3. My Dream Qualifications
This book is not merely an academic exercise. I’m a dreamer of dreams and dream interpretation is part of my prophetic calling. I’ve never knowingly had an open vision nor have I ever received a long visionary oracle like Isaiah and Jeremiah.
But I’ve had plenty of dreams like Abraham, Abimelek, Joseph, Jacob, Laban, Pharaoh, Balaam, the Midianite soldier, Samuel, Nathan, Solomon, Eliphaz, Job, Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, Zechariah, St Joseph, the Magi and Pilate’s wife.
A few years ago God put it into my heart to write a book about all the dreams in the Bible in order to give a better understanding of what dreams from God actually look like.
He also confirmed this in a dream.
I thought this was a wonderful idea. After all, the Bible is God’s Gold Standard for everything spiritual. One scripture has become a touchstone for me in this assignment. This is Paul’s words at the beginning of Ephesians,
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you
may know him better. I pray that the eyes of
your heart may be enlightened in order that
you may know the hope to which he has
called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in his holy people, and his
incomparably great power for us who
believe. [1]
Here, Paul is referring to us receiving revelation and wisdom that leads to us knowing God better and also knowing God's plans and purpose for His Church and our lives better. Paul is also praying for a growth in our understanding that we inheritors of God’s blessings and power. This reminds us of Jesus saying,
You are my friends if you do what I
command. I no longer call you servants, because a
servant does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I
have made known to you. [2]
I believe a study of God’s true dreams and how He uses them helps release the spirit of wisdom and revelation that Paul speaks about.
Dreams are a main way we get to know God better and a main way we come to understand our Father’s business; how He conducts it and how we can become involved.
I’ve been dreaming and remembering dreams all of my life. My widowed mother, Mary, was a big dreamer. My childhood morning conversations were often peppered with her comments like, I had the strangest dream last night or I had a really through-other dream last night.
She’d then mention names of people and places and speak of events that took place in her dreams. I’d listen but I hadn’t a clue what her dreams meant.
Nor could I understand my own regular dreams though I can still remember childhood dreams about the end of the world in full living technicolor.
When I was twenty-eight I came to faith in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Soon afterwards I started attending a local Baptist Church and began reading the Bible. A couple of years later I was baptised in the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues and prophesying. I also started to flow in other gifts of the Holy Spirit. Goodbye Baptist Church.
Dreams continued to flow as usual but now with the benefit of the Bible I slowly began to understand how to interpret them.
I’ve never taken a dream interpretation course and my access to Christian dream books was very limited in those days. The few Christian dream books I did come across were overly influenced by the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
I think dream interpretation is a gift from God. Maybe it’s an offshoot of the gift of interpreting tongues or the word of wisdom. I’m a seer and when I prophesy I’m usually interpreting inner visions that I’m seeing at the time. I do much the same thing with dreams.
My gifting in this area has grown as I have continued to study the Bible and have pressed into knowing God better.
Over time I have prophetically ministered in over seventy nations regularly being accompanied by my wife. I’m seventy years old as I write this sentence and I’ve been in full time ministry for over thirty years.
Over those years I’ve interpreted lots of dreams. I’ve never charged for a dream interpretation and I’ve never gone out of my way to ask people to send me dreams.
Dream interpretation like any interaction with the unseen realm can be a tiring experience. I try to limit my dream interpretation to family and friends and to those God gives me dreams for and tells me to speak to. Otherwise I’d be swamped by dream interpretation.
The same thing goes for prophecy and writing. I only try do what God tells me to do. Good enough for Jesus, good enough for me.
I’ve had plenty of experience of personal dreams that have come true. For example, I had a dream before the 1987 Stock Market Crash, the biggest one-day crash in history. That dream warned us to get out of the Stock Market and it saved our clients’ monies.
I’ve also had dreams about how many children we should have. We ended up having fourteen children, all who at least have one degree from a leading UK University. I’ve also seen some my future grandchildren in dreams.
I’ve also dreamed the specific geographical locations of where we should live. Once I disregarded a dream that warned us not to go and live in a certain house. I suffered daily for nine months until I repented and went to the home God had originally planned for us.
Like Jesus, I too have learned obedience through the things I have suffered As Samuel said, to obey is better than sacrifice.
I’ve sometimes dreamed of which nations to travel to and minister in. I’ve also dreamed of who to travel with in ministry. I’ve also dreamed of people I would meet on the mission field.
I’ve been told what books to write and what books not to write in dreams. I’ve been told in dreams how to pray for my wife when she was suffering from fourth stage colon cancer.
I’ve had dreams that directed Christians to go into politics and dreams that informed politicians of promotions. One even became the Prime Minister of a nation. I’ve had lots of dreams concerning my wife and children and our personal circumstances.
I’ve had dreams that empowered barren women to have children. I’ve also been warned about pending demonic attacks in dreams. Often I’ve been greatly encouraged by specific instructions and affirmations.
My wife Angela says I should write a book about all the dreams God has given me but I remind her talking about one’s personal dreams is a lot like speaking about your hospital operation. That which is important and vital to you can be very boring for the listener.
I’m only mentioning a few of my dreams in order to show that dreams have been a very important part of the Holy Spirit gift-mix God has given me. I appreciate and I take dreams and dreamers very seriously.
I believe the main reason for writing this book is that we should really get to know God better and get to know what God’s true dreams really look like. Then we can better do God’s will.
I also believe there will be an acceleration in our understanding of the importance of God’s dreams in the coming years. Great darkness is covering the earth through the increasing prying technology of power elites antagonistic to the Gospel. But thankfully God is always doing a new thing.[3]
I believe God is presently helping us mature into a better understanding and appreciation of His dreams.
After all God made sure only His dreams were recorded in the Bible. He did that with purpose. God’s dreams are sent for two main purposes,
1. Knowing and loving Jesus better and
2. Hearing His voice in order to do His will.
Paul highlights this first purpose when he writes,
What is more, I consider everything a loss
because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose
sake I have lost all things. I consider them
garbage, that I may gain Christ.[4]
The second purpose is mentioned by Jesus who said, If you love me you will obey what I command.[5] My motto is, Hear God’s Voice! Do God’s Will!
1 Ephesians 1:17-19
2 John 15:14-15
3 Isaiah 43:19
4 Philippians 3:8
5 2 John 14:15
