“The language of dreams is the fourth love language, and it’s God’s lingua franca. There is no dialect that God speaks more fluently or frequently in Scripture. Whether it’s dreams by night or dreams by day, God is the Dream Giver.”- Mark Batterson
“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’ . . . ‘So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”- 1 Kings 3:5, 9 (NIV)
In Chapter 8 (“Dreamers by Day”) of Whisper, Mark Batterson covers the language of dreams. Every dream, Pastor Batterson notes, possess a genealogy. Those who came before you set up your dreams. And you follow suit as you set up dreams for those who come after you. Therefore, dreams really consist of a dream within a dream.
Furthermore, the author subscribes to the school of thought that one must steward the brain. As a result, you learn as much about the brain as you can. In addition, Mark believes, God dwells in the synapses of the brain. Thus, He speaks to us at the level of our thoughts, ideas, and dreams. However, Pastor Batterson cautions, we must be careful to give God the credit when He gives us ideas we don’t believe originated with us.
In conclusion, Mark asserts, dreams, vision, and prophecy = natural by-products of being filled with God’s Spirit. As a result, we need to discern God’s voice not only for ourselves, but also for others. Because the dreams God gives us are never just for us. They’re for everyone our dreams affect and inspire. Mark exhorts:
“You never know when or where or who or how your dream will inspire someone else to pursue his or her dream. Only the Dream Giver knows that. But we’ll have a lot of people to thank someday for directly and indirectly inspiring our dreams.”
Today’s question: How has God spoken in the language of dreams to you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Word pictures – speaking the truth in love”
