“We Have Dreamed a Dream…”

I have dreamed a dream. In my dream, I was dressed in white, holding a bouquet of flowers. You were holding my hands, and we were both walking to the altar.

When I woke up, I knew we were meant to be together. Well, as artificial and fairytale-like as that may sound, that is the reality for some folks.

And they will try to impose that on everyone, as if it must be breathed in by all. Let me share another experience. Years back, someone claimed to have had a dream about me, so to speak.

But truly, it wasn’t about me. In his dream, he told me I would not lead a successful Christian life while a student at a particular school and insisted that his dreams always come true, so I should go see his man of God.

I told him plainly, “I don’t honor and your dream.” Oh, he was furious and said all sorts of things. But who is he that speaks, and it comes to pass when the Lord commandeth it not? (Lamentations 3:37).

By the grace of God, I not only led a successful Christian life while a student at that school, but I also helped win a few people to Jesus. Glory to God.

Some dreams are false, some dreamers try to fill us with terror. But the counsel of God, that shall stand!

Let me tell you something very quickly: I didn’t reject his dream because it was negative. I rejected it because I knew it was false. That distinction is important.

What if someone brings a negative revelation that is genuine? Do you act ignorantly and arrogantly? No. If you do that, you may hurt yourself.

Knowledge, real, sound knowledge of God’s Word, is essential, dear reader. We must understand that some revelations, whether through visions, dreams, or a direct word, are conditional.

In fact, you’ll find this pattern often in the prophets of old and in the New Testament. For instance, the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah and said, “Set your house in order, for you shall surely die.”

That was a conditional revelation. Meaning: based on the current circumstances, if things continued as they were, he would die. It was negative, but true. And importantly, it was conditional.

What did Hezekiah do? He didn’t turn to the prophet. He turned to the Lord who sent the prophet, and changed the circumstances. He didn’t have to pray for long.

A short and sincere prayer, my friend, brings powerful results. Jeremiah the prophet told the people, “If you continue in your ways, you shall be taken captive.” It was a negative word, yes, but it was true and conditional.

The warning was based on their current behavior and spiritual posture. If they repented, the outcome could change. Likewise, Jonah declared, “Forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”

It would be sheer arrogance to ignore that message simply because it sounded negative or uncomfortable. But again, it was conditional.

The warning meant that if things continued as they were, the city would be overthrown. These examples show us that not every negative revelation is final. Some are invitations to respond, to repent, to realign. The danger is not in receiving a hard word; the danger is in rejecting it without sound judgment of God’s word. We must be spiritually mature enough to recognize when a revelation is conditional and humble enough to seek the Lord for clarity and response.

In the New Testament, Agabus brought a true but conditional word of wisdom to Paul and said, “Thus saith the Holy Ghost, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle” (Acts 21:11).

This meant that if Paul chose to go to Jerusalem as he planned, he would be bound. It was a conditional revelation. That’s why the brethren pleaded with him not to go. Paul chose to go anyway.

This was not a dream; it was a direct prophetic demonstration. So yes, the Lord may send messengers to us with conditional revelation, like Agabus to Paul, Jonah to the Ninevites, and Isaiah to King Hezekiah.

I have some experience along these lines, too. A beloved sister (God bless her) saw specific things about me in a dream and reached out.

What she saw was accurate. It wasn’t all too good, but I knew I could change the circumstances. And glory to God, things changed for the better.

In another situation, I was traveling with a group for a meeting when a sister told me our journey might be in danger based on a dream she had.

Well, the dream didn’t say “cancel your trip”; it simply warned of potential danger. So I told her, “We will stand on the promises of God and claim protection for all,” just like Paul did on his voyage to Rome. Oh, the name of the Lord, for it is a strong tower.

The righteous run into it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). And we returned safely and well. Glory to God.

No matter the method the Lord chooses to speak, whether through dreams, direct revelation, or even prophetic demonstration, we can stand on the Word of God and change the circumstances through fervent, effective prayer.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16). It avails much, very much, my friend. When revelation comes, we do not panic; we pray.

We do not surrender to fear; we stand on the promises of Christ. For the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

Let me wind back to the subject of dreams. I wrote in the previous two articles that God is a source and a revealer of some dreams, not all.

For instance, “God appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and said, Ask what I shall give thee…And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream (1 Kings 3:5,15).

This passage beautifully illustrates how God can speak through dreams with clarity and purpose.

But not all dreams come from God. Some are influenced by the weight of our daily concerns.

These are the dreams that rise, not from divine revelation, nor from Satan (I’m not excusing him, anyway)—but from the residue of our routines, our worries, longings, and unresolved thoughts.

As it is written, “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business…” (Ecclesiastes 5:3). In other words, the busyness of life can echo into the night, shaping dreams that reflect our mental clutter rather than spiritual insight.

These sorts of dreams echo the noise of our inner world, often tangled with emotion and memory.

Even as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite (Isaiah 29:8).

Do you know there are those who say that every dream in which you see yourself eating or drinking means you are eating and drinking damnation?

Have you heard some claim that every dream where you eat flesh is a sign of initiation? Without downplaying these realities, as I intend to discuss dreams influenced by demons and deceptive spirits, we must also understand that not every dream is a message.

Some are mirrors of our inner noise, and others may be snares. But the Word of God remains the standard.

We must be careful not to elevate every dream to the level of prophecy, nor should we allow fear or superstition to shape our theology.

Knowledge of God's Word is key. We must test the spirits, weigh the content, and ask: Does this align with the character of God and the truth of His Word?

I will discuss dreams influenced by demons and deceptive spirits in a future article.