Some people function well on a few hours of sleep a night. I am not one of those people.

I have always liked a lot of sleep and am happy with the 10 hours I usually get a night! Apparently, for most adults, at least 7 hours of sleep a night is needed for our minds and bodies to recharge. This is good news for me; there is no doubt that I am getting all the recharging I need. There is another important aspect to sleep, though, that is also part of God’s design for us to live and function well; our dreams.

Studies have shown that dreaming occurs through all stages of the sleep cycle; the most vivid dreams occurring during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stages, most of which takes place during the second half of the night.  Amazing processes occur during sleep; we process emotions, consolidate memories, and our brains develop to name a few, and we all know what happens to us when we don’t get enough sleep… to our emotions alone! It is also as we sleep, whilst our minds are quiet, that God speaks to us – Spirit to spirit – a visual message that carries multi-layered meanings, full of hope. But are all dreams from God?

We don’t necessarily expect God to say good things to us. We often feel like He may be unhappy with us, that if He wants to speak it will be a reprimand, leaving us feeling guilty enough to try and make a change. I’ve got good news for you – God always affirms us – even if challenging us – as this is the nature of God’s love for us; to build us up, not tear us down.

One woman we spoke with recently experienced this first hand. She relayed a dream where she was in her mother’s house and was invited for a walk. There was more detail in the dream, which we discussed with her. When we let her know that this was a dream from God and that He wanted her to simply spend time with him, being relaxed in his company, it really struck her. She says:

“I write down my dreams and try to interpret them myself but it’s very helpful to have input from others as well…the team looked at my dream differently to what I did, they suggested a more positive interpretation. I realized that I’d got stuck on seeing my dreams as a reminder of what I get wrong rather than an invitation to walk with God through life’s challenges.”

So is every dream from God? I mentioned earlier that one design for sleep is so that we can process our emotions and thoughts. Another source of dreams, therefore, is our soul (our mind, will, emotions) and these dreams are to do with how we feel, think, and what we desire. A further type of dream is nightmares, which are intimidating, fearful, and destructive and are never from God.

It’s good to pay attention to ‘soul’ dreams – how we feel and think matters and these dreams can help us understand better how we are really thinking and feeling. We can then address those things as appropriate to move forward positively. However, it is God’s perspective and His words that we can trust and that can truly help us. It is His wisdom that we need; so much greater than our own.  In these last days, God is pouring out his Spirit on all flesh and part of this is ‘dreaming dreams from God’ (Joel 2:28). Not all dreams are from God, but if you have a dream that is staying with you and you are curious about its meaning, consider having it interpreted.

Send us your dream