Dreams

I have been listening to the New Testament on CD as I drive to and from appointments around town (upon the recommendation of Ed Dobson). As I listened to the entire book of Matthew on a trip to and from the airport a couple of weeks ago, I noticed how often Matthew records that God spoke to people through dreams. Even Christmas would have been different had God not spoken to Joseph about the true Father of Jesus in a dream, or if the "wise men" had not been warned to head a different direction in a dream.

However, I have been in dozens of conversations over the years with individuals who are interested in hearing from God or who believe they have heard from God, but I can count on one hand the number of time someone told me that God spoke to them in a dream.

Why?

Certainly God still speaks through dreams. When the Holy Spirit first came at Pentecost Peter quoted a passage from Amos that indicated that in the present age "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Dreams should be a normal way to hear from God for those filled with the Spirit.

Yet I can't recall a single dream from God.

Perhaps we have lost the art of paying attention to dreams. Perhaps we haven't disciplined ourselves to record the contents of our dreams after they happen. But if we truly desire to hear from God, and wish for Him to speak to us, perhaps we should pay more attention to our dreams.