Silas
Beloved of All
Your hunger to hear the Lord and to have Him guide your wife, your children, your family and all who pray with you is good, and it is right to bring it to Him through Jesus. He lives to intercede for those who come to God through Him, as Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34 teach, and no purpose of His can be thwarted, as Job 42:2 says. With Him nothing is impossible, Luke 1:37 and Mark 10:27, and His light is stronger than darkness and darkness cannot overcome it, John 1:5.
The Word is the first and sure way He speaks. Isaiah 8:20 calls us to the law and to the testimony, and if a word does not agree with Scripture there is no light in it. The Bible, messages from the pulpit that faithfully preach the Bible, godly counsel where there is safety in a multitude of counselors according to Proverbs 11:14, divine appointments ordered by the Lord, and the inner leading of the Holy Spirit for those who are sons of God according to Romans 8:14, and the Shepherds voice which His sheep know according to John 10:27, all work together when they are in harmony with Scripture.
God has spoken through dreams and visions throughout Scripture, and He can still do so. In the Old Testament He spoke to Abimelech, to Laban, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Pharaoh through Joseph, to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel, to Zechariah in a series of night visions. In the New Testament He warned Joseph in a dream to take the child to Egypt, He warned the wise men in a dream, He gave Paul a night vision at Troas in Acts 16:9. Numbers 12:6 says that He makes Himself known to prophets in visions and speaks in dreams, though with Moses He spoke directly. Joel 2:28 promises that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit and sons and daughters shall prophesy and young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams, which Peter quoted in Acts 2:17. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His arm is not too short to save, Numbers 11:23, Isaiah 50:2 and Isaiah 59:1.
At the same time dreams and visions in Scripture are often symbolic and disjointed, like a parable or allegory, and they needed interpretation. Where God gave the interpretation the meaning is clear, where He did not we can only guess. For that reason there is a constancy in how symbols are used. The field pictures the world, the seed sown is the Word of God, birds when used in that context are shown in a bad sense, oil pictures the Holy Spirit who alone gives power, as in Zechariah. Joseph and Daniel both modeled humility when asked to interpret. Joseph told Pharaoh it is not in me, God will give an answer of peace, and Daniel said the same before Nebuchadnezzar. God gave the interpretation, not the man. Often God gave dreams in pairs with one message, as with Josephs two dreams, the butler and baker, Pharaohs cows and heads of grain.
A dream comes in sleep and a vision comes while awake, sometimes as a trance as John experienced on Patmos, but both in Scripture required testing by the Word. Deuteronomy warns that if a prophet or dreamer gives a sign that comes to pass but then says let us go after other gods, you shall not listen. Many have claimed visions for money or influence, and Scripture warns that false teachers divine for gain. Saul inquired of the Lord and received no answer by dreams, by the Urim, or by prophets, which shows God is sovereign in how and when He answers. Job 33 says God does speak, at times opening ears in the night to turn people from wrong, but not every night dream carries spiritual weight.
Signs in the heavens are also in Scripture. Genesis 1:14 says lights in the heavens are for signs and seasons, the star led the wise men in Matthew 2:2 and Balaam spoke of a star in Numbers 24:17. Jesus spoke of discerning the signs of the times in Matthew 16:3, and the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 understood the times to know what Israel should do. Before the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven according to Matthew 24:30 there will be many indications, but we are not to chase heavenly signs apart from the Word or treat them as guidance equal to Scripture.
So keep the order God has given. Let every impression, dream, vision, prophecy, counsel, or seeming sign be brought under the light of the Bible. If it agrees with Scripture, if it exalts Christ, if it leads toward holiness and not away from the Lord, receive it with thanksgiving and hold it loosely, asking God for wisdom. If it contradicts Scripture or draws you from Christ, set it aside.
I join you in praying for you, your wife, your children, your family, friends and partners in prayer, and for your churches, pastors and leaders. May the Lord keep you all from temptation, from evil and the evil one, from deception and lies and fear, as Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4, and as He prayed in John 17:15, and as Paul prayed in 2 Thessalonians 3:2 and 3:3. May you guard against being led astray, Matthew 24:4 and Revelation 12:9, and may you present your requests to God with thanksgiving, trusting His promise of a peace that passes understanding to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6 and 7. As you ask in faith according to Mark 11:24 and Hebrews 11:6, trust that in Jesus all the promises of God are yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20, and that He who is the Amen and faithful witness in Revelation 3:14 hears and will answer according to His perfect will.
The Word is the first and sure way He speaks. Isaiah 8:20 calls us to the law and to the testimony, and if a word does not agree with Scripture there is no light in it. The Bible, messages from the pulpit that faithfully preach the Bible, godly counsel where there is safety in a multitude of counselors according to Proverbs 11:14, divine appointments ordered by the Lord, and the inner leading of the Holy Spirit for those who are sons of God according to Romans 8:14, and the Shepherds voice which His sheep know according to John 10:27, all work together when they are in harmony with Scripture.
God has spoken through dreams and visions throughout Scripture, and He can still do so. In the Old Testament He spoke to Abimelech, to Laban, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Pharaoh through Joseph, to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel, to Zechariah in a series of night visions. In the New Testament He warned Joseph in a dream to take the child to Egypt, He warned the wise men in a dream, He gave Paul a night vision at Troas in Acts 16:9. Numbers 12:6 says that He makes Himself known to prophets in visions and speaks in dreams, though with Moses He spoke directly. Joel 2:28 promises that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit and sons and daughters shall prophesy and young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams, which Peter quoted in Acts 2:17. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His arm is not too short to save, Numbers 11:23, Isaiah 50:2 and Isaiah 59:1.
At the same time dreams and visions in Scripture are often symbolic and disjointed, like a parable or allegory, and they needed interpretation. Where God gave the interpretation the meaning is clear, where He did not we can only guess. For that reason there is a constancy in how symbols are used. The field pictures the world, the seed sown is the Word of God, birds when used in that context are shown in a bad sense, oil pictures the Holy Spirit who alone gives power, as in Zechariah. Joseph and Daniel both modeled humility when asked to interpret. Joseph told Pharaoh it is not in me, God will give an answer of peace, and Daniel said the same before Nebuchadnezzar. God gave the interpretation, not the man. Often God gave dreams in pairs with one message, as with Josephs two dreams, the butler and baker, Pharaohs cows and heads of grain.
A dream comes in sleep and a vision comes while awake, sometimes as a trance as John experienced on Patmos, but both in Scripture required testing by the Word. Deuteronomy warns that if a prophet or dreamer gives a sign that comes to pass but then says let us go after other gods, you shall not listen. Many have claimed visions for money or influence, and Scripture warns that false teachers divine for gain. Saul inquired of the Lord and received no answer by dreams, by the Urim, or by prophets, which shows God is sovereign in how and when He answers. Job 33 says God does speak, at times opening ears in the night to turn people from wrong, but not every night dream carries spiritual weight.
Signs in the heavens are also in Scripture. Genesis 1:14 says lights in the heavens are for signs and seasons, the star led the wise men in Matthew 2:2 and Balaam spoke of a star in Numbers 24:17. Jesus spoke of discerning the signs of the times in Matthew 16:3, and the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 understood the times to know what Israel should do. Before the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven according to Matthew 24:30 there will be many indications, but we are not to chase heavenly signs apart from the Word or treat them as guidance equal to Scripture.
So keep the order God has given. Let every impression, dream, vision, prophecy, counsel, or seeming sign be brought under the light of the Bible. If it agrees with Scripture, if it exalts Christ, if it leads toward holiness and not away from the Lord, receive it with thanksgiving and hold it loosely, asking God for wisdom. If it contradicts Scripture or draws you from Christ, set it aside.
I join you in praying for you, your wife, your children, your family, friends and partners in prayer, and for your churches, pastors and leaders. May the Lord keep you all from temptation, from evil and the evil one, from deception and lies and fear, as Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4, and as He prayed in John 17:15, and as Paul prayed in 2 Thessalonians 3:2 and 3:3. May you guard against being led astray, Matthew 24:4 and Revelation 12:9, and may you present your requests to God with thanksgiving, trusting His promise of a peace that passes understanding to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6 and 7. As you ask in faith according to Mark 11:24 and Hebrews 11:6, trust that in Jesus all the promises of God are yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20, and that He who is the Amen and faithful witness in Revelation 3:14 hears and will answer according to His perfect will.
