Setting Aside Dream Interpretation

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I've come across some disturbing trends recently that have me concerned about doing dream and vision interpretation. Namely, I have been encountering increasing instances of Christians receiving dreams that it is obvious have been coming from the enemy. This presents an immense dilemma, as it turns an interpreter into a mouthpiece for a demonic spirit, and then compounds this error by endorsing the dream as if it were coming from God. If he or she is unable to discern what the original source of the dream is, they can be doing severe harm to others rather than helping them.

I have every intent of coming back to it at some point in the future, as I see it as tied to the prophetic gift and therefore of immense importance, and valuable to the body of Christ. But until the Lord grants me the gift of discernment on the source behind the dreams and visions I am presented with, I will be setting it aside.

To any and all whom I have ministered to in the past and who read this thread, pray for me. I have done interpretations in the past for the sake of the Lord and His body, and to help others as much as the Lord enables me. But until I have greater assurance that I am helping rather than potentially hurting them, I have no choice in the matter.

Blessings and peace, in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Hidden In Him
 
Last edited:

drjean

Senior Veteran
Supporter
Nov 16, 2011
15,273
4,517
✟313,070.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Dreams do come from God in my belief and there are accounts in the Bible supporting this (where I get my belief.) But interpretation is really up to the dreamer... as God speaks to them when they are asleep and He has their full attention, they need to talk it out and put it together.

The brain uses dreams and sleep time to sort through the day's events and our concerns. God speaks to us as we sort things out IRL... and the ah ha moment ensues.
 
Upvote 0

Presbyterian Continuist

Senior Veteran
Supporter
Mar 28, 2005
21,810
10,792
76
Christchurch New Zealand
Visit site
✟827,333.00
Country
New Zealand
Faith
Charismatic
Marital Status
Married
Although Joseph, his two fellow prisoners, Pharoah, and Nebuchadnessar had dreams which needed interpretation. these were for specific purposes. There is no evidence that anyone else had dreams that needed interpretation. Ezekiel had visions, but they were not dreams.

There is no precedence for dreams that need interpretation in the New Testament. Joseph's dreams were plain and did not need interpretation, and they were for specific purposes as well. But there is no mention of ordinary Christians receiving dreams in which guidance was given. In fact, Christians don't need dreams because they already have the Holy Spirit within them, and the clear promise is that the anointing which is within them in the Person of the Holy Spirit would teach them all things.

We can have vivid dreams at times, but if the dream does not contain a clear instruction from the Lord to perform a particular task according to His will, I would accept the dream as just from my own sleeping mind and not from the Lord at all.
 
Upvote 0

chuckpeterson

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Feb 19, 2018
546
204
58
texas
✟134,252.00
Country
United States
Faith
Presbyterian
Marital Status
Single
I often have the same dream. In my dream I am lost wondering down a staircase or down a hall and before me I see a lot of doors and I wonder which one to enter. And in other cases, I am walking down a street wondering which way I should go. In all these cases I find myself feeling lost and wanting to find my way out. And I don’t even know why?

BTW I have a similar version of this dream almost every night.

Anyone care to interpret my dreams for me-?
 
Upvote 0

GandalfTheWise

In search of lost causes and hopeless battles
May 27, 2012
357
535
Wisconsin
✟71,403.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
To any and all whom I have ministered to in the past and who read this thread, pray for me. I have done interpretations in the past for the sake of the Lord and His body, and to help others as much as the Lord enables me. But until I have greater assurance that I am helping rather than potentially hurting them, I have no choice in the matter.

Blessings and peace, in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Hidden In Him

I appreciate and respect your attitude toward this. Stepping back to make sure we are prepared and doing things as God wants can be a good thing to do and at times I think not enough people do that.

If it's any help, there have been a few times I've been in situations where someone mentioned a dream to me that did seem to have spiritual significance. It was like the meaning immediately popped into my head. I'd preface it with a "well, I'm not sure, but could it be..." so as not to put pressure on them. Each of these times, the person paused, and then then revealed more details of the dream that they have left out that fit. Also, each time, it was something that was going on spiritually in their life that they were struggling with.

In one case, I was at a national campus ministers conference and got up for one of the early morning prayer meetings. This is has been over 30 years ago so my recollection is vague but this is as I recall it. One fellow (actually one of the main leaders in the denomination who had just recently been appointed to a major new position to pioneer a new type of training in campus ministry) mentioned he'd had a weird dream just as he was waking up to come to the prayer meeting but couldn't shake that there was something about it. I forget the details, but it involved something like people shooting guns at him where the bullets turned in Dobermans chasing him and barking at him. He jokingly asked if anyone could interpret for him. Everybody smiled and chuckled, but as he asked it popped into my head that God was simply encouraging him that there would be a lot of serious looking things around him in his new role that looked like attacks but weren't going to touch him. I mentioned this and got a few stares of the "he was only joking" variety from people. He paused, got serious, and mentioned that the dream took place on the campus he was going to be ministering at and that the dogs never actually did touch him. There was something going on that I forget now, but it seemed to be something that registered with him and encouraged him spiritually. As I recall, the next morning at the prayer meeting, he mentioned that he hadn't had a good nights sleep in quite awhile but that last night he had slept soundly through the night.

I've heard many many dreams described over the years, and mostly I shrug my shoulders at them. But there have been a couple times this happened where there was just a sense that there was something very different about it, that it meant something very specific, and it was simply that it made sense to me, and then without me knowing anything about it, it fit with something serious in their lives that they'd been dealing with and there were details they hadn't mentioned that then fit. At this point, I'm averaging perhaps one of those per decade or so.

There have been times where people have had dreams that mentioned them that deeply concerned or scared them and I felt a spiritual sense of needing to comfort them. That was basically centered around the theme that God's speaking into our lives is for our growth, health, and positive change; not to accuse us or cause deep negative feelings. What I said usually had nothing to do with the dream itself but rather the effect it was having on them and that God's work in our lives is for our good, not to paralyze us with fear or discouragement.

A few of the best lessons I learned from people over the years were 1. To not to force anything. If God is doing it, we'll probably know it. 2. To take the risk on myself. That's why I usually preface any type of message like that with a "I'm not sure, but does this mean anything to you?" or "This may sound strange, but I just have this sense that God wants me to tell you this. Now I might be wrong here..." If it is something God wants said, God's Spirit will confirm it to their heart as something they needed to hear. I've had times where it was clearly something they had been concerned about, had not told me (or at times anyone else), and it was something they needed to hear. I've had times where it didn't seem to be relevant to anything to them and I tried to make sure that they were free to drop it as my error. Perhaps it was my mistake, or perhaps it was something that maybe became something for them to ponder on. In either case, it was best from me to drop it and take the weight of any possible error on myself.

Frankly, I much prefer to operate in the realm of common sense, experience, good advice, and biblical counsel. I'm much more comfortable there. But there are times I just simply have a strong sense to step out in faith that something needs to be said to someone that doesn't seem related to much of anything that I'm aware of.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Mayflower1
Upvote 0

Sabertooth

Repartee Animal: Quipping the Saints!
Supporter
Jul 25, 2005
10,491
7,061
62
Wisconsin
Visit site
✟952,659.00
Country
United States
Faith
Charismatic
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
Upvote 0

Presbyterian Continuist

Senior Veteran
Supporter
Mar 28, 2005
21,810
10,792
76
Christchurch New Zealand
Visit site
✟827,333.00
Country
New Zealand
Faith
Charismatic
Marital Status
Married
I often have the same dream. In my dream I am lost wondering down a staircase or down a hall and before me I see a lot of doors and I wonder which one to enter. And in other cases, I am walking down a street wondering which way I should go. In all these cases I find myself feeling lost and wanting to find my way out. And I don’t even know why?

BTW I have a similar version of this dream almost every night.

Anyone care to interpret my dreams for me-?
if God was telling you something in your dream, you wouldn't have to have anyone interpret for you. You will have got His message loud and clear. Because you are not getting the message that way in your dream, I have strong doubts that it is anything other than just your normal dream pattern.
 
Upvote 0

GandalfTheWise

In search of lost causes and hopeless battles
May 27, 2012
357
535
Wisconsin
✟71,403.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I'd also mention on a separate topic that I've had about a half dozen dreams in my life that were clearly from God. On each occasion, I woke up from those dreams in the morning, had a strong sense that something was very very different about that dream, and then within a few hours of getting up, something major happened that day. What these dreams showed me was what my attitude or course of action needed to be.

In one case, I had a dream of being in a car accident in a blizzard and laying in the wreck with broken windows with snarling wolves trying to get at me. Each time I'd struggle and try to escape they'd start to almost get me. It was when I held still that they left me alone. I woke up with a strong sense that there was something about this. About an hour later, I got a phone call that I was being called in to our denomination's district office about some charges that had been made about me. I was there the next day, and as it was, my best course of action was to just sit still and keep my mouth shut. As it turned out, most everything disappeared on its own, and I'd have probably made things much worse if I'd proactively started defending myself. In large part, my response was due to this dream.

I've had a few like this. Again, thousands upon thousands typical ones, and a handful of spiritually significant ones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mayflower1
Upvote 0

Sabertooth

Repartee Animal: Quipping the Saints!
Supporter
Jul 25, 2005
10,491
7,061
62
Wisconsin
Visit site
✟952,659.00
Country
United States
Faith
Charismatic
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
To the OP, couldn't you still listen to the dreams, as you did before, and sit on them for a while, before offering an interpretation or declining to. (Your sense of discernment seems to be functional in hindsight.)

It seems to be the strategy of the enemy to overwhelm the scene with false prophecies in an effort to discourage you. (In the military, the enemy would sometimes jam our radar, using a similar strategy.)
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I appreciate and respect your attitude toward this. Stepping back to make sure we are prepared and doing things as God wants can be a good thing to do and at times I think not enough people do that.

If it's any help, there have been a few times I've been in situations where someone mentioned a dream to me that did seem to have spiritual significance. It was like the meaning immediately popped into my head. I'd preface it with a "well, I'm not sure, but could it be..." so as not to put pressure on them. Each of these times, the person paused, and then then revealed more details of the dream that they have left out that fit. Also, each time, it was something that was going on spiritually in their life that they were struggling with.

In one case, I was at a national campus ministers conference and got up for one of the early morning prayer meetings. This is has been over 30 years ago so my recollection is vague but this is as I recall it. One fellow (actually one of the main leaders in the denomination who had just recently been appointed to a major new position to pioneer a new type of training in campus ministry) mentioned he'd had a weird dream just as he was waking up to come to the prayer meeting but couldn't shake that there was something about it. I forget the details, but it involved something like people shooting guns at him where the bullets turned in Dobermans chasing him and barking at him. He jokingly asked if anyone could interpret for him. Everybody smiled and chuckled, but as he asked it popped into my head that God was simply encouraging him that there would be a lot of serious looking things around him in his new role that looked like attacks but weren't going to touch him. I mentioned this and got a few stares of the "he was only joking" variety from people. He paused, got serious, and mentioned that the dream took place on the campus he was going to be ministering at and that the dogs never actually did touch him. There was something going on that I forget now, but it seemed to be something that registered with him and encouraged him spiritually. As I recall, the next morning at the prayer meeting, he mentioned that he hadn't had a good nights sleep in quite awhile but that last night he had slept soundly through the night.

I've heard many many dreams described over the years, and mostly I shrug my shoulders at them. But there have been a couple times this happened where there was just a sense that there was something very different about it, that it meant something very specific, and it was simply that it made sense to me, and then without me knowing anything about it, it fit with something serious in their lives that they'd been dealing with and there were details they hadn't mentioned that then fit. At this point, I'm averaging perhaps one of those per decade or so.

There have been times where people have had dreams that mentioned them that deeply concerned or scared them and I felt a spiritual sense of needing to comfort them. That was basically centered around the theme that God's speaking into our lives is for our growth, health, and positive change; not to accuse us or cause deep negative feelings. What I said usually had nothing to do with the dream itself but rather the effect it was having on them and that God's work in our lives is for our good, not to paralyze us with fear or discouragement.

A few of the best lessons I learned from people over the years were 1. To not to force anything. If God is doing it, we'll probably know it. 2. To take the risk on myself. That's why I usually preface any type of message like that with a "I'm not sure, but does this mean anything to you?" or "This may sound strange, but I just have this sense that God wants me to tell you this. Now I might be wrong here..." If it is something God wants said, God's Spirit will confirm it to their heart as something they needed to hear. I've had times where it was clearly something they had been concerned about, had not told me (or at times anyone else), and it was something they needed to hear. I've had times where it didn't seem to be relevant to anything to them and I tried to make sure that they were free to drop it as my error. Perhaps it was my mistake, or perhaps it was something that maybe became something for them to ponder on. In either case, it was best from me to drop it and take the weight of any possible error on myself.

Frankly, I much prefer to operate in the realm of common sense, experience, good advice, and biblical counsel. I'm much more comfortable there. But there are times I just simply have a strong sense to step out in faith that something needs to be said to someone that doesn't seem related to much of anything that I'm aware of.

You just described better than I could the world I've been living in for over a year now, LoL. I will preface it by saying that I started to get overly confident at one point, and deviated from this general approach. Fell on my face a few times as well, LoL.

It is a means by which God can speak to believers very profoundly, this I am sure of. But a year's worth of experience now has taught me that trying to do it full time presents all sorts of problems, especially when Satan enters the picture. He will wear you OUT with dream overload for one thing, sending people more dreams than you can ever keep up with as an interpreter...

There just needs to be discernment, or it leads to carelessness, misinterpretation, and burn out.

Thanks for the helpful response, Gandalf. It was like reading, "This is your life," LoL.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Prayers that God will lead you how and when to use your gifts. It has definitely been an eye opener that some dreams can and do come from God.

Thank you, Lily! And thanks to everyone who responded. Blessings in Christ Jesus!
 
Upvote 0

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
To the OP, couldn't you still listen to the dreams, as you did before, and sit on them for a while, before offering an interpretation or declining to. (Your sense of discernment seems to be functional in hindsight.)

It seems to be the strategy of the enemy to overwhelm the scene with false prophecies in an effort to discourage you. (In the military, the enemy would sometimes jam our radar, using a similar strategy.)

Just noticing this post. Thanks for the advice. I suppose it would be possible, but for some reason in my spirit I sense like I need to be putting it aside completely for awhile. It is not without misgivings, however. I have one friend in particular that I would like to keep serving in this area, but yet I feel like it needs to be set aside regardless.

I'm thinking He will release it back to me at some point, and then I can return to it with a clean slate.

Blessings, and thanks again. I appreciate the response.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lotuspetal_uk
Upvote 0

GTW27

Junior Member
Aug 31, 2007
982
1,048
65
Western Pa
✟201,569.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Single
And now I will tell you the Truth, Hidden In Him. Dream interpretation is not a gift per say. It is a relationship. When you walk One with Him and He with you of course He knows the meaning of all things but does He share all things? When He says speak, should we not speak? And if He gives an interpretation, should we not give it? I have said on these boards before, that The Lord has given me eyes to see and ears to hear. And this, is not my doing, but His. When I read a dream it is easy to see weather it is from Him or not, but it must always be His will to speak or remain silent. And when He says speak the interpretation will always be correct for it is Him doing it. So it is the same, when preaching in The Spirit or in prophesy. It is all Him, to His Glory, and His Glory alone. So what is the key to all of this? Is it a 40 day fast? No, it is when we become the least, He will use us the most, when we become nothing, He will raise us up for His Glory.
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
And now I will tell you the Truth, Hidden In Him. Dream interpretation is not a gift per say.

I've had debates with another person who takes this same position, though he had a hard time defining for me what it is if it is not a gift. You at least are defining it as a relationship, although it sounds like you actually mean the product of a relationship rather than a relationship itself (which would be a strange position to take, but then that's just me).
When you walk One with Him and He with you of course He knows the meaning of all things but does He share all things? When He says speak, should we not speak? And if He gives an interpretation, should we not give it?

Yes, I agree.
When I read a dream it is easy to see weather it is from Him or not, but it must always be His will to speak or remain silent.

Well this is good. There are many that I have read yet refused to respond to myself, some because I knew they were demonic yet I didn't feel any leading to tell the person, so I just left it alone. So I know what you are talking about here, and have operated in it myself, though so much of the work I did was in private that there was more of a need to respond one way or the other. Though there were several times when I told people that I couldn't or didn't want to tell them what things meant there as well. As you say, it all depends on what the leading of God is.
And when He says speak the interpretation will always be correct for it is Him doing it. So it is the same, when preaching in The Spirit or in prophesy. It is all Him, to His Glory, and His Glory alone.

Well, I'm not on this forum very much anymore, so a back and forth might end up being a very slow conversation LoL. But I'd have to take issue here. Preaching can be in the Spirit and yet not every word be perfect interpretation and application of scripture. If every word had to be perfectly accurate interpretation of scripture to be in the Spirit, then NO ONE in my opinion could rightly be classified as "preaching in the Spirit" right now, but I don't define it that way. Dream interpretation is for me extremely close to scripture interpretation, and when it comes to personal dreams it often takes just as extensive a knowledge of someone's personal life to get something perfectly accurate as it does knowing the historical context of an NT passage as well as strict analysis of the Greek in the verses and passages in question, plus full understanding of an entire epistle in which those verses are found.

Prophecy is a different matter, so I can see how you are confusing the two. Prophecy is simply direct utterance, and involves no interpretation skills.

As for all Glory being His, I fully agree with that completely. :oldthumbsup:
So what is the key to all of this? Is it a 40 day fast? No, it is when we become the least, He will use us the most, when we become nothing, He will raise us up for His Glory.

Hmmm.. Fasts are specifically intended to bring about humility, so that it is more of Christ and less of the believer, so I'm not quite sure what your point was, but I appreciate the response anyway.

Blessings in Christ!
HiH
 
Upvote 0

JackRT

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Oct 17, 2015
15,722
16,445
80
small town Ontario, Canada
✟767,295.00
Country
Canada
Faith
Unorthodox
Marital Status
Married
I believe that dreams are entirely an artifact of our unconscious mind. Quite often they are very confused, puzzling and frequently confusing. In my entire life I can only remember two dreams that actually made any sense to my conscious life at all.
 
Upvote 0

Hidden In Him

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Jan 7, 2017
3,426
2,845
59
Lafayette, LA
✟544,986.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I believe that dreams are entirely an artifact of our unconscious mind. Quite often they are very confused, puzzling and frequently confusing. In my entire life I can only remember two dreams that actually made any sense to my conscious life at all.

No wonder your avatar looks the way it does. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: JackRT
Upvote 0

Lotuspetal_uk

Say 'CHEESE!!!!'
Jan 26, 2003
10,863
1,290
56
Good Ole' Blighty!
Visit site
✟86,783.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Private
Brother H,

Just wanted to offer my prayers and support to you - keep being led by the Lord. You've helped me immensely and I think it wise to take a step away for a while until the Lord prompts you to get back in the trenches.

Blessings to you
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums