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Bible Question: Is dream interpretation a Christian practice? Or is it something to stay away from?
Bible Answer: Your question appears to be a general question about dream intrepretation, but the answer to your question will be found in some specific Old Testament examples.
Dreams. Jospeh was the first person in the Bible who is said to have had a dream with special meaning. His dream came from God and in it God told him that he would reign over his family.
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Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. (NASB) Genesis 37:8 |
The next Old Testament passages show us that God would sometimes communicate through dreams.
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When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. (NASB) 1 Samuel 28:6
Then Thou dost frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions . . (NASB) Job 7:14
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Intrepretation. Dream interpretation is difficult, but not when God wants the dream to be understood. God gave the prophet Daniel an unusual ability to intrepret special dreams. This fact is recorded for us in the book of Daniel. This was not common.
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This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas, and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned, and he will declare the interpretation. (NASB) Daniel 5:12 |
If God still communicates to us through dreams, we will need someone to help us understand - someone whom God has gifted by His Holy Spirit to understand. We cannot be sure that God still speaks through dreams today since dreams stopped for a while in the Old Testament.
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