Be in His Purpose Podcast | Helping Women Conquer Their Fear Through Faith

Journey to Understanding God's Purpose in Dreams

• Yvonne Paschal • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Have you ever wondered if your dreams hold deeper meanings and messages from a divine source? Join me, Yvonne Paschal, as I guide you through an enlightening exploration of dream interpretation, drawing from the biblical examples of Joseph and Daniel. Through this journey, we’ll uncover how God can communicate with us while our minds rest, providing wisdom and guidance. We'll navigate the spiritual significance of dreams with insights from different resources. Together, we'll reflect on Psalm 16:7 and discover how God’s voice can be heard, even in our sleep.

Our conversation will also offer practical strategies for enhancing your spiritual connection through dreaming. I'll share how integrating prayer and reflection into your bedtime routine can open the door to divine communication. Learn how keeping a dream journal can become a powerful tool for understanding God's messages. Hear my personal story of how recurring dreams led me to establish "Be in His Purpose," a business and ministry inspired by God’s calling to empower women. This episode aims to inspire you to embrace the divine guidance in your dreams, encouraging you to trust the process and seek God’s interpretation with patience and faith.

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Speaker 1:

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real or meaningful to you that you couldn't stop thinking about it? Have you ever had dreams where you're maybe driving a car, or maybe you see different people that you recognize or don't recognize? Maybe a dream about your falling or losing a tooth, seeing yourself maybe with short or longer hair than you actually have? Do you ever wonder if God might be trying to speak to you through your dreams? So what if those seemingly random nighttime thoughts carried divine messages meant just for you and me? Well, today we're going to explore how God uses dreams to communicate with us and how you can learn to recognize his voice in the stillness of the night. So I want to welcome you. I'm Yvonne Paschal, your faith and resilience coach with Be In His Purpose podcast, and I'm also a certified Christian life coach. I empower women. I coach women who have experienced some type of trauma in their past, and I help them to conquer fear and shift to faith. I help them gain clarity in their calling, step into their God-given purpose and walk in their true identity. So I want to thank you for my listeners now. Thank you for tuning in today. Before we dive in, I want to remind you, if you haven't already, if this podcast, any of the episodes this is actually the 10th episode, but if this podcast has blessed you and you know it can be also be a blessing to someone else I want you to subscribe to the podcast. That will give you the alert of any new up and coming episodes. But I also want you to share it with someone who needs encouragement. Okay, those, but I also want you to share it with someone who needs encouragement. Okay, so let's be about spreading the message of healing faith, god's word and our God-given purpose. So grab your coffee, your Bible, your journal and let's dive in.

Speaker 1:

Ladies, all right, so this topic is one you know I truly love. Uh, and I began diving really deep into the space of dreams, um, just like in the last maybe two or three years, um, three and a half years, something like that and I began to get training. It's actually probably been, I'm sorry, two, three years. No, it's probably been like three or four years now, um, time's just getting away from me. So, um, but I began to get training in prophetic dream interpretation, um, and learning this way of how god speaks, and I just remember when the desire just began to surface, and I know that was a God thing. And through that desire, I just began seeking him out in this way around, learning how do I interpret my dreams. I want to know what God is saying, and so now I have a lot of great resources and teaching around this topic from different sources. One particular is Streams Ministries International. This is a great one. Also Jennifer Ives and her ministry as well, as she has a book out called Awaken the Dreamscape, as well, as she has a book out called Awaken the Dreamscape. And then also Linda Riddle, who has some great teaching as well, and you can check out her website.

Speaker 1:

But did you know that God often uses dreams to communicate with his people? Right, dreams can be a profound way for God to give us a word, to provide direction, encourage us, give us revelation, prophetically as well, and so in scripture, we can see that there's examples in there of how God spoke to his people through dreams. Right, so the things that we see in scripture we can be assured that this is still for us today. And so, right immediately, we can think of Joseph in the book of Genesis, who received dreams about his future and his family's destiny, and then we can also see Daniel, who interpreted dreams and visions with God's wisdom. And so dreams, you know, have always been a tool for divine communication, which I think is just fascinating. So even in, you know, the New Testament, where Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, right, was warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety, right, so we can see an example of that as well there. So dreams are not just random, we don't just have them for no reason. They carry such a significant purpose and meaning, and they are the voice of God, like they are the language of God.

Speaker 1:

And so today we're going to explore, you know, how to discern God's voice in our dreams. So, because, right, we've all had a dream in our life. And so why does God use dreams to speak to us? So, with that question, you know, let's start by asking why God chooses dreams as a way to speak to us.

Speaker 1:

And so, if we think about that, dreams occur, you know, when our minds are at rest. Right, we're in a place of rest. We're in a place of rest. We're in a place, a sleep state. Um, there's a lot of different things that happen during a sleep state within our bodies, and not sure what that was from um, um, did I miss a call?

Speaker 1:

No, okay, so, um and so, right, so we're at a place of rest. Um, we're not distracted, at this point, right, by the busyness of life. Um, especially right, if we've already, um, if we have already gone into a sleep state, right, our minds are not distracted by the busyness of life. At this point I'm not talking about the time right before going into the sleep state, I'm speaking of right, when we are in that sleep state, and you could even say we're in the REM sleep. Right, we're not distracted at this point. And so it's a time when our spirits, you know, are more open to hearing from the Lord. And so Psalm 16, 7 says I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I think that's beautiful, that God can give us counsel and wisdom and revelation and speak to us even while we're asleep. So good.

Speaker 1:

And so dreams can also be a way for God to bypass those barriers that we might have during the day. So when we're asleep, you know, we're not overthinking or second guessing, we don't have that distraction coming up. It's really a space where God's message, god's language, god's voice can reach our hearts, you know in a really powerful way. And you know, not every dream, though we have to understand, not every dream we have is from god, so we need to understand that as well. Sometimes our dreams reflect our own thoughts, our own emotions. Or maybe what we eat also can have an impact. So anything that we might consume this includes, you know, medications, um, these things can have an impact on the dream, um, and so right, that can then be a soul dream. It can be, um, a flesh dream, and so it's not. It's not necessarily from God, um, and then you can have the enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy and distract. He can get in there and get in our dreams, and so you can have those as well.

Speaker 1:

But there are some ways to recognize when a dream is from God, and so this is not an all-inclusive list. These are just some ways that we can know that they're from God. And so, number one, we first need to seek guidance and counsel, wisdom from God, so from the Holy Spirit, on what is this dream saying? Is this from you, lord, right? Is it revealing and allowing? You know, ask the Lord, right, reveal. Is this from you, father? What are you trying to say to me through this dream? And then, right, allow the Lord to respond to that. He may not show you immediately, but you know, we definitely want to continue to pray on that dream, to have discernment.

Speaker 1:

Number two it aligns with God's word. So God will never give you a dream that contradicts his word, that contradicts scripture. His word is the ultimate right standard of truth. So we can know that and be confident in that that his word is truth. And so if I see something in my dream, if I hear something in my dream, um, and it doesn't line up with God's word or his character, well then I need to probably question that's probably not from God, okay, so excuse me.

Speaker 1:

Number three it stirs your spirit, meaning that you have the dream and it just leaves, like this deep impression on you in your heart. And, right, it's just something that you can't stop thinking about, it continues to surface, it continues to come back to your mind, your heart, and you just can't shake it and it's, it's stuck with you. So sometimes that can be right, something that that may be from the Lord. Um, you know, god dreams often. You know can provide right, the revelation, um, to give us a prophetic word. It can give us guidance, um, sometimes even a warning, um, and it can also give us encouragement. So all of those things, I think the other thing, too, that I look for is usually like vivid colors, bold colors, bright, you know, beautiful colors, you know can typically be interpreted as a God dream.

Speaker 1:

Usually, when I see that, and depending on the context to the dream typically, though, from my experience and what I've seen is, you know that can be something interpreted as a God dream, and then also depending, as I said, on the context of the dream, you know that's something to look at. What was the dream about? And then also assess what your life looks like currently in the season, um, that you've that, you had the dream, so take a look at that as well. Um, and one of my favorite scriptures about this is in Job 33, 14 through 15, where it says for God does speak, now one way, now another, though no one perceives it In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds. This is truly a reminder that God is, you know, really always speaking, and you know we may not just be always listening. So even when we're unaware, right in the night, he can still speak to us. So how can we position ourselves to hear from God through our dreams? Well, here are some practical steps that we can take.

Speaker 1:

Um, this is not an all inclusive list. These are just some things that I've um, you know I've done, and um, that I do, and um and that and that could help you, um and so, if you do have any others, and so if you do have any others, definitely feel free to use those as well. So, number one is to write pray, pray before bed, be in prayer, intentionally, making time that time before rest. Like you know, let's say, you are a person who goes to bed around 10, 10 p PM, whatever time zone you're in, and so that time before 10, 10 PM so whether it be like 30 minutes prior, an hour prior even, would be great is to take that hour prior, from nine to 10, and like turn off all the distractions, turn off the TV, turn off, you know, put away your phone, turn off all of the all of the noise, and um, you can, you know, definitely another good thing, right To get in the word Okay, spend some time in the word before bed.

Speaker 1:

Um, be in prayer, definitely before bed, and be intentional about right, giving that time to the Lord, to intentionally giving him that time and creating that space for him and that quiet time, but removing all those distractions, and then invite God, you know, to speak to you as you sleep. So that would be the prayer, is like, lord, I pray that right, that you give me rest tonight, that you give me sleep, that you give me dreams, father, that you speak to me through the night, father, and help me to understand, give me clarity, give me revelation. I want to be able to know what it is you're saying, father, show me things, let me hear things, let me hear your presence, let me feel your presence, father, and give me divine revelation to understand what it is that you're saying and help me to remember, to recall my dreams, right in Jesus name, and you can pray that. So that's that intentional time, that that's number one. Number two is to keep a dream journal. Love this, so you know, write down your dreams as soon as you can, as soon as you wake up, because you write, if you've ever noticed that, typically with dreams, more commonly with dreams that, um, if you wait long enough after you've woke, that you will. You will forget the pieces of the dream You'll like, you'll lose certain parts of the dream. You can no longer remember them. You might remember, like certain pieces, but not the whole dream anymore, like you dream anymore, like you did right before you woke. So, keep a dream journal.

Speaker 1:

But the other thing, here's what I do. If I can't get to my journal right away to write it down, then what I typically do is I just record it audibly on my phone and then, when I have time to write it down, know, then I can go in and write it down in my journal. I still like to write it in the journal at the end of the day because I like to go back in my journals and, you know, have something tangible in my hands that I can, you know, look back. I can look back at the date that I had the dream. That's also key is to, you know, to, um, get in the habit of writing, writing the day that you had the dream, um, so the date, the date, um, of the dream that you um, that you had, and so, um. But that's just something that I do and you know, over time you're going to have just bundles of journals around your house and and then just be able to look back on them at certain things that may have not come to pass yet, and and then you'll even be just thrilled and excited because there are going to be some things that if you were to look back on them, they are, you're already in the thing that you, that God shows you, and so, which is so good, it's so encouraging to have that happen.

Speaker 1:

So number three is to seek God's interpretation. So, again, going back to this, we want to pray for understanding, pray for divine revelation. Back to this we want to pray for understanding, pray for divine revelation. Some dreams may require just waiting for the Lord. Right, he may not reveal everything all at once, some may require further discernment, but definitely the Holy know our ultimate guide in revealing that Oftentimes you can even look for confirmation. So sometimes God will confirm a thing and confirm His messages through His Word. You know, through His people, circumstances. So pay attention, because a lot of times, if you continue to see things repeatedly, that's something to pay attention to. The Lord might be confirming a word through that.

Speaker 1:

Number five is to stay in His Word, so the more that we can grow and be in relationship with the Lord and grow in His Word, know his word. The more that we have that, then, the easier really it will be to discern if the dream aligns with his word, if the dream aligns with God's character, with his will right, we're going to know these things. Um, so, definitely, staying in his word and then getting training and equipping in dream interpretation right, that is going to really be helpful to you know, um be intentional about getting trained and equipped to learn how to interpret dreams, and so, as I mentioned earlier, streams Ministries International is a great resource. It's a great place to get training. They have a lot of great resources and courses specifically on dream interpretation. So I would definitely, you know, I would definitely recommend them. Now.

Speaker 1:

Um, another just um word of caution um is, you know, we want to be careful to not just Google search what we're dreaming um, or reaching out, you know, to the wrong sources. Um, there is a lot of, there is a lot on the internet, um, just as much as there is with with a lot of things, but there's a lot on the internet around dreams. Um, you know that isn't from God. Um, there's a lot of new age practices that you'll see. There's a lot of you know witchcraft related things and really just all demonic practices. You know that we want to stay away from You'll probably see things related to angel numbers, which is this is not from God. So we want to stay away from that and make sure that you have creditable resources available to you that you can pull from as you're learning and have those in place for you.

Speaker 1:

But again, we always want to seek the Lord first and foremost and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance on what is revealed through prayer. And then I also know just to encourage you. You know this is a journey, it's a process, so don't be discouraged. You know if it takes time to understand your dreams, god is patient and he delights the fact that we are drawing near to him through this. You know, through what he's shown us right, as we seek him, as we seek him in prayer and in his word, right, we're growing close to God, and that's he wants us to draw close to him, right. So this is just a beautiful way that we get to do that as we seek him out and as we wrap up this podcast episode, I just want to share a quick personal story just about how God used dreams to guide me and really this was if you've heard about or know of my testimony and my story and I have it on my website but just a little bit about what led me to start, what led me to start being His purpose, my business, my ministry, and really this came from dreams.

Speaker 1:

This came from the things that God was showing me and revealing to me in the night, and it wasn't just like a one-time thing, like this was over a period of time that the Lord began to show me glimpses, things here, things there, of what was to come, and it's really what then spiraled the desire of starting the business and right, and just like the desires to coach and help other women, um, and just like all of that came from really me, you know, after me learning about dreams and how to interpret, and then just began to really study my dreams and interpret them, um, not to say I've interpreted them all, but like the ones that I can, you know, have been able to uh, interpret, um, you know, and the ones that were pointing to starting the business, um, were, you know, just having lots of dreams around malls, having lots of dreams around seeing myself coaching and encouraging other women and all of those things.

Speaker 1:

So, you know, the Lord began to really show me that through dreams, and so that I just wanted to share with you, and I hope today's episode has encouraged you to be open to hearing from God in your dreams. And so remember, god is always speaking and he longs to reveal his heart to you. So if this episode blessed you, I'd love to hear from you. Leave a review, share this podcast with a friend, but I want to thank you for spending this time with me today and keep seeking God, trusting his voice and stepping boldly into the purpose that he has for you.