How to Discern You are a Prophetic Dreamer
Are You a Prophetic Dreamer? What are the Signs?
Are you a prophetic dreamer? How do you know? What are the signs of prophetic dreaming? To tell the truth, the process of dream interpretation in prophetic dreaming (or any dreaming) is like trying to catch wind. If you are of the mind that it’s just science you’ll be largely disappointed and reach a lot of dead ends. Our dreams and visions are spirit led but we humans can be swayed as well. So if you have alighted on this blog because you are interested in all things dreams and dream interpretation, this blog is for you if you are interested in how to interpret by staying close to the Holy Spirit and your relationship with God.
Dream Interpretation Led By The Holy Spirit
When it comes to dream interpretation led by the Holy Spirit, there are so many stories in the bible about dreamers and God speaking through dreams and visions; Joseph in the Old Testament, St. Joseph (husband to Mary), Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar (who had a dreaming gift but not an interpretation gift), many of the apostles and more.
Nowhere in the bible to my knowledge does anyone explain how they know the dream was a message from the Lord. They just know. Why do they just know? Because they have a close relationship with God and know his voice. Knowing is funny that way. It doesn’t come with a manual. To know is to… know. However, you can know a dream is prophetic but not necessarily know what it means. Or you can have a gut sense that it’s a pretty important dream, but you don’t know it’s prophetic until you receive confirmation in the fleshy world.
One of the best examples of prophetic dreaming is the story of Joseph who dreamed his brothers would bow down to him one day. The dream did not show this literally (as dreams rarely do). His brothers appeared in the form of sheaves of wheat. But Joseph also had the gift of interpretation and understood the dream’s meaning.
An Example of a Prophetic Dream (for Someone Else)
I dreamed something that had absolutely nothing to do with me. And because of certain signals in the dream, I knew the dream was showing me something for someone else. After praying whether I should share the dream with the person that was closely connected, I felt released – in fact, directed – to share the dream.
I am watching something being played out before me. A person I know is on the ground far away involved in acts of sexual debauchery. It was loathsome and disgusting filled with adulterous implications. Suddenly, I look up and see that I am in a room where there is no ceiling. I can just see the wall go up and then bright beautiful heavenly golden light above. An Asian woman named Rae (for I was made to know that that was how she spelled her name) walked in the light along the top of the wall and looked down upon the person. Her heart pleaded, “Why are you doing this to me?” Rae made it known to me that this behavior must stop not only because it was hurting her, but because it was wrong and the person must stop this repugnant behavior and repent.
Read more articles on the topic of spirit led dream interpretation on this blog or The Dreamer on Substack by Fleur Alys Dobbins.
What are the Signs Your Dream is Prophetic?
- You are being shown something. The dream is happening before you as a sort of display, film or play. You are not actively in the dream. You are not an active participant. You are on the outside looking in. You are gathering and being given information.
- Specific information is being relayed to you. Names and spellings, messages, pictures, places. There is clarity and specificity in the information relayed. You wake up with a knowing that you are supposed to remember it.
- There are other-worldly aspects to the dream. In my dream there were two distinct levels. The earthly level where I was watching (and living) and the heavenly realm above where the golden light shown so beautifully. I was quite literally receiving a message from “above”.
- You wake up with intense impression of feeling, knowing, a stirring or a shaking, understanding or directive. The spirit has impressed upon you that this is more than symbol. This is a message. Note: dreams that are not prophetic can impress upon you great emotion, but not all dreams make you feel like you’ve been given a message or are being directed to share or do something.
- You just cannot forget this dream. The impact of the dream keeps nudging you. The Holy Spirit is asking you to be in conversation with God about the dream.
- The dream is super clear from beginning to end. Even if it’s a fairly short tale. There’s nothing but clarity. That isn’t to say you know what it means but you know for certain the storyline. There’s nothing fuzzy about it.
What to do When Your Dream is About Someone Else?
- When you have a prophetic dream about someone else, first discern it’s for someone else and not about you.
- After you have discerned you’ve had a prophetic dream about someone else (not yourself) with certainty, then discern that you are supposed to share the dream and get wisdom about when and with whom you should share. In a word: Pray. Just because you know it’s about someone else does not mean necessarily that it’s for them to hear. It may be that the Spirit is giving you insight into someone or something so that you will be warned. Or the spirit may be asking you to pray for that person and be a watcher for them. This is why you must be in prayer and obedience over such a gift of prophetic dreaming.
- Ward against pride. When you have been given the gift of prophetic dreaming, it’s very tempting to run and tell that someone right away when you know that you’ve been given information led by the spirit. But make sure through prayer that you are not acting out of pride by sharing the dream. Dreams work in layers. It could take time – a lot of time – for you to understand fully what it’s about and why it was given to you.
When Should You Share?
After prayer and discernment, You have to decide when you should share your prophetic dream. I made the decision to share this prophetic dream with a significant person that would be best to receive. After I did so, it was confirmed to me that the Asian woman in the dream was a real person in her life whose name was spelled R-a-e, who had passed away years before and had suffered in her marriage due to infidelity. The people in the dream were related and Rae was very important to the person with whom I shared the dream. This confirmed for me that the dream was not for me but given through me as a message. In fact, a warning that the actions perpetrated on the worldly level must stop; the message given by a dead relative. Whether the dream ever arrived in the ear of the central figure was not for me to know or to push. I had delivered that message where I was told. Anything more than that would be an act of pride and control. In fact, oftentimes when you have a prophetic dream there will be elements that only the person of interest will understand and be able to interpret.
If you are in doubt, keep praying. If you have doubts then you should pause, wait and pray. Discern whether your doubt is because you’ve not been given clear “go ahead” or if your doubt is fear that you will receive reprisal. If you are confident that you’ve been given God’s directive to share then you must be obedient. Always share with grace and humility. Stick to the story of the dream. Share the facts. Share the feelings. Don’t interpret unless you’ve been given that gift and directive. For the. most part, leave that to the recipient. For example, you can share that the dream felt “urgent” or felt as if you were being “warned” of something. If it’s true, they’ll understand whatever they need to understand when they need to understand it.
Remember God goes before… sometimes a long time before. He is always on time. So you don’t need to force understanding or timing. Be the dutiful messenger. Do whatever He tells you.
Whatever you do. Do it with love.
For we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, the powers, and the cosmic rulers of this present darkness, and against the spirits of evil in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12) and: Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
This is where you must pray. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of wisdom and good fruit and will never ask you to do anything against the Word of God.
“Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)
The Way of Love, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
Thank you so much for reading this article about prophetic dreaming. If you would like to read more on this topic head over to The Dreamer on Substack by Fleur Alys Dobbins where you can subscribe to more articles like this!
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