“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” (Genesis 40:8)

If anyone had asked me if God still speaks through dreams, I would have knowledgeably answered, “Yes.” Although dreams are a common language of God throughout the Bible, for a long time I did not feel comfortable hearing God through this seemingly secret language of His.

If I had dreams, they were obscure, often with some relation to present or past experiences. I had no idea how to make sense of them. Looking through a predominantly psychological lens, I felt they must be telling me about unresolved issues in my life. It scared me to face them without some kind of sense of direction or hope. I’ve always had the desire to hear from God through dreams and was fascinated when hearing of Jesus appearing to people and other spiritual encounters in the night time, but I did not know how to prophetically understand any of my more “common” dreams.

When I came to my first year of BSSM at Bethel Church, I started taking a class on dream interpretation, learning about the ways God speaks through dreams and how to unravel them. One day I shared a seemingly unspectacular dream that nevertheless had caught my attention. Through asking some questions, my teacher suggested an interpretation that blew my mind. God had given me a dream that spoke directly into a situation in my life, bringing reconciliation to a conflicting issue, giving me new direction and purpose.

Since then I started discovering that God does speak through our dreams today, and we can learn how to interpret them with Him. They still are a not-so-secret language of God.

Here are some thoughts on how to get you started on your own journey:

  • Ask God to speak to you in dreams. Pray for God to give you dreams and the gift of interpretation. Pray that he would make you attentive to dreams that are relevant.
  • Start writing them down. Put a notebook or recording device next to your bed and write down or record your dream right after waking up. That’s the time we remember our dreams most vividly and with the most details.
  • Learn from people who are experienced in dream interpretation. Read recommended books and online material. Take classes or online sessions on the topic. Make sure that the teaching to which you expose yourself is solid and produces good fruit.
  • Share your dreams in healthy community. Find like-minded and curious people that you can trust and with whom you can share your dreams and interpretation. Learn how to interpret dreams together. This provides a way for you to stay healthy and receive correction or insight that you would have not been able to see by yourself.

Are you curious and ready to take another step out into the unknown? No matter how far you are on this journey, I bless you to unravel this widely forgotten language of God. May it bring fruit for the kingdom to you, your family and all your areas of influence.

By Jana Sundermann