We tend to use the word “dream” in a couple of different ways. We use it to describe thoughts that we can recall that took place during our sleeping hours. These dreams may include people, events, or places from the past, or they may include people and places that we are unfamiliar with. Sometimes the details in our dreams are all mixed up. For example, a person we became acquainted with later in life appears in a dream in a place that dates back to our childhood. We also use the word “dream” to refer to a hope or aspiration that we have for the future. A person might say “I have a dream of being a Bible school professor one day.”

In many cases the dreams I mentioned above are humanly induced dreams. That is, they originate in us. However, it is clear from Scripture that God can also give dreams to people. A brief sampling of people in Scripture who received divinely inspired dreams include: Jacob (Gen. 28:12-17), Joseph (Gen. 37:5-11), Joseph, the husband of Mary (Matt. 1:18-21; 2:13-15), the Magi (Matt. 2:12), and Pilate’s wife (Matt. 27:19). A quick survey of these texts reveals that the Lord gave dreams to people that we would consider to be His people, people like Jacob, Joseph in the Old Testament, and Joseph in the New Testament. He also gave dreams to people that we would consider unbelievers, for example, the Magi, and Pilate’s wife. The Lord used these dreams for various purposes, He used them to reveal the future, grant protection, and give guidance.

The Bible tells us that the time for divinely given dreams is not over. Dreams can and do occur even in our time. The justification for this is found in Acts 2:17. In this verse dreams are associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days, the time period that we are currently living in. I am sure some who are reading this article have experienced divinely inspired dreams, and others at least at times, have wished that they would have them. It is true that some Christians place an inappropriate amount of emphasis on the importance of dreams. But it is also true that some do not give hardly any attention to the possibility of the Lord giving them a dream to speak to them. We need to find the balance. As those who believe that the Holy Spirit is being poured out in our day we should remain open to all of the means that God has demonstrated in His Word that He uses to communicate with His people.

There was a period of time in my ministry when I received a number of dreams. These dreams were never identical but there was a common theme in many of them, which eventually became evident. That time period is now over. I am in a new season of ministry and I do not have dreams with the frequency that I once did, nor is the common theme I mentioned above a regular feature of the dreams that I do have. The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us that “There is a time for everything” (Eccl. 3:1 NIV). God can, and may, use dreams again in my life, I do not know. That is something that He will decide. I cannot say that I have never asked for a dream but it is not my usual practice to seek dreams or pray for them. However, if they come I need to pay attention to them. I need to discern if they are from God or from my own imagination. The Bible is clear that dreams are one of the ways in which the Lord communicates with people. Ignoring a dream could be setting aside the Lord’s attempt to communicate with me. The same would be true for you.

The Lord has spoken to me at other times in my life through an internal impression, a prophetic word, and a word of knowledge. He is a God of variety who approaches each of us in different ways at different times. The Holy Spirit is very real and very active in the lives of His people. The Scriptures demonstrate that this was true in the first century church; it is also true for the twenty-first century church. Let us be open to all of the ways in which the Lord works, and may He grant us the grace and discernment to recognize and respond to Him.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and  Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.