Dreams: GOD'S Forgotten Language?

Today's Daily Encounter
Dreams: God's Forgotten Language? Part II

"Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions."1

Dreams not only give valuable personal insights but
also have given many creative insights. Some
inventors, for example, have received profound ideas
from dreams. I recall reading how the inventor, Elias
Howe, designed the first sewing machine. He was having
great difficulty in conceiving a workable needle. When
he was close to running out of money, he had an
unusual dream. He dreamt that he was about to be
executed because he failed to design a sewing machine
for the king of a strange country.

In his dream he was surrounded by guards, all of whom
held spears that had been pierced with holes near the
tip. Howe woke up and immediately rushed to his
workshop. The perfect concept for the sewing machine
needle came to him in this dream. Within a few hours
the first sewing machine was well on the way to being
designed.

I have heard it said that the theory of relativity
came to Einstein in either a dream or a vision.
Apparently he saw it on a beam of light. I have also
read that the design for the first radio tube came to
the inventor in a dream.

Was it time for these discoveries to come into the
world and did God give them to the persons who were
trained to understand them and put them to use? Or did
they just happen by chance? I prefer to think the
former.

So whatever we think about dreams, as we said
yesterday, they are a God-given gift in that he gave
us the ability to dream. Whether we repress them as
many do, ignore them as most do, or use them for
creative purposes as some do is entirely up to each
individual.

To remember dreams it can be very helpful to keep a
pen and pad at your bedside and record any dream that
makes a strong impression on your mind. Speaking
personally, dreams have given me many valuable
insights for growth and recovery.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, whenever I have a dream
that is meant to help me grow, resolve an issue, do a
good deed, help someone in need, or gain a valuable
insight, please help me to interpret it correctly and
use it for the purpose for which it was given. Thank
you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in
Jesus' name, amen."

1. Joel 2:28.

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For many articles on God, Faith, Relationships, Success, Solutions and Recovery go to http://www.actsweb.org/articles.

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Copyright (c) 2010 by ACTS International.

When copying or forwarding include the following:
"Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2010
ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter
Dreams: GOD'S Forgotten Language? Part I

"I have received full payment and even more; I am
amply supplied."1

Dreams. Do they have meaning and purpose? Does God
still speak to people through them?

Technically speaking, dreams are the right or creative
side of the brain communicating to the left or logical
side of the brain. They are often visual symbols
representing what we are feeling deep inside. Clinical
tests have shown that we all dream every night even if
we don't remember what we have dreamed.

Dreaming is one of nature's ways to relieve tension.
In one test, sleepers were monitored with electronic
equipment to show when they were dreaming. As soon as
they started to dream, they were awakened and the
dream stopped. The test had to be discontinued after
several nights as the people in the test were becoming
too emotionally distressed.

Some dreams can be caused by an emotional upset;
others by stress or physical pain. For several days,
following an operation on my Achilles tendon, which I
snapped twice in three months, I kept dreaming over
and over that I was falling and snapping my tendon.
These were more like nightmares!

At other times dreams can be very insightful. For
instance, some dreams have clearly shown me conflicts
from childhood that I needed to resolve.

When we have repeated dreams on a theme--such as when
we are trying to run from something but can't move, or
when we are being chased but can't get away, or falling
and can't catch ourselves--it may indicate an
unresolved fear or conflict from the past. It's
nature's way of notifying us that we need to resolve
some long forgotten memory.

But does God ever speak to us today through dreams as
he did in Bible times to the patriarchs and prophets?

At times I think God still uses dreams to communicate
to us. On one occasion when my organization (ACTS
International) was facing a severe financial crisis, I
was feeling very afraid and discouraged, and fell
asleep during my morning devotional time when I had a
fascinating dream. In the dream I heard a voice that
said very clearly, "Philippians 4:18 makes sense to
me."

Immediately I woke up, opened my Bible to that passage
and read the following: "I have received full payment
and even more; I am amply supplied!" I had never
memorized that scripture verse so it didn't come from
my memory bank! That certainly encouraged me and, by
way of interest, we did survive that crisis.

Some dreams may be from God. Most aren't. However, the
ability to dream is. And we have been given them for a
purpose--at least to relieve stress and to gain
insights for personal and spiritual growth. The
difficulty can be in interpreting them correctly.
However, through prayer and practice we can learn to
do this and use these dreams creatively.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the
God-given ability to dream. Help me to recognize when
my dreams are telling me that I have an issue that
needs to be resolved, or a responsibility I need to
take care of, and then lead me to the help I need to
do this. Thank you for hearing and answering my
prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

To be continued. . .

1. Philippians 4:18.

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* * * * * * *

For many articles on God, Faith, Relationships, Success, Solutions and Recovery go to http://www.actsweb.org/articles.

* * * * * * *
Copyright (c) 2010 by ACTS International.

When copying or forwarding include the following:
"Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2010
ACTS International.