The Voice in the Dream

While it might surprise some to say that God speaks to us through our dreams, it is likely that many of those folks would also question whether or not God speaks to us at all.  Too many folks of today who call themselves Christians have no confidence that the voice of God still sounds in the silence of the stillness.  We have become a culture of folks trained to listen for what people think God might be saying instead of what He is saying.  To approach the reality of God speaking is too much of an absolute for those who regard everything with a relative and skeptical eye.   

Yet, as sure as there is a story about Mary and Joseph in the book of Matthew, so is there a story about the way God used the dream life of Joseph to resolve a conflict, protect his new family, and finally to bring them home again.  Joseph did not wonder about his dreams.  Instead, he saw them as a means by which God was speaking to him about how he was to live in the midst of what was a confusing and dangerous time.  Again and again the Word says, "an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,..."     

It may take practice and discipline for us to be able to hear the voice of God when we are sleeping, but as we grow ears to hear what our sub-conscious is saying to us, we are able to hear that Word which unquestionably is coming from God.  One of the practical things which can be done is to write down notes during the night about our dreams so they do not become the unforgotten dreams of the night.  Being able to recall them during the waking hours for the purpose of pondering them with an open mind to what God might be saying to us is an important first step.  Of course, the real first step is the one of faith that God does speak to us in many ways including the dreams we dream during the darkness of the night.