Practical Guide to Hear God More Through Dreams

Do you have dreams? When do they seem to come? How often do they come? Are there seasons when you dream more and when you dream less? Is it just random  when you are dreaming more frequently? Is there anything that you can do to have more dreams? Does God speak through your dreams?During this Christmas season, I have been reminded of how crucial dreams can be. Imagine if Joseph hadn't had a dream that he shouldn't divorce Mary. He would have left her, and Jesus would have been without an adopted father. If the wise men hadn't had a dream warning them not to go back to Herod, their lives could have been in danger.Dreams can give us crucial instruction and revelation that can alter the course of our lives.As a leader, I often have dreams that help me make crucial decisions. One of my inherent blind spots as a leader is that I can tolerate bad performance for the sake of relationship. I had one particular staff member who was constantly causing conflict and underperforming in his job. But our whole team and organization was relationally tied to him so closely that I didn't know how to end his employment.Then I sensed in prayer that I was to fire him. I talked to other people, and they told me the same thing. But I didn't act. Internally, I was afraid. Then I had a dream in which he was working for another organization, and I knew that he was doing well. I woke up with peace, knowing that God would take care of him even if he didn't work with me anymore. As I was preparing to fire him, I found another person to take his place who has by far been my most productive staff member.When I reflect on these types of moments, I often think "Can't I dream more?" Dreams are funny for me. They often come in waves. I have weeks where I dream every night. And there are weeks where I can't remember any of my dreams. Ultimately, it is a process that I can't control.But dreams are a gift. And Jesus said that to the person who is faithful, more will be given. I have experienced that when I am faithful with my dreams, I am given more. There are several practical things that you can do to see an increase in God speaking to you through dreams:

1. Before you go to bed, have a conversation with God. Don't just pray about your day, i.e. don't just talk. Engage in prayer in which you are trying to hear what he has to say. The purpose of this exercise is to tune your ears to His voice.
2. Ask Him a question before you go to bed that you want Him to answer in a dream. I was at a conference about an area of my work that I sensed was crucial for the next season. I asked God for a dream so that he would show me my role in this area. I was shocked at the dream I saw, as it was vastly different than the role I had imagined for myself. This dream case as a result of a question before I went to bed.
3. Write down your dreams. This one may seem obvious. But it's a discipline that is often overlooked. You have to write down your dreams. Daniel, who didn't have modern day pencils or smart phones, wrote down his dreams. I personally use Evernote to write down my dreams. I like to sit up (if I lie down while writing it down, I often don't finish writing before I fall back to sleep). I am a fast typer, so I type with my thumbs on my phone. I used to write in a journal, but I didn't like having to pull out a flashlight.
4. Interpret your dreams later that day during your prayer time. Spend some time with your dreams interpreting them. I am not going to go into detail about how to interpret your dreams here, but you can use some of the principles from this article about interpreting pictures. Give yourself a time limit on interpretation. Get as much as you can from the dream in the time that you have. I write down my interpretations in Evernote in bold and then put a note in the title of the dream that it has been interpreted.
5. Come up with specific applications for what to do - If the wise men had pondered their dream and then still gone back to Herod, their dream would have been of no use. We have to ask God for wisdom for specific "to-do's" from our dreams. Make a plan of how you will implement your plan. This could be praying for somebody, changing direction in your work or ministry, calling somebody and asking them how they are doing, or waiting on God for further instruction.
6. Come back to your dreams at the end of the month - I like to go back and review my dreams, because sometimes things aren't clear when I initially have the dream. This process of regular review (you can put it in your calendar) will give you deeper insight into your dreams.

Dreams can be tremendously powerful. My prayer as I write this is that during this holiday season, you will see a significant increase in dreams, and that God will help you see many things about the next season He is taking you into.