Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:23–24 NIV).
During ancient time periods, and across many cultures it was a widespread belief that dreams were divine messages from the invisible realm. Dreams ignite the conscious awareness of our physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual well-being. Dream symbols come from different areas including our present life, our past memories, and our subconscious and conscious mind.
However, unlike the beliefs of those in ancient times, the American culture has a tendency to subdue the importance of dreams. Recalling dreams and understanding them is not an important part of American culture. Dreams are often belittled because in the real world they do not appear to contribute to the ladder of success. Some dreams that are particularly spiritual or revelatory can seem too weird to actually carry any weight of significance. Telling the story can often spark ripples of laughter instead of consideration.
If this continues to be our attitude about dreams or if we listen to people who feel that way, the importance of dreams will continue to be lost. It is vital to focus on broadening your views so that we open the door for the Lord to speak to us instead of hindering him. Once we understand that God speaks to all of us in our dreams we will discover the importance of learning and embracing his symbolic language. God created us with the ability to imagine and to magnify. Therefore, whatever we focus on we empower, and what we ignore diminishes.
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30).
If we focus on the negative images in our lives they will seemingly continue to grow until they reach monstrous proportions. They will continue to loom over us and shadow everything we do, think, and say. If we focus on God and the positive visions in our lives by giving thanks, good will be magnified. This brings us to a higher realm, and releases a positive influence around us that draws a more positive environment into our sphere of influence. If we begin to focus on dreams and their meanings in our lives they will begin to increase and we will prosper from understanding the destiny our dreams reveal to us.
Dreams can help us solve our problems and the problems of others if we are able to understand them. Dream recall is a skill that is learned as we diligently apply ourselves. To interpret a dream we must first be able to recall or remember its details. When we apply the wisdom we have received from the dream, God is able to direct the paths of our lives.
Here are some basic guidelines in "understanding the dream." Eighty-five percent of the time dreams deal with the individual who is dreaming, rather than with others external to the dreamer. God speaks to us in a language of signs and symbols that we have to learn to understand. Dreams often show us blind spots and areas of weakness in our lives that may need change or work. Because eighty-five percent of all dreams are about the dreamer, our presence in a dream has meaning.
Seeing or observing ourselves as a dream character often signifies that we are at peace with ourselves and readily accept the qualities and identify with them. Seeing other characters represented in our dreams indicates that there are qualities with which we do not consciously identify. By uncovering the language and symbolism of dreams we can discover many things. Some of these are:
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The relationship between the world and ourselves around the time of the dream.
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The "global" issues (physical and emotional challenges) that we face.
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Our subconscious beliefs and reactions.
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The condition of our body at the time of the dream: Are we tired, stressed, fatigued, or are we rested and refreshed?
Words of Knowledge or Revelation in Dreams
Solving our problems through a dream occurs when God gives us a word of knowledge or revelation from a dream or even about the dream itself.
Mr. Johnson is a highly paid mechanical engineer. He is often hired by large production companies to troubleshoot their assembly lines when things break down. When the machinery is not functioning at peak performance or has to be shut down for any reason it causes a great loss of income to the company. Mr. Johnson was retained to solve a problem at one such company. He ran the usual diagnostic test and observed the machinery running. He was unable to pinpoint the problem.
That night he prayed and asked for the answer to come to him in a dream. He then had a dream. In this dream Mr. Johnson was shown a panel on one of the machines. He watched the panel being removed. There he was shown a nut that had fallen off of its bolt; it was lying between two levers. This nut was prohibiting the proper connection and range of motion thus slowing down production. The next morning he confidently went to the plant manager and asked him to shut the assembly line down. The manager argued with him, yelling that a shut down would cost thousands of dollars as it would be stopping production. "How long will this take?" the manager asked. Mr. Johnson replied, "About five minutes, maximum." The order was given and the production line came to a screeching halt.
Mr. Johnson took his wrench and screwdriver, opened the panel and located the missing nut. He put the nut back on the bolt, tightened it and replaced the panel. He then announced that his fee would be $10,000. The manager yelled, "WHAT? You want me to pay you $10,000 for replacing one nut?" And with that Mr. Johnson said, "No, not for replacing the nut, but for knowing where the nut was located and that it needed to be replaced." He was paid, the assembly line was restarted and the production company was able to recoup the time that was lost.
There are many different types of dreams, so they will all have different meanings and applications depending on the person, the setting and the environment. Dreams also have different sources. They can come from God, the busyness of the day or from our soul's desires. Our physical bodies can even communicate to us in dreams. Evil or demonic forces that we allow into our lives by not surrendering certain areas of our heart to God can also be a source from which our dreams originate.
The greatest power in the universe is love.
Dr. Barbie L. Breathitt
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