A step-by-step guide on biblical dream interpretation
In this step-by-step guide, I will teach you how to interpret biblical dreams. I have included relevant dream examples to learn from.
God speaks and reveals Himself presently to all people by different means, and one common means is through dreams. Now here is where the problem lies. Despite God revealing His divine Will to us, the majority have no clue to discerning what the dream conveys.
Remember, dreams are secret spiritual codes or heavenly revelations that need to be properly decoded to reveal God’s message to His children.
Here is where dream interpretation comes in. We all accept that dream interpretation is a gift from God. It is what is referred to as the word of wisdom or knowledge.
Related: What is the meaning of colors in a dream?
Most of us are scared when it comes to the interpretation of dreams as we think it is for a few chosen individuals. I acknowledge that some operate in the gift of prophecy; hence, dream interpretation is a routine for them. However, the skill is not automatic, meaning it is learned, and that’s why we are here to learn these vital skills to aid in decoding our dreams.
I strongly believe that the dreamer (who is you) is the most qualified candidate to interpret his/ her dreams. The reason is you understand your current life situation better than anyone else. Remember, dreams are meant to address our current circumstances unless they are prophetic dreams that have an aspect of the future.
Having known this, it is easier to interpret your dreams as you will understand the dream symbolism, people in the dream, and locations in your dreams better than anyone out there. These are familiar to you hence, making them more relevant to you.
How to interpret biblical dreams
As I said earlier, most dreams reflect our current circumstances in life. It’s also important to note that dreams are meant to be understood symbolically, meaning everything in the dream is most often symbolic and is not intended to be taken literally, except for numbers symbols.
Despite knowing every dream interpretation skill, it is always paramount to pray to ask God for wisdom before embarking on your dream interpretation. Your confidence should never be based on skills, but on God who is the sum total of all wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:2-3 …their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Dream interpretation methods
It’s a good practice to understand the dream’s setting or context. Where the dream scenes are taking place, who are involved, what you or others are doing in the dream, what is the main action of your dream, and what are your feelings/ emotions in the dream, is it fear, joy, anger, depression, tiredness or boldness?
1. The DREAMS Method
This dream interpretation method has six profound components which are: the dream itself, the relation of your dream to other previous dreams in your dreams journal to see if the dream repeats itself, or it is a continuation of a previous dream, or if there is any relevant connection which might give you a clue to the interpretation.
Related: What is the meaning of metals in a dream?
For example, Joseph’s dream of the heavenly bodies bowing to him was also related to his previous dreams of sheaves bowing to his sheaf. [Genesis 37:5-9]. This way, it makes it extremely easy to interpret the dream instead of digging too deep while the meaning is already revealed to you in your previous dream. This dream was meant to affirm the previous dream.
The remaining four aspects include your emotions during and after the dream, your main actions or actions of others in the dream, and the dream’s meaning based on the dream context and setting.
To understand the dream setting and context, it is important to figure out what you have been trying to accomplish in your waking life, what you have been trusting God for, what you prayed for before going to bed, and lastly what you were doing or thinking about before bedtime.
Related: How your career affects your dream life.
The DREAMS Method
Genesis 37:6-7
He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Genesis 37:9
Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
2. The DAESI method by Charity Virkler Kayembe.
This dream interpretation method proposed by Charity Kayembe has five components which include: The dream summary, the main action in the dream such as running, fighting, laughing, gossiping, falling, having sex, and much more. Your emotions in the dream, the dream setting, and lastly the dream interpretation with reference to your personal dream journal.
Both methods are very effective for most dreams except for prophetic dreams, as they project an event in the future. Hence, they don’t need much interpretation as the message is already very clear. These are the kind of dreams described in most prophetic books of the Bible.
Examples of Christian dream interpretation using the two methods
In this section, I am going to demonstrate using examples how we can use the DREAMS method and DAESI method to effectively interpret any dream.
Dream Example 1
A lady recently wrote to me to help her interpret her dreams. The lady was admitted to a hospital and awaiting surgery due to cancer. She had two weird dreams which she thought were demonic and sexual. The following was a dream question;
I’m currently waiting for treatment for cancer. My stomach is extremely swollen and painful. I’ve been spending the past few days resting, studying the Word, and praying.
1st dream. I dreamt I was standing possibly waiting in line for something. Someone I didn’t know, a male, who felt extremely familiar he was wearing blue clothes, came up from behind and embraced me… as he was embracing me, they inserted some sort of rode or stick into me. (I immediately woke up to cancel the dream).
2nd dream. Next, there was a very handsome athletic man who approached me and was friendly… although he seemed quite a bit younger than me. He took off his clothes with the exception of his underwear (which were of a strange woven material) and lay down on his couch inviting me to ‘snuggle’. I joined him he stroked my hair and kissed me… then asked me to remove my clothes at this request I immediately stood up and said no. He said okay I’ll wait for you.
The dream meaning.
These dreams are symbolic and are meant to reflect a current condition this lady is going through. Let us now break down the dream and apply any of the two methods to see what we will get. We will begin with the DAESI method for the first dream, then the DREAMS method for the second dream.
Using the DAESI method.
What she replied regarding the dream.
I’m just curious as to how you interpret sex in a dream? I never understood it to be a good thing in a dream, particularly with someone unknown.
This does have some relevance as my treatment was delayed and my stomach was drained for fluid… this was done by penetrating the abdomen.
So, you can see how easy it is to interpret a dream. Even the lady was surprised by the interpretation as she was expecting it to be evil and dirty, but that was not the case.
Using DREAMS method.
We will use the DREAMS method to try to interpret her second dream as it relates to the previous dream she had. This method is best for people who have multiple dreams or have dreams often.
Dream Example 2
Another lady wrote to me concerning a dream she thought was sexual. I have to confess that most dreams that people share that I might interpret for them contain an aspect of sexual dreams. You can read more about sex dreams and snake dreams here. The following was her dream;
I’ve been dreaming while seeing people having sex and some are more of my high school members.
Using any of the two methods, let’s try to interpret this dream.
Using DREAMS method.
Dream Example 3.
Another lady also wrote to me concerning a very disturbing dream. The lady told me that she had the urge to pray but she could not do it, therefore procrastinated. As a result, she had the following dream.
I was in a sex orgy; I am female and I had different sex styles with another female and all I wanted to do was satisfy her. I even grew a male private part in the dream just to satisfy her. Normally I usually resist the urge when dreams like that occur, I tell them, no, but today it was different. I woke up so tired like I had sex. Am quite worried.
This is what I replied to her.
The sex dream reflects an aspect of your personality, a part of you. In fact, the dream is about yourself, as you are more willing to give in to your carnal desires. (not sexual though).
As you have said it yourself, you felt the prompting to pray but couldn’t. Hence, gave in to your fleshy desires and ignored the need to pray. The lady you were having sex with is yourself, and you are obsessed with satisfying yourself, rather than your spirit.
Growing male organs symbolizes that you are not truthful to yourself, and that’s why you are taking on the characteristics of another gender. You need to resist your carnal nature and build your spirit man. Every time you are prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray, just do it.
Let’s now unveil the dream meaning using any of the two methods.
Using the DAESI method.
The fact that she failed to pray and has been giving too much attention to her carnal self, it is possible that she opened doors for demonic attacks that’s why she woke up extremely tired because of the intense activities in her dream.
What to avoid when interpreting your dreams.
Avoid using online dream dictionaries, as most often they are irrelevant to your dream. Remember every dream symbol has a unique meaning based on the setting of your dream. i.e. dream symbolism is personal to the dreamer, hence they are not universal.
For example, a cat in a dream may represent aggression as cats are aggressive. To a person haunted by spirits, the cat may symbolize witchcraft. And to a lover of cats, the cat may symbolize companionship, as he loves his cat hence, they are friends.
It is crucial to note that dreams most often reflect an aspect of our personality and what is happening in our waking life.
What to do after having a dream.
Wake up immediately and write down the dream. Avoid assuming and going back to sleep, as by morning you may not be in a position to remember the whole dream.
Always pray to receive or destroy a dream. You can learn more about the dedication of dreams here.
Thank you for taking your precious time to learn these wonderful skills. All the resources on this website are free of charge, therefore, consider supporting this ministry with a gift of any amount on the donation page. Sharpen your dream interpretation skills by applying these two dream interpretation methods. God bless you.
