Symbolic dreams are not meant to be hard to understand, but provide deeper messages to be revealed over time. Learn how to recognize the messages in dreams and discover who is sending them.
Pay Attention to Unfading Dreams
If you are like me, most dreams start to slip away from memory the instant you wake up. Even when trying to hold onto them, it’s like trying to hold sand through open fingers.
But there are those that are different. Those that end with with your eyes opening wide, their details fresh in your memory. If most dreams end with a “…”, these dreams end with an exclamation point!
Something about these dreams stirs you and as soon as you wake up, you begin to ponder what the dream meant – you begin to wonder if the dream contained messages.
Symbolic Messages in Dreams
I don’t believe that when dreams contain messages that it should be too hard to decode the message. After all, what good is a message if you can’t understand it.
However, some symbolism adds depth messages. Like parables, symbolism allows you to think about the dream, unwrap its layers of symbolism and understand a deeper meaning than words alone could provide.
Without symbolism and the thought required to unwrap its meaning, the message would be more easily forgotten.
Think about it – how often does someone give you advice that you never think about again?
Processing symbolism and its meaning makes the message yours and allows you to remember it and apply it when needed in the future.
Types of Messages in Dreams
Personally, I have received messages in dreams in four forms:
- Visual symbolism,
- Feelings,
- Inherent knowledge,
- Scents, and
- Spoken words.
Dreams can contain any one of these types of messages, other types or some combination.
Here is a great example of a dream that contained four of these types of messages. This was a dream I had at a time when God was calling me out of a dark time in my life.
In the dream I saw a red dragon in a dark cave breathing fire out of his mouth. The dragon was in great agony, the fire burning inside of him. I actually felt the burning in my own stomach and instinctively knew in the dream that the dragon was me. I then heard a voice say, “jealousy is burning him from the inside out.” I immediately awoke.
The core message here was very clear, and I accepted it at its face value at that point in time. Later, I recalled the dream and discovered additional layers to the core message.
I uncovered one of these layers when reading the book of Revelation. I read how satan was referred to as a red dragon. This passage revealed to me that in my sin, I had taken on the image of the enemy.
Another symbol was the dark cavern. I read about dark pits in Psalms and other books and realized the dark cavern represented the prison of darkness that held me at that time.
Spoken Words in Dreams
If the imagery of that dream wasn’t enough to convey the message, there was a voice at the end of the dream that clarified its core message.
I have heard a voice like this on several occasions, sometimes as part of a dream (as in the example above) and sometimes standing alone. Most of the time these statements have been profound, declaring something over my life.
I only recall these declarations once in a while, but the exact words that were said never fade from my memory.
Who is Sending Messages in Dreams?
This is a question you must ask yourself after you wake from the dream – where did it come from?
Dreams are a connection to the spirit realm. They can be influenced by spirits of light and dark just the same (See my post, Can Demons Cause Nightmares?).
To answer the question, you need to ask yourself whether the message was consistent with the nature of God. For example, does the message convict you, or does it condemn you?
God will correct, discipline and encourage His children, but He will not disparage and discourage them.
To explain what I mean by that, let’s use an example of a child who steals a pack of gum from a convenience store and is caught by his parents. A convicting statement from his parents would sound something like,”you were not meant to steal,” or “stealing is wrong.” A condemning statement would be more like, “you are a thief,” or “you will always do wrong.”
Notice the difference?
The convicting statement focuses on the act, the condemning statement focuses on your character.
What if I Don’t Receive Messages Like These in My Dreams?
Just because this is how God communicated to me in the past, doesn’t mean this is the only way He communicates to me, or that this is the way He communicates to everyone.
The more testimonies I hear from others, the more I am convinced that God communicates to each of us in the most effective way to reach us at that particular point in our life. Dreams can contain messages from God, but also visions, words, songs you hear, songs in your head, statements from others, numbers, feelings, and scriptures, just to name a few.
If you don’t believe you have received messages from God, I would encourage you to pay attention to things that could potentially be messages, particularly to coincidences.
When you experience something multiple times from different sources, think about that coincidence and whether there is a relevant message in that coincidence. Even write it down in case it becomes relevant later.
Be on the alert for messages, even when you aren’t seeking them, and always question their source.
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Supporting Scripture:
Daniel 2:19 – During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.
Matthew 2:13 – When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said,…
Revelation 12:3,9 – Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon … 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
Psalm 88:6 – You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
1 John 4:1 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…
Matthew 18:16 (and many others) – …“every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
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