This is the Truth Network. Encouraging prayer. God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.
And now, here's James.
So today we're asking an interesting question on encouraging prayer. What do you do with dreams? I mean, it's a great topic because the Bible addresses it more than we sometimes think, James. Yeah. Yeah, it really does, Robbie.
God uses dreams again and again in Scripture. You see it very frequently, especially in the. In the new test or in the old testament, think about Jacob's dream about the stairway to heaven, where he says, The Lord was in this place and I didn't know it. Pharaoh's dream that Joseph interpreted. Or, you know, what about Nebuchadnezzar's dreams that Daniel interpreted, or Joseph being worn in a dream to be To flee to Egypt, right?
So you do see God using dreams over and over again. Yeah, it is a thing in Scripture. And so it's good to kind of take a look at that. You also see warnings. You know, you you see um Jeremiah talks about false prophets and dreams in chapter 23, where the prophets are lying, saying they had dreams from God, where they're enthusiastically claiming, I had a dream, I had a dream.
So the question is. How do you know if a dream is from God? After all, just because you had a dream and remember it, you know, doesn't mean that it's from the spirit.
So the best place to start to discern that, I think, is through God's Word. Does it contradict with Scripture in any way? Does it seem to encourage you to do anything that would be disobedient to God and His revealed word? And you know, it all of this should happen secondly. in a context of prayer.
You know, I'd encourage you to pray because as You know, Scripture points out God is the one who gives the meaning. of dreams.
So be careful here. Make sure that you're not being deceived. Thirdly, seek the counsel of mature believers because I think that's another great checks and balances. Yeah, I it You know, the beauty of Jesus, he's a wonderful counselor, right? When we don't go to him, or I don't go to him as often, and you find yourself in a situation where a lot of times, because people see you as spiritual, they want to tell you about their dreams and they expect you to interpret them like they think you're Joseph.
Right, right. You know, it's. Go ahead. And you know, usually, I think it's not the case where God is, you know, giving us a dream, but sometimes. He does.
Sometimes he does. And I I had an instance uh just the other day that I really believe was was of God. It was right before I had my annual physical. And I had a dream about my physician the night before. And I you know, I don't usually have dreams about him, but in this dream, Uh he looked great.
And I know that he and I are the same age. And I asked him in the dream, well, how old are you? And he told me a number that was 10 years younger. And I thought, well, that's wait a minute.
Well wh what's going on here? I mean, he's ten years younger, huh? What's he doing?
So I go in for the physical and we're talking and then I remember the dream and he's a good friend. And um Uh you know, I uh The the interesting thing was when he walked in He looked good. He looked good. And, you know, I I could tell uh Compared to, you know, there have been other times where he looked tired, or maybe he wasn't taking the care of himself that he should. Um you know, and Yeah.
I told him, well, you know, um This may sound a little funny, but I had a dream about you last night. And uh you know I told him about it. And I said, I could be wrong, but I think God really wants me to encourage you. To keep on doing what you're doing. Because what he told me was, yeah, I've been working on it.
You know, I've been. I've been, you know, trying to take better care of myself. And um Kind of a an interesting conversation to have when you know it's my checkup I guess but physician he's a great guy he's he's a mature believer and You know, I I I really thought Yeah, this this is a God moment. Yeah, it's spectacular. You know, there are those opportunities that we all have.
Again, people see us as spiritual, and it's not. Infrequent at all that people come to me with some kind of dream. And, you know, we always have that opportunity to pray because there's the idea, right? That he can help us interpret what it is that's in front of us because it's rarely the same situation twice, right? Right.
I had a good friend the other day tell me about a dream that he had in which he. He had sinned. And it scared him. And it was like, man, I don't want to go there.
So he w he he was literally being warned. in the dream about it. And you could tell he, you know, this this had meaning to him. from God. And so, again, this is something we need to be sensitive to.
I think it's a good thing to pray before we go to sleep. Lord, if you have anything to say to me. You know, that I'm not listening to during the day. I'm open, you know. And, you know, just go with it and.
Pray about it, search his word, ask good counsel. And Yeah, you never know. You never know. I mean, what does Scripture say, both in Joel and in Acts? you know, that, uh, Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams. I guess this means I'm an old man now. Yeah, there's a verse in the 119th Psalm that says, I remembered thy name in the night, O Lord, and kept your word. And that scripture I think about often as I go to sleep: that Lord, help me. even in my dreams to turn to you.
In prayer. Like, it's a neat thing. And a couple of times he's graced me to be able to do that. And It's such an amazing opportunity we have to commune with God, even in that place that seems so mysterious. Yeah.
Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Well, this might be a good time to do that very thing, Doc.
Well, jump in.
So, Lord, I thank you for James, and I thank you for the wisdom that you gave him in that moment. To encourage that doctor, but also the prayer that was involved in that, Lord, the opportunity to see these moments that we can commune with you, Lord. We pray that you would help us to remember, almost like a check engine light flashing, all of a sudden this dream topic comes up. Whoa, I need to get the counselor to help me interpret what I need to do in this situation. Anytime we can turn to you, Lord, help us to see that.
Help us to. Turn to you and enjoy. These moments that you have in special things like dreams. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
