😴 Dreams from Holy Spirit While Sleeping, Job 33:12-17; Matt 2:12, Prophecy, Joel 2:28, Numb 12:6, Acts 16:9, 1 Cor 12:4-14:3

[Chrysostom]

We have heard your prayer and we join you in thanking God that Jesus lives to make intercession for those who come to God through Him, as Hebrews 7:25 says, and that nothing is impossible with God.

We thank God with you that He gives understanding, as you asked from Ephesians 1:17, and that He has spoken to His people in many ways. As the Scriptures you quoted show, God did speak in a dream to Abimelech in Genesis 20, to Jacob in Genesis 31, and to the wise men in Matthew 2:12 to turn them from one path to another, and Job 33 teaches that God speaks in the night to turn a person from wrongdoing and to preserve life from the pit. These examples remind us that God is not short in power to save and to warn and to guide.

The prophet Joel foretold what was fulfilled at Pentecost, 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. Peter quoted this very promise on the day of Pentecost, and it was not upon the twelve only but upon the whole company of about one hundred and twenty that the Holy Spirit came, and they were all filled. As God reveals, so the Holy Spirit reveals, for the Spirit is of equal dignity with the Father and the Son. The Spirit is also given to us as an earnest of our inheritance, a pledge of the salvation Christ purchased with His own blood, and a foretaste of what is to come.

We also remember that the working of the Spirit is like the wind which blows where it wishes. We hear its sound but we cannot fully explain its motion or its path, and much more we cannot fully contain the operations of the Comforter. For this reason we receive His gracious work with faith and humility, and we test all things by the sure word of Scripture, which is the clearest voice of God to us in Christ.

So we pray for you, for this husband and wife, and for all who seek the Lord in this matter. Heavenly Father, grant to them wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, keep their hearts from pride and deception, and guard their steps from wrongdoing. If it is Your will to give counsel through a dream or vision in the night, we ask that You make Your will plain and confirm it by Your Word and by the peace of Your Spirit, so that they may be preserved from temptation, from evil, and from the schemes of the evil one. Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from evil, keep them from lies and fear, and establish them in truth and holiness.

We ask that You keep them in Your care, that they may walk by faith as little children trusting Your promises, fully persuaded that You are able to do what You have promised, and that You will complete the good work You have begun. May they grow in faith and obedience, showing their faith by their works as they await the full inheritance of which the Spirit is the pledge.

We thank You in advance, trusting that You hear us when we ask according to Your will in the name of Jesus, who is the Amen and through whom all Your promises are Yes. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer coming as little children in faith is precious, and it honors the Lord who is able to save completely those who come to God through Jesus, because He lives to intercede for us. That confidence from Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34 is the right foundation for every request.

Thank you for asking that the Lord would speak and give understanding. Scripture does show that God has spoken in dreams and visions. Job 33 teaches that God speaks in different ways, at times in a dream or a vision of the night to warn, to turn a person from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, and to preserve life. We see this with Abraham, with Joseph in Matthew chapters 1 and 2, and with others in both Old and New Testaments. And Joel's promise 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, was fulfilled when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. Peter explained that what happened there was the fulfillment of that promise, and from that time the Spirit was given as a gift to the church.

It is important to keep in mind how the Spirit works now that He has been given. The waiting for the Spirit before Pentecost was a one time experience. Once the Spirit was poured out, there is never again a command to wait or tarry for Him in that same way. Every person who truly trusts in Jesus has the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Your body is His temple, and you cannot genuinely confess Jesus as Lord except by the Spirit. Before conversion He is with you convicting and drawing you to Christ, at conversion He comes to dwell in you, and He continues to work in you to conform you to the image of Jesus and to give you power to live like Christ.

There is also the outflowing of the Spirit, often called the baptism with the Spirit, which is for power and service. The promise of that power is for all whom the Lord calls. We are told to be filled with the Spirit, to be open and sensitive to Him, and to desire His work in our lives. As He fills us, He manifests Himself through different gifts, but He divides to each person as He wills. Not everyone has the same gift, and we should not expect everyone's experience to look identical. Love is greater than any gift, and the gifts are given to build up the church.

When it comes to dreams, visions, and prophecy, Scripture gives clear order. Prophecy in the church is speaking from God to edify, to exhort, and to comfort, for learning and encouragement. It is not the same as tongues with interpretation, and the higher gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and prophecy through the teaching of the Word are not to be disrupted by lower gifts. The Holy Spirit does not interrupt Himself, and He does not take control away from you. The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, which means you remain responsible and in control of how you exercise a gift. He will work with you, He will not force you into something disorderly or make you unable to help yourself.

The Scriptures spoken by the Holy Spirit through men like David are inspired and without error, and what is written will be fulfilled. That written Word is the sure test for everything else. Any dream, vision, or prophetic impression must be judged by the Word and by mature believers, and it will never contradict Scripture. God is certainly able to do all things, and nothing is impossible with Him, but His normal and most reliable way of directing His people today is by His Spirit speaking through His Word and quietly guiding and directing the church, as we see when the Spirit said to set apart Paul and Barnabas and sent them out. That direct guidance by the Spirit has replaced seeking guidance through casting lots or chasing signs.

So I will pray with you that the Lord will keep you and your household from temptation, deception, and the evil one, and that He will give you wisdom and understanding through His Spirit as Ephesians 1:17 says. I pray that you will be filled and will overflow with the Spirit, that He will conform you more to Christ, and that He will grant you clear discernment. If He does give a dream or vision, may it be clearly from Him, may it agree with Scripture, may it turn you from wrongdoing, keep you from pride, and preserve you in His way, and may it bring comfort and edification rather than confusion or fear. Above all, may you find your confidence not in seeking dreams as a pattern, but in the indwelling Spirit who teaches you through the Word and who is sovereign in how He distributes His gifts.

Father, thank You for Your power and for the gift of Your Holy Spirit made available through Jesus. Fill this husband and wife and all who are praying with them. Make Your will known to them through Your Word, guard them from error, and conform them to the image of Christ. Give them peace as they trust that You hear and that You are able to fulfill what You have promised. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and we are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer for dreams from the Holy Spirit while sleeping. We have counted it a joy to bring before the Father your request as little children in faith, asking Him to speak and give understanding as promised in Eph 1:17, and to pour out His Spirit upon this husband and wife as prophesied in Joel 2:28 and fulfilled in Acts 2:17.

We have prayed with you that God would speak in the night as He has done from ancient times, according to Job 33:14, that He would counsel and warn and keep from wrongdoing and pride, and that He would make His will known in Christ Jesus as He did in Matt 1:20 and Matt 2:12 and through the vision given in Acts 16:9, trusting that He is able to save forever those who come to God through Jesus because He lives to make intercession for us according to Heb 7:25. We continue to ask the Lord who said I will pour out my Spirit on all people in Joel 2:28, and who speaks to His servants in dreams and visions as declared in Num 12:6, to grant to you both and to us clear dreams and visions that confirm His counsel and preserve and guide you in His perfect way.

If the Lord has already answered and has spoken to you in dreams while sleeping, please post a praise report and let us all rejoice with you and give Him glory. If your request does not seem to have been answered yet, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We are committed to continuing to seek the Lord with you for this gift and for His protection from temptation and deception and evil.

We pray that the Heavenly Father will increase your faith to believe with humble confidence that nothing shall be impossible with God according to Luke 1:37, and that you will continue to be fully persuaded that He is able to fulfill what He has promised according to Rom 4:21. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.