What are Holy Spirit Dreams
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH DREAMS
Joel 2:28 NKJV
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
Dreams tell a story, by unveiling a sequence of events during sleep. There are 3 kinds of dreams: Holy Spirit dreams, soul dreams and demonic dreams. The Lord can use anything in our lives to train us and He allows each experience we receive to raise us up into His image. For the most part, it is pretty easy to distinguish the difference between the three kinds of dreams. When we are able to label the dream into one of those categories, it gives us understanding as to how to respond to it and use it for good.
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HOLY SPIRIT DREAMS
James 1:17-18 NKJV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Receiving a pure, Holy Spirit dream is receiving a message straight from heaven. Therefore, it may share different aspects of heaven, like for instance vivid color, harmonious sounds, savoring smells, beautiful sights and even tastes.
The dream may contain the tangible Presence of God with warm waves of His liquid love, or soothing streams of His Spirit of peace, or even a quickening wave of goose bumps. His Presence can also bring a sweeping action through the cells that brings a deliverance of some sort that leaves a liberty and release to the body and soul.
The dream usually contains some spiritual aspect of the Lord, scripture, angels, heaven, etc. God’s perfect gift of a Holy Spirit dream always glorifies Him, and lines up with His character and Who He is. A Holy Spirit dream will never violate scripture or God’s attributes.
Holy Spirit dreams are sent to us from God, for a specific purpose. If a dream is lacking the above characteristics, it does not mean it is NOT a pure, Holy Spirit dream. A pure dream can be a simple allegory that is a teaching or form of guidance or even correction. It will have the characteristics reflecting God’s goodness. A pure dream will also have the absence of mixture the characteristics of it being a soul dream.
DREAMS HAVE A PURPOSE
The following are scripture references that reveal His desires within dreams:
- Genesis 20:3-7: Warning to halt man’s purpose, unintentional sin (to Abimelech)
- Genesis 28:12-15: Announcement of future promise (to Jacob)
- Genesis 31:10: Divine understanding and guidance (for Jacob)
- Genesis 31:24: Warning of man’s purpose (to Laban for Jacob)
- Genesis 37:5-7: Promises for the future (for Joseph)
- Genesis 40:5: Foreknowledge of a mystery (about the butler and baker, preparation for Joseph’s deliverance)
- Genesis 41:1-7: Announcement of famine (to Pharaoh, for Joseph’s promotion)
- Judges 7:13-14: Encouragement and confirmation (for Gideon’s ears)
- I Kings 3:5-15: Promise of future blessing (to Solomon)
- Daniel chapter 2: Announcement for the future of the kingdom (to Nebuchadnezzar)
- Daniel chapter 7: Prophetic revelation (to Daniel for world)
- Matthew 1:19,21: Encouragement and confirmation (to Joseph)
- Matthew 2:19-21: Exposure of enemy plan and guidance for deliverance (to Joseph)
- Matthew 27:19: Confrontation of truth (to Pilate’s wife)
EXAMPLE OF A PURE HOLY SPIRIT DREAM
Here is an example of a pure dream that the Holy Spirit gave me on 12/09/96:
This was an amazing supernatural dream where I actually experienced the entire thing including the Lord’s Presence as it was happening. I dreamed that I was in a large non-charismatic evangelical church worshipping with a full congregation. I was in the balcony and could see everything. There was not a person in the entire place that did not feel and respond to the Presence of God. It was as though He was a giant magnet and drawing out the wild and total praises of His people in this building. There were waves and waves of the Holy Spirit upon the people, and you could hear people’s emotional responses and see their subsequent hands raising in unison. I felt His Presence so strong, that He was literally evoking my strong responses.
Then I saw a candlestick standing on the podium, and a shadow slowly passed across it. Suddenly, you could hear a pin drop, the people were so quiet. It was an absolute holy hush. I knew it was the glory of God just like Moses’ story when he had asked to see His glory. (Exodus 33:18-23)
Later in the service, I saw an old friend, who had withdrawn from me due to differences in church doctrine. I leaned over to her and told her we were now talking the same language and were in agreement. I was speaking not just of she and I, but of the whole congregation. As I did this, there were women who had miniature little scissors in their hands, and were busy snipping tiny fragments off the dead, split ends of people’s hair. Their tiny scissors were snipping so fast they were a blur. While in the dream, I knew it was an allegory of the Lord and that these women were angels cutting away the denomination splits (splitting hairs) and dead works.
Still in the dream, as I was talking to someone about the awesome meeting, I mentioned that the Lord was also doing the same thing with people all over the world. He was drawing people with His tangible Spirit and they were done being spectators just sitting in pews. Their worship was radical and real. Their hearts were passionate and longing for Him.
Then I saw a picture vision of my holding the steering wheel in my car, and the wheel had such a strong pull on it that I just finally let the wheel lead the way! [I literally felt the tug of the wheel, even though this was a picture vision.] Then I heard the Lord say, “Divine direction.” By this picture, He was saying that we are coming to a time where His leading would be so strong, that it would be difficult to “drive” ourselves away from His Presence, as the tug or force in going our own way would be very tiring. This dream was an awesome promise of His breaking denominational barriers, where nothing else matters but worshipping Him and responding to His wonderful Presence.
A SECOND EXAMPLE OF A PURE HOLY SPIRIT DREAM
9/17/97 LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE
DREAM: I was in school and a teacher was trying to explain why we were learning via experience instead of just head knowledge. As she was explaining, she asked me if I knew how to do such and such. I had never heard of the such n such so I said no. Then to make her example simpler, she asked if I knew how to paint a box. I thought about the steps I would take to paint a box. My first thought would be to paint the bottom of the box, then I realized that would be stupid because then it would be wet. So I backtracked my thoughts and told myself to start on the inside of the box. At that point, I had decided I knew how to paint a box and told her yes.
Then she was explaining how we need to learn things by experience, and asked me why. I was explaining that experience keeps us from skipping necessary steps, we learn more depth about issues, it keeps us from accidental conclusions, and we move slower thus being more responsible in the doing of it.
COMMENT: In application, rather than just telling us His answer, He is taking us the long way around answers we are searching for, in order to train us for future things. This training will keep us from making mistakes in the future and we will become more responsible.
THIRD EXAMPLE OF A HOLY SPIRIT DREAM
7/10/09 WHITE STONES TO COME OUT OF THE FIRE
HEARD: Road map. Destiny. What is a future without hope? Do you understand what you are doing?
Jer 29:11-12 NKJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
DREAM: I was holding something the size of a baseball in the palm of my hand. It was some sort of unique carved white rock that had been a large black coal. The coal had turned white from having gone through the fire. There was a carved scene of the OT temple on it. It was very intricate and detailed and a real piece of art that looked like carved ivory.
I saw a fireplace-like kiln made out of bricks. The fireplace was not hot nor did I see flames. I could see that the coals were in varying degrees of change inside the fireplace. Some had the back side of white ice from having been frozen and were slowly unthawing. Some still had portions of the original black coal inside, underneath the ice. It was not time yet for these coals to come out.
However, some were all white from having gone through the fire. The fire had burned things away and left various carved scenes as one would intricately carve ivory. These white ones had lined up and were starting to come out of the fireplace. They changed into people, and then back again into the white carved stones as they were pouring out of this kiln-like fireplace.
An angel passed by me and touched me on my shoulder. I looked again at the white carved stone in my hand. Now there was an intricate carved scene of an OT priest in his white garment, and he was standing in front of the temple. It said, “Holy Unto the Lord.” At the same time I saw this, I heard the Spirit say,
HEARD: Holy Unto the Lord.
Ex 39:30 NKJV
Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Song 5:14-16 NKJV
His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory inlaid with sapphires. His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!
Zech 14:20-21 NKJV
In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts.
Ps 110:3-4 NKJV
Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4 The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Rev 5:10 NKJV
And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Isa 6:4-8 NKJV
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Rev 2:17 NKJV
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone , and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”‘
HOW TO RESPOND TO A HOLY SPIRIT DREAM:
BE ACCOUNTABLE
Scripture promises us that if we use what we have, more shall be given. The gospels speak much about “keeping” His Word. When you have a precious keepsake, what do you do to “keep” it? In some way or manner you find a way to preserve and store it to last through time.
Mark 4:24-25 NKJV
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
John 14:23-24 NKJV
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word ; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
The first thing to do when we have received a pure Holy Spirit dream is to value it enough to write it down, lest even one morsel be lost and forgotten in time. When we treasure His Word enough to write it down, it proves that we truly value it. Time fades everything, especially the memory of details. Our faithfulness to write the pure, God given dream down as soon as we wake, is very important.
Hab 2:2-3 NKJV
Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Consider the nature of God to record not only His Words to be preserved throughout time, but also ours. Record keeping is very important to God.
Mal 3:16-18 NLT
Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him. “They will be my people,” says the LORD Almighty. “On the day when I act, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient and dutiful child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Consider keeping a pen, note pad and flashlight by your bed. They have flashlight pens and flashlight notepads. The sooner the dream is written out thoroughly, the better. Often I thought I would remember and I did not. Ask the Lord’s help to give you the discipline to wake up enough to down jot notes, so that in the morning you can thoroughly write it out. He is merciful to answer your request. If you really want to hear from the Lord, He will help you!
For many years I used a notebook and wrote in bed. Now I use a mini digital recorder and speak into it, while still in bed. I know of others who rise and go to their studies in the middle of the night to record their dreams. What matters is that in some way you record it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but the details and important points need to be there. Later, when you are awake you can pen your dream with the right words and grammar.
I have found that when the Holy Spirit gives dreams, every jot and tittle come to pass and are very important to His message. The details will be important to you and they will probably be referred to after months or even years.
RESPOND WITH PRAYER AND QUESTIONS
Luke 2:18-19 NKJV
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Thoroughly digest and assimilate the fact that God actually sent you a specific message for a specific purpose. Use the opportunity for dialogue and relationship.
- Give the dream back to Him in prayer.
- Pray over the details.
- Ask Him for help to understand and apply every part of it.
- Ask Him for help to obey what was told.
- Ask Him for help to hold onto His Word as well as help to wait for it to come to pass.
- Ask Him questions on areas you do not understand.
- Ask Him to bring you confirmations and more understanding.
- Ask Him to build upon it and bring you more pieces.
- Really ponder, chew and mediate and let it become a really good meal. Take time, give God time and He will increase your portion.
