How often do you connect dream interpretation with worship? Many of us don't put those two things together very often, yet Scripture reveals their intriguing connection.
In Judges 6 and 7, Gideon is dealing with fear and insecurity. He isn't sure if he can accomplish what God has asked him to do. God gives him sign after sign to reassure him, but Gideon is still uncertain.
Finally God tells him to go down to the enemy's camp. When Gideon gets there, he overhears a Midianite soldier talking about his dream. The person listening knows the meaning of the dream—that God will use Gideon to destroy the camp of Midian.
Worship explodes in Gideon's heart, and he returns to his own army and initiates an insane strategy for battle that actually works. God is with him, and He uses a dream to confirm it.
Judges 7:15 says, "When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped..."
Nebuchadnezzar's Story
Another biblical dream interpretation also leads to worship. Nebuchadnezzar is the Babylonian king who conquered Judah and took Daniel and many others captive. One night the king has a dream that reveals the impending judgment coming on his life.
Daniel interprets the dream, and after the dream comes to pass, Nebuchadnezzar issues a proclamation to his whole empire (which was most of the known world at the time): "I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:2-3).
The interpretation of his dream facilitates a spiritual shift in the king's life, and he worships the one true God. That is the potential of dream interpretation—to inspire the dreamer and the people around them to worship.
When We Realize God Is Speaking
A few years ago, while teaching a seminar on dream interpretation, I interpreted a dream for a young man in the audience. As I gave the interpretation, the Spirit of God hit him powerfully. He was thrown to the ground, along with a couple of people around him, and the presence of God became so thick I couldn't continue teaching. We all sat in silence (or tears) and worshiped. I found out later the dream came to pass; this young man started pastoring a church and seeing fruit for the kingdom of God.
Another time, I interpreted a dream and shared prophetic words with a young woman at a pagan festival, and through that encounter she invited Jesus into her life. Over the next year, she continued to be discipled and joined a church, fully committing her life to God. She is following Him still.
A dream interpretation can lead to worship! When people realize the God of the universe has spoken to them and is leading them, something happens in their hearts. They stop seeing God as the One who is against them and realize He is actually inviting them into a relationship with Him. They recognize He is moving in their lives and cares for them. They see His power to bring about His plans, and faith begins to rise inside them. Their hearts open toward Him, and in many cases, they begin to pursue the very One who has been chasing them down.
What Is Your Story?
How has dream interpretation affected your life? Have you ever told anyone?
Your story could release worship in other people's hearts. If nothing else, it will start a great conversation about the God who speaks and is calling those who receive Him to become His children (John 1:12).
John E. Thomas is the president of Streams Ministries and the co-author of The Art of Praying the Scriptures: A Fresh Look at Lectio Divina with John Paul Jackson. Teaching on prophetic ministry, dream interpretation and the Kingdom of God, he travels internationally and works to help restore the awe of God to a world that has lost its wonder. John and his wife, Dawna, live outside of Dallas, Texas.
To learn more about dreams and dream interpretation, check out Dream Foundations as well as other resources from John E. Thomas and John Paul Jackson at streamsministries.com.
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