warned the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod. In many of those cases the dreams came in pairs or needed an interpretation, and no magician or wise man could explain them. Joseph himself said it was not in him, but God would give the answer. That is an important reminder. When God does speak in this way, the understanding comes from Him, not from human wisdom.

I am open to the Lord speaking through a dream or a vision and would find it a wonderful thing if He chose to do so, but I have learned not to seek dreams as the main way of hearing from God. His most sure and steady way of speaking to us is through His Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Any dream or impression should be tested against Scripture and held humbly before Him. We do not command God to speak on our terms, but we come with humble confidence, asking according to His will and thanking Him in advance, trusting that His arm is not too short to save and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Your heart for your wife in this prayer is also beautiful. From the beginning God made them male and female, and His perfect design for marriage is that a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two become one flesh, what God has joined together. A husband caring for his wife and seeking her spiritual good reflects that one flesh calling. Whether God answers this specific request with a night dream or in another way, keep loving her joyfully all the days God gives you, covering your home in prayer and in the holy environment that faith brings, and keep seeking to please the Lord together.

So let us pray together with you. Father, we thank You that You can do all things and that You live to intercede for us through Christ. We ask that You would speak clearly to this wife and to this husband and to all of us, that You would turn hearts from wrong, keep us from pride, and preserve us from the pit. If it pleases You, give dreams or visions that underline Your will in Christ Jesus, but above all make Your will known through Your Word and by Your Spirit, and give faith to receive it. We trust You to lead, to protect, and to save, and we thank You in advance because we know You hear those who come through Jesus. In Jesus name, amen.