I recently met a young woman who asked me about the role of dreams in our lives. “What types of dreams?” I inquired. She explained that she had been having the same dream for several days and wanted to know if it meant anything.
To be honest, I was caught off guard. In the back of my mind, I wanted to say that it meant nothing, as there is a scientific explanation for such things. But then I realized that the Scriptures are full of dreams; in fact, God’s purposes were often delivered through them. Many major biblical figures experienced God this way, most notably Joseph the dreamer. In the New Testament, Paul and Joseph, the father of Jesus, are among those who discovered God’s will through dreams. Dreams were a fundamental part of the biblical worldview.
What appeared to be a simple question ended up being a complex one. How should I help this young woman? Should I tell her the dream meant nothing? I will leave what I actually said to her for you to ponder.
However, I would like to explore how we perceive dreams in our modern world. Today, the established paradigm is that to dream is to envision something—Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is an example, as it was a projection of a multi-racial, democratic America. This is the Western perception of dreaming: envisioning something greater. Yet the biblical world viewed it differently. In that context, dreams were modes through which humanity communed with the divine and understood what God called them to do.
We have tried to rationalize this worldview, but the reality remains that dreams were part of human engagement with the God of the Bible. This perspective is still shared by many today; in various societies, dreams remain critical to understanding the world.
This week, I invite you to reflect on dreams in Scripture and how they may inform your own spirituality. Think of the prophets and other biblical characters whose lives were transformed by dreams.
Please ask yourself– has God ever used the silence of my sleep to speak to my soul? In what ways might God be employing the language of dreams to reveal my life purposes? It is tempting to always dismiss the shadows of the night. Yet even in our dreams, I still believe, God still speaks.
From the E-Crier of September 17, 2026. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter.