Dreams in your sleep are nowhere near as common as closed, inner visions are, but every once in a while God can give you a dream direct from Himself. So how do you know when you are receiving a dream direct from God, since psychologists have told us that everyone dreams every single night when they are sleeping?
I do not consider myself an expert on dreams. But there are several men in the body who are considered somewhat experts in this area. James Goll has written a very good book on dreams. I personally have only had about 10 dreams from the Lord over a 20 year period.
But what I can give you is what God does to me personally so I know that the dream is really coming in from Him. The first thing God will do with me when He is giving me a dream from Him is the actual timing of it.
I always get these God-dreams close to when I am getting ready to wake up. The reason He does this with me is so the dream is basically right in my face right as I am starting to come out of that deep sleep. The second tell I will get so I know that the dream is coming in from the Lord, is that the dream will not fade away from me once I wake up. If you will notice, on most of the dreams you will have during the night, you will either have no memory of any of these dreams when you wake up, or if by chance you do remember one of them as you wake up, that dream will then fade away from you within the first hours.
But if the dream is coming in direct from the Holy Spirit, then the dream will not fade away on you. It will stay with you for days, if not forever. If you wake up with a very strong, vivid dream being right in your face and you think it may be from the Lord, what I would do is grab a piece of paper and pen and write down what the dream was all about and if need be, draw actual pictures of what you saw in the dream.
Sometimes these dreams will need some kind of interpretation and you will need to carefully examine the dream to see exactly what God is trying to convey to you. If God gave some of His people dreams back in the OT and NT, and we now have the above verse from Joel where God is telling us that once the Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh, that dreams from the Lord will become quite common, then you know this is one of the supernatural ways that the Lord will want to use with some of us from time to time.
So again, do not be afraid if you ever receive what you think may be a dream from the Lord. If God is giving you a dream direct from Himself, then there will be a personal message in there for you. Your job will be to get it down on paper and carefully examine and analyze it for what that personal message may be.
As I said above, there are some men in the Body who are very good in this area. Some of them have written books on dreams and what certain things may mean in the dream. I have never delved that deeply in this area, so I do not have the knowledge or expertise to tell you what every little thing in the dream may mean or represent.
For the most part with myself, most of the dreams I have had from the Lord have all been very straight forward. God was either giving me a heads up on what was getting ready to come my way, or He was giving me a dream to help me solve a particular problem or issue I was dealing with at the time. The third way God can communicate directly to you coming from the above verse from Joel is by prophecy.
The gift of prophecy is when you receive a direct word from the Lord. And when I say a direct word, I mean a direct word. Every word that you receive in the prophecy will be direct words from the Lord. Since I have already talked about this gift at length in the above article, I will not go any further with it under this caption.
If you would like to see a good, detailed explanation on what this gift is all about and how God can use it with you,it is our part 3 of our series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit called, The Gift of Prophecy. This will be our explanation of what this gift is all about. When you really study each of the 8 ways that the Holy Spirit will use to communicate to us in this life, every single one of these ways is a supernatural type of communication.
To think that we are able to receive the Holy Spirit in our human spirits at the moment of our conversions to Jesus — and then to add this kind of icing to the entire cake where the Holy Spirit can literally supernaturally communicate to all of us in these different ways — it just does not get any better than this! Again, I know some pastors are afraid to open up this supernatural realm to their flocks, but when God the Father puts these kinds of specific verses in the Bible, then I can only come to the conclusion that God wants all of us to learn how to do this with the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is going to be our personal Guide and Teacher in this life, then not only can He teach us everything we will need to know in this life so we can fully complete our divine destiny in the Lord, but He can also teach us how to hear directly from Himself in these different ways as well.
What I have found in this realm is that the Holy Spirit will only usually do this kind of supernatural work with the people who will really want it. If this realm is just too scary for some of you, or you would prefer to stay away from it at this time, the Holy Spirit will respect your thoughts and wishes on this, and He will not try and push Himself or His ways on you.
This realm is basically for the real seekers, for the people who will want more of God and who will not be afraid to tread into these kinds of deeper waters with Him. It is one thing to know that God and Jesus are up in heaven, but it is quite another thing to realize that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can all supernaturally communicate to any one of us at any time They should want to do so.
And if God has not changed, and He is still the same today as He was yesterday, then this tells us that He still wants to supernaturally communicate to all of us in these same ways. God does not change, nor does any of His ways. And if any of His ways are not going to change, then these 8 different ways that He has used in the past to supernaturally communicate to His people will still apply to all of us in this day and age. It is now up to each Christian as to whether or not they will want to learn how to do all of this with the Holy Spirit.
Again, I know this kind of an article may end up being a bit controversial with some people — but with all of the above verses being so clear on exactly what God has set up for all of us to enter into, I felt I had no other choice but to put all of this out for you, and from there, you can each make up your own minds as to whether or not you will want God the Father to open up these different ways in which He still likes to use to communicate to all of us in this day and age.
If read that already, then you might be interested to learn How to Discern if a Word is From the Lord. Thank you so much for this wonderfully written article I have been wondering how I can get communication from the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God, as I spent much time thinking I should be hearing actual words. Recognizing that I have experienced some of the 8 ways bring utter joy to my heart.
Thank you, I am looking forward to reading more of your articles listed here and others. Every word you wrote can not be more clear on how it all works. But he has brought me in his world now just in the last few days. I'm not scared there's a lot going on.. But I know God has a plan for me and I will do whatever it takes to whatever he asks. God is all about the supernatural and to do his work I have to step in his world. So this is the only article after days of searching and looking or some kind of assurance, guidance and just to let me know I wasn't going crazy that this is real.
I want to thank you you have made my life more at ease and with more confidence. Thank you for this knowledge this is helping me very much as am going through so much as am getting closer to God I want God to fill me with his Holy Spirit of his wish. I want all of God. I don't belong to myself I belong to God I want to do God's will. Again thank you. I feel the thug of the holy spirit to witness and not comment. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you John This is our belief as believers, he dwells in us and works through us, his Spirit in us bears a witness that we are his sons and daughters — and because we believe this, we do not need the proof of feelings for our belief and faith is all that matters, and that was what the apostles also had — faith and belief.
Nowhere in the Bible was it recorded that the apostles had to feel the Holy Spirit before they knew he was with them, after the encounter in the upper room they needed no other conviction that the Holy Spirit was with them, even when scolded and thrown in prison, they never for once asked, we are not feeling the Holy Spirit, is he with us at all?
Instead, they rejoiced in their chains, because they were being persecuted for the gospel of Christ. Jolaade Olatunbsoun is an experienced Christian writer, having written for clients, local churches, and youth fellowship. Her writing infuses faith into daily life, helping readers grow in the knowledge and love of God and His words. Desiring to help people understand the Bible, maximize their potential, and have a deeper fellowship with God, Jolaade develops content for Sunday school materials, Christian material for books, devotionals, eBooks, articles, short stories, and poems.
Her blog may be found here. Share this. Jolaade Olatunbsoun Christianity. Knowing the Holy Spirit This reminds me of the scriptures: While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived in Ephesus.
Can We Pray to the Holy Spirit? This experience was unlike anything I have ever felt before in my life. And before that night, there was always doubt. A little bit of doubt, not much but it was there. Now there is none. My life has changed so much in such a short amount of time, all because I listen to those thoughts that enter my mind when I am about to go and get drunk with mates. I listen to myself when I feel bad because I havent read the bible in a few days. You know. I listen to the word of God when things jump out at me, and are applicable to my situation at the time.
These things are all the Holy Spirit. Truly is. This is the link that helped me to understand what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. Because like any of your other friends, when you do things to upset them, they naturally distance themselves from you, it is the same with the Holy Spirit. He is real, and he is sensitive. But beautifully so, he only wants the best for you.
Oh gosh, I have so much more I could write. Feel free to email me if you want, I hope this has helped. Thank you for a great post and for your testimonies!
Thanks again for sharing and for your insights! Hi Holly, Thanks for your questions! Here are a few guidelines:. The Spirit never contradicts Scripture.
Try asking God about what you want to know about and then wait in silence for an answer. The idea is to trust Him daily — pray each morning for his guidance and blessing for the day. Sometimes the leading just sort of arrives. Other times you might feel a feeling of awe, or of standing on holy ground. On reading books: I highly recommend sticking to Scripture for awhile.
God knows how important they are to us, and it is important to Him that we work with Him in finding them. We can trust that whatever He leads us to will be the best for our lives and for our eternal future. Any way I can pray for you? Recently my son, who is 22, felt the Holy Spirit and has been completely changed. The problem now is that he was engaged to be married when the Holy Spirit came to him and the wedding is in 5 months, all the plans in place, but he is now questioning the path God intends him to follow.
He loves his fiance but I think he is questioning what God is wanting him to do, this has put a wedge in their relationship. I am a practicing Catholic and have strong beliefs but I myself having not felt the Holy Spirit as he has and I do not know exactly what he is going through or what he is feeling or hearing so I am unable to give them any direction.
Have you heard of this happening to anyone? Hi Leanne, Thanks for writing! This may or may not be a sign that the wedding should be called off or postponed — it might just be that there are issues the two of them need to work through before they get married. What those issues are I would not hazard to guess, but I can ask a few questions that might help uncover them: Are your son and his fiancee planning on getting married by clergy?
If yes, are they receiving premarital counseling from that clergy person or someone else on staff at the church? What are their religious backgrounds, and what are their current beliefs? Is your son sensing the Spirit is asking him to change careers, or move to another city, or anything else that might be considered a major life change?
Is there anything in his past or hers that has not been shared and needs to be shared before the two can be married? Have there been difficulties with past relationships, or perhaps with other family relationships? These are just a few of the many questions that might need to be examined. For your own part, the best thing you can do is stand by him and encourage him to listen to the Spirit and keep his eyes on Jesus. God knows what he needs and what his fiancee needs and He loves them both.
BTW re: choice of clergy — Catholic or otherwise, choose someone who understands the working of the Spirit. Peg: I think a lot of his issues is all of the outside influences, me, my husband, soon to be in-laws, etc.
They were both brought up Catholic and both are practicing. The had planned to get married in the church by a priest so it isnt the way they were going to get married. It may have more to do with how and why the spirit came to him. Her Father is a staunch Catholic, sometimes over the top about it, but very strong faith and she lived with that strong upbringing most of her life.
She rebelled during her college years and that is when she met my son. He calmed her roudy spirit and led her down a better path. He was attending College out of state where she lived and that is where they met. When he moved home, about 5 hrs away from her they realized they were to be together and so they go engaged and moved in together about 2 yrs ago.
About 3 months ago is when the whole experience started…it was when she was out for the night, doing some drinking and came home late, he waited up for her but when she arrived she was not herself at all, totally out of character and as he describes it, like the devil was inside her. The way she was acting and talking scared the daylights out of him and he arrived at our home white as a ghost. The next day he was still so frightened by her actions that he prayed for 5 hrs straight for her and him and for mercy and that is when the Holy Spirit came to him.
Since that moment he has been changed. He wants to read and learn about the Bible as much as possible and is even making his own prayer cards and distributing them to family members. He made a retreat and the priests told him he was very wise for his age.
He said he thinks of God constantly. He told me that he doesnt want to work as a priest in a church because those people already love and know God, he wants to help people come to the church, people who have fallen away or have never believed. I think missionary work would be a great place to start for him to see if that is a calling, he thought of that the same day I brought it up to him.
I do support him and will continue to. He has always been a compassionate child and now adult and I feel the Holy Spirit came to him for a reason at this time in his life…its just knowing what it is telling him. One big issue is my husband, his father, he was baptized Lutheran but not practicing and even has doubts about who the higher power is so he is having a tough time of all of this and I am not sure how understanding he will be if the wedding were to be called off and he were to go away on a mission trip.
He does have a couple priests lined up to talk to and a nun that is actually a spiritual advisor so I hope that helps with some clarity. We shall see. Hi Leanne — Thanks for the update! It sounds to me like your son is in excellent hands. I still think he and his fiancee should be in pre-marital counseling together in addition to the clergy meetings he has already scheduled for himself.
Perhaps one of the priests or the sister would be able to recommend a practicing Catholic who does marriage counseling? Speaking as a future clergy-person, I would hesitate to marry a couple who have not had pre-marital counseling or taken a pre-marriage class of some kind, even if they have already been living together. As you know, there is so much more to marriage!
And with the divorce rate as high as it is I would want to give the couple the best possible chance of success at a lifelong partnership. Apart from that, the scene you describe with his fiancee coming home drunk is troubling. If this has happened only once in the years they have been together, he will want to get to the bottom of it and find out why her actions and personality were so out of character that night.
If this has happened more than once, that could be a red flag. Hopefully his discussions with the priests and nun will help him discern how much of all this is Spirit-inspired and how much is simple reluctance to make such a permanent commitment. His clergy should be able to help him sort that out. I am very glad he and his fiancee have you there to understand and support and pray for them! Hopefully the rest of the family will continue to hang in there and give the young couple as much space as they need to discover who they are individually and as a team and where God is leading them.
Keep me posted on how things work out! Let me first start off by saying great topic very intresting and i have bean searching a long time to run into a subject of this matter.
When i first started feeling this hoy spirit is when i got saved and was unaware of what is was , it fealt like best way for me to explain it was when i sung songs gospel songs or prayed to GOD i would feel something like oil being poured over my head and continuing down my torso — body It was not a warm feeling or electricity feeling but a presence like i said like oil being poured on my head and flowing downward my body i feel very peacefull when it happens not scared and sometimes i get like a smile so powerfull like happyness feeling.
I asked alot of christians about it and some anser me saying it is the holy spirit and others i asked say they never fealt it ,i hope it is from GOD and thats what i strongly feel but i always like to prove evrything to see if it is true , i also searched scripture to see if it validates any of this and this is what i came up with i hope this hub and thread still runs and active if so please respond to me.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. I felt the Holy Spirit! Others do it better than me, are more credentialed than me, etc. By taking time to speak Spirit-to-Spirit with the other person, to speak in detail so that they can understand and hear you, you can move past some of these socialized responses and behaviors. You may be able to lift their Spirit into its rightful place of divine creation. There is no need to play small. If someone still responds with dismissiveness, interrupt it so that they know how serious you are.
An interruption includes naming what is happening. You have a real gift, and I want you to know I notice it. I am really grateful for you, and I am so grateful that you share this gift. It means a lot to me and to this church and community. By this point, usually the other person will have let your words penetrate their defenses. If you or the other person really struggle with receiving this kind of naming of spiritual gifts, you might invite a second conversation at a later date.
Give yourself or the other person time to reflect on what has been shared and then come back with questions to help one another reflect and discover further. This series is offered with support and permission of Park Hill UCC, in our shared hope of providing 1 ongoing reflection and engagement with the congregation, and inclusion for those unable to physically be present for all parts of our journey; and 2 a unique opportunity for a wider audience to learn more in depth about the ministry and approach of Juniper Formation.
You can read more about the purpose and process leading up to this Lenten series here. On Posted on March 1, March 3, by Rev. Jenny Whitcher to Reimagining Church. Begin with Relational Discernment We always start with relational discernment.
Sometimes it is a contraction, when I am resistant to something. Other times it is a feeling of expansion, when I am open to where the Holy Spirit is leading.
A healing presence. I feel lifted, and sometimes the Spirit alights upon us—like last Sunday when we were singing.
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