Hearing Gods voice in dreams.

One of the clearest statements that evangelical Christianity has consistently and historically asserted is the truth that God is speaking to men.
He is speaking to all men clearly and "His voice goes forth to the ends of the world", as the psalmist declares.
Hebrews chapter 1 makes the emphatic statement that God has spoken to all men through the prophets, but now in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.
In addition God has spoken to all men through his redemptive acts in history.
When God parted the red sea and delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt it was not done silently or in obscurity but before the eyes of the whole earth that this is how God delivers his covenant people who trust in him.
He was speaking to all peoples for all times.
Likewise when God came down on mount Sinai and shook the earth he was audibly declaring that his moral character enshrined in his holy law was God speaking to the heart and conscience of all men,"this is what I am like, this is how great the gulf is between me and you".
The psalmists states that God speaks also through nature for the heavens declare the Glory of God the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
But it is most essentially true, the bible tells us, to say that God has spoken supremely through his Son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the worlds.
Jesus is the very pinnacle of Gods revelation and if we reject Jesus then we reject Gods voice and his council for our lives for no man will hear Gods voice outside of Jesus Christ.
The above having been said the new testament also tells us that Jesus as our shepherd will speak to us and we as his sheep will recognize and hear his voice.
The Holy Spirit desires to speak to us to reveal and to make known the testimony of Jesus and there are several different ways that the scripture indicates that he does this.
The primary way that God does this is through His Holy precious written word which is a light to our path in this life and a lamp to our feet.
So far almost all evangelicals would be on the same page,but for many Christians the fact of God speaking today is understood to mean that he has spoken to us through his word and speaks as we hear him through the pages of the bible, understanding and applying Gods word to our current circumstances today.
That is indeed true and necessary for us to underscore often, especially in this day when the authority of scripture is under assault from almost every turn.
However is that the only way that God speaks to us today?
To say that is the primary way of hearing Gods speech is certainly not the same as to say that it is the only way.
And yet many sincere Christians stumble over the belief that God can and does communicate with his children today through supernatural means as if that somehow detracts from the authority of scripture.
But surely that is a false assertion since the bible itself supports the idea that God will speak to us through a variety of ways in addition to our reading scripture but never contrary to it.
The book of Hebrews speaks to us of not refusing him who speaks, and the word for speaks in that context is in the continuous present tense, so could be equally translated as "him who is speaking" (Heb 12 25)
And one of the clearest ways that God has historically spoken to his people through the ages and does continue to speak is through dreams.
In Job chapter 33 we read that
""For God may speak now in one way,or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
In a dream,in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
Then he opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
In order to turn man from his deed,
and to conceal pride from man,
he keeps back his soul from the pit,
and his life from perishing by the sword."
This is an illuminating passage of scripture and has some noteworthy points to consider.
God does speak to men we are told now one way now another yet man does not perceive it.
The key thought is in the statement," yet man does not perceive it."
The emphasis is not placed upon that of God not speaking but upon man failing in discerning.
And immediately the next verse highlights an example of one of the primary ways that God does speak to men as
"In a dream, in a vision of the night,When deep sleep falls upon men,while slumbering on their beds."
It is then that he opens the ears of men,and seals their instructions."

If we consider the fact of the extent to which the Lord has either wrought a work in or spoken to his people in a state of sleep in the scriptures it is very revealing.
Beginning in Genesis with the creation of Eve we are told that the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam,and he slept;and he took one of his ribs,and closed up the place in his flesh.(Gen sis 2,21)
Later in Genesis chapter 15 when God Almighty cut the covenant with a man named Abram we are told that
"When the sun was going down,a deep sleep fell upon Abram;and behold,horror and great darkness fell upon him"
So it was in this sleep state that he saw a vision of God "Behold there was a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces".
God sealed his covenant with Abram by manifesting his Glory in a fiery torch and by speaking to him his promise of the settlement of the land, all while he slept.
Later in Genesis the Lord appears to the king Abimelech to warn him in a dream not to touch Sarah, Abrams wife, sexually lest judgement fall in the forfeiting of his own life.
It is interesting that Abimelech did not have any way of knowing that Sarah was not Abrams sister as Abram had insisted but the Lord showed him in a dream so as to warn him and I believe to save him and turn him from the inevitable destruction which would have ensued had he taken Sarah to be his own wife.
Remember the verse in Job 33 which says that one of the reasons that God does speak to us in dreams is
"to turn man from his deed................. and his life from perishing."
Jacob received a powerful dream in which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending from heaven to the earth.
Joseph received a dream revealing his destiny which came to pass, and also had the ability to interpret dreams from the Lord,thus paving the way for the Lord to save an entire nation during a worldwide famine.
It is interesting to note that both the pagan kings Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar received major revelation of significant future events through dreams, which were interpreted for them by the Lords prophets.
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream in which experience he asked for an impartation of divine supernatural wisdom,and after he awoke this wisdom had been granted to him(1 Kings 3)
Likewise in the new testament Joseph was directed by an angelic encounter in a dream to marry Mary, shown that the baby in her womb was Divinely conceived, instructed to flee to Egypt and told when to come back and where to come back to.
The common feature of all of these biblical characters is that none of them took what they had heard in their dreams lightly or dismissed them but recognized that God was showing them things that were important for them to know.
The lord gave a night vision or dream to Paul in acts chapter 16 in which he had a vision of a man of macedonia which in turn redirected that missionary band into a part of Asia from which was born the Philippian church.
These examples that I have sited biblically underscore a reality that has occurred throughout history that God does speak to men and women and release revelation through dreams.
This fact is so well established in church history that it requires a deliberate prejudice to fail to recognize it.
In addition the Lord has often spoken to non Christians releasing facts and information that needs to be known in the earth at any given time.
Consider how many scienctific breakthroughs have come in the form of someone seeing something in a dream.
The fact that the Lord can and does use anyone who is open to him not only demonstraes his Soverignity over all truth and all knowledge but also should be a just rebuke that it appears evident in this that the church has often been behind in her faith to recognize how God speaks to us through dreams because of our unbelief.
Some people say,"If God wants to speaks to me in a dream then he will do so. It is His sovereign decision to do so "
What is wrong with this attitude?
If we carry this attitude through into any of the other gifts that Gods gives we can see its potential flaw.
We could say "If God wants to heal me that is his sovereign prerogative"
Alternatively someone could say "If God wants me to preach and to have a ministry he will have to do it all"
In all of the above examples God action is required in our lives but we to have a responsibility .
Churches that only believe in Divine healing as entirely Gods Sovereign prerogative rarely see healings.
They may see certain people healed by the sheer mercy of God but it is in churches where healing is taught as part of Christs redemptive work for us and where peoples faith is built up that healings more consistently occur.
Likewise God will call a person into the ministry but they have a responsibility to study to show themselves approved unto God, and they have to pursue that calling and discern their place of service.
So to in each of the examples we could readily see our heart response and active cooperation with the Lord is vital in order to carry out his plans and purposes for our lives.
So to in dreams it is indeed true that God will sovereignly speak to us and we will never coerce or manipulate that right to give or to withold revelation from the Lord.
However we do have a responsibility to allow the Lord to awaken our spiritual ears to be able to hear, therefore we need to cultivate a discerning ear to listen.
If we do not believe that God speaks to us today through dreams then we are unlikely to receive them, it will not stop God from speaking to his children through dreams but we will not partake of that grace.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone to whom you were speaking was not able to hear you?
I remember a friend that I had who had the unfortunate habit if looking over your shoulder whenever you were speaking to him in public.
Rather than giving you his eye contact he was focusing all of his attention on what was transpiring at the end of the street.
This was hardly calculated to make you feel that your conversation was worth listening to!
Similarly I have a friend who is now with the Lord in heaven who when I spoke to him on the phone would be lost in his own thoughts at various times, his voice would became silent and his responses when forthcoming were vague.
Why do we imagine that the Lord of Glory would wish to share his secrets with those who are indifferent to his voice?
In Isaiah chapter 50 the prophet speaks of the process of the Lord awakening his capacity to hear "The Lord God has given me,
The tonque of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens me morning by morning,
He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.
The Lord God has opened my ear;
And I was not rebellious
Nor did I turn away."
Here we see the prophet speaking of the Lord opening his ear and sharpening his discernment to speak that which will strenghten the weary.
As he rises each morning to wait upon the Lord, and gives himself to meditation upon the Tarah law of God so the Lord is literally cleaning out his ears.
The word in verse 5 of this passage "the Lord God has opened my ear" is in the Hebrew the word that carries the sense of "to dig out" indicating that as the prophet of God meditated upon the Tarah law of God his ear was being cleaned out and his ability to discern Gods voice strengthened.
Psalm 119 speaks of the psalmists love for the scriptures when he says" Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day
The entrance of your word gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help;
I hope in your word.
My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on your word."
The Lord has always given great grace to those of his people who make their love for the bible primary.
It is there that we must stay and continue to sharpen our discernment through our love for and meditation upon the precious written word of God.
I cannot stress sufficiently that it is as we commit ourselves to put Gods word into our hearts and minds constantly that our spiritual ears are likewise being dug out and our spiritual ears awakened; that and our willingness to wait upon the Lord are the primary foundations to hearing Gods voice that we cannot neglect.
In Job ch33 we read that the Lord "opens the ears of men,and seals their instruction when deep sleep falls upon them and whilst slumbering upon their beds."
The Lord I believe wants to increase our aptitude to hear his voice in these days through any and all of the biblical means that he has given to us.
And part of the way that we do this is to have faith in God that he desires to speak to us in the watches of the night.
In Joel 2 and in Acts chapter 2 we find one of the most significant prophecies for these last days.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days,says God,
That I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on my menservants and on my maidservants
I will pour out my Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy."
This word of prophesy is speaking about the activity of the Spirit of God in the last days.
We understand that "the last days" are referring to that period of time between the first and second coming of the Lord.
That is in part why it is incorrect to say that prophesy dreams or visions ceased with the early church,this promise is for the last days and we are still very much in those days.
In fact I firmly believe we are now living in the last days of the last days and that God is pouring out his Spirit upon his church and many today are hearing his voice in dreams and visions from the Lord.
In my own experience for the first twenty years or so of my christian life I think that I only received two definite dreams that I knew were from the Lord.
However in the last seven years or so I have received many more.
When they come they are almost always unsought but given in such a way that the portion of the dream which is from the Lord is clear and distinct and stands out from the rest of the nights dreams(most of which I will usually forget)
For instance last year I came through one of the severest tests that I have ever walked through.
This came after several years of not having sought the Lord as faithfully as I should have done.Thank God for his mercy.
The Lord was delivering me from many years in a spiritual wilderness and right in the midst of this time I had a vivid dream in which I saw a church leader who had been very influential in my life in times past coming to me holding an open book.(This leader died several years ago and is with the Lord)
In the dream I looked at the book which he was holding out to me and on it was written the title "Delivered from the ways of Egypt"
Subsequent to this dream I began to pick up and to read some of his books again.
The effect of this was that the truths that I was reading began to go off like a light inside of me and my confidence to walk in the things of the Spirit again grew hugely.
It was as if my connections of faith with the Lord were being made once more.
Likewise a few months ago I had a dream in which I saw a couple who are well known to my wife and I.
In this dream I saw an area of anxiety coming upon the wife( I was aware of this issue of anxiety in the wife already in the natural) but in this dream I saw this anxiety as a weight of oppression that had become almost overwhelming to this woman.
I knew in this dream what the anxiety was about,and I saw the husband extending a helping practical hand towards us that given the nature of the circumstances in which we were in was a sure sign that the Lord had touched his heart.
The following day at lunch I shared the dream with my wife.
Shortly after within a couple of hours we received a phone call from this couple(who live abroad) and in it the husband shared with us the issue of anxiety that I had seen in the dream the night before saying that his wife was almost overwhelmed with it.
During the conversation he also offered us some financial assistance should we ever need it.
This telephone call was a wonderful confirmation of that which I had seen the night before.
Why would the Lord show us something like that in the event that I was going to hear about it anyway?
Mostly I believe that it is to underscore something that he wants us to know, and it is almost always for the purposes of intercession and anticipation so that we can make the right preparation for what lies ahead.
In the instance of the last dream which I cited I believe that the Lord wanted to confirm a reality that was going on in the lives of a couple who are close to us so as to awaken us to more accurate intercession.
In addition subsequently to this dream we were offered some financial assistance from this couple which was very valueable to us.
Had I not had this dream I probably would have turned down the offer of help because of pride, but because of the dream I was able to understand that this was the hand of the Lord upon this couple and therefore I did not want to turn away from the help that the Lord desired to give to my wife and I or the blessing that would come to them.
Some people may ask why the Lord chooses to speak to us through dreams.Why not in our waking and conscious hours only?
The two answers that I have for this are first because He chooses to.
And secondly I believe that we are often disarmed when we are asleep as our minds are less active and our objections and mental filters are removed.
I believe that it important in these days that our spiritual discernment is more finely honed so as to be able to hear Gods voice in which ever way that he chooses to speak to us.
And that includes through dreams.
We should not seek the experience of having a dream from the Lord rather we should seek the Lord and pray often that He will open our spiritual ears to hear.
And then we need to listen and that means that if we do have a dream that we think is from the Lord that we don't dismiss it but ponder its contents and pray for the Lord to give us His truth and discernment concerning it.
A good prayer to pray is from Ephesians 1 v17 for the Lord to open the eyes of our heart (and the ears of our heart) with wisdom and with revelation so that we may know.
There is a knowledge that comes only from God and that is what we so need to be hearing in these challenging days.
We need to be hearing Gods voice in order to hold out to a lost and hurting world the words of this life and to be awakened by God to hear a word in season to sustain the weary of heart.