By Mandy Owen/Partner News Agency
Across generations, believers have asked an important question: Does God still speak through dreams and visions?
For many Christians, the answer is yes, and many believe we are presently witnessing an increased outpouring of dreams and visions in this generation. Scripture reminds us that God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) and that He does not change (Malachi 3:6).
Throughout the Bible, God spoke to people such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Solomon, Peter, Paul, Ananias, Joseph (the husband of Mary), and many more through dreams and visions. Since Scripture teaches that God does not change, it is reasonable to believe that He still speaks to His people in the same way today.
Yet many in the Western, intellectually sophisticated world (including some in the church) dismiss dreams entirely as either psychosomatic phenomena or eating bad pizza before going to sleep. But that is not a biblical paradigm, as Scripture presupposes a supernatural worldview, of which dreams are a part.
While not every dream is from God, according to Acts 2:17, as the end times draw near, we should expect to see and hear more and more about visions and dreams in our society. Over the course of years in ministry, I’ve personally fielded dreams that believers in Jesus have had who hail from different regions of the world, and what is especially striking is how often similar types of dreams arrive from different regions at the same time. When God releases a warning or divine message, He often sends it to many people at once, waiting to see who is listening and who will perceive what He is saying.
Consider the following analogy: When I think of my father when I was growing up, before we had cell phones, he always found a way to reach me or let me know he cared. He left notes on the bulletin board, voicemails with reminders, and “911” pages when something was urgent. Sometimes, I would wake up to find he had stopped by my apartment and started my car on cold mornings to warm it up before I left for work. Even when I could not hear his voice or answer his call, my dad always found a way to send me a message.
How much more, then, does our Heavenly Father desire to reach us? God created His people with the ability to receive messages from Him, even when they are not hearing His voice clearly in the natural. Dreams and visions are one of the ways He gets our attention. Before there was the written Word of God, He still communicated with humanity. His first language is not English, Spanish, or whatever your native tongue may be. God’s first language has always been Spirit, and He will talk to us through His Spirit in any method necessary to reach us. This isn’t limited to only Christians, as the Bible shows God releasing national-level warnings to Pharaoh and King Nebuchadnezzar, as well as a personal warning to the wife of Pontius Pilate about not harming Jesus.
Dreams and visions are just one of God’s methods of communication, but they can’t be ignored, or we may be missing a huge piece of what God is saying to us on a regular basis.
The Bible lists the word vision or visions over 90 times, and the word dream, dreamed, or dreamer at least 95 times, depending on the translation. The Bible shows dreams being used to give direction, warnings, relay messages, and give gifts, such as Solomon receiving the gift of wisdom and discernment from a decision he made in a dream. These accounts show that dreams were not treated as random or meaningless. They were often moments of divine instruction.
It is important, however, that Christians test and measure everything against the Word of God and filter it through prayer. In the story of Joseph, Genesis 40:8 records that all interpretations of dreams ultimately belong to God. Like Joseph, we can give insight into what dreams mean, but every true revelation will come from the Holy Spirit as you measure it against Scripture and take it before God in prayer. Everything we do as Christians must align with God’s Word.
Dreams are not limited to the biblical account.
Encyclopedia Virginia records that a hallmark of the Great Awakening was intense, emotional scenes of sinners and new converts being filled with the Holy Spirit, with associated outcries, visions, dreams, and supernatural journeys. Throughout history, when we see an outpouring of God’s Spirit, we also often see an outpouring of dreams and visions. Even well-known historical figures have been associated with significant dreams, such as President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was known to pay attention to dreams, one of which he reported to his friends and family as being connected to his death three days before his assassination (Bulkeley, 2012; Morris, 2013).
In recent years, hundreds of reports have surfaced of people encountering Jesus through dreams. Christian media outlets have shared accounts of Muslims in Gaza and Iran claiming to have seen Jesus in dreams or visions, with many seeking to follow Him afterward. These stories continue to stir conversation among believers about how God might be speaking to people around the world.
Lily Meschi, director of Iran Alive Ministries, has stated that many people contact them because they saw Jesus in a dream or vision and know that Iran Alive is a Christian channel. They claim to have seen Jesus in a dream, that He healed them, and that they want to believe and trust in Him (Faithwire News, 2026). We are seeing and hearing about dreams coming in from a wide range of people from different regions, backgrounds, and beliefs. The common thread is this: God is speaking.
Dreams are not merely for entertainment. They are often invitations to pray, warnings to heed, or calls to action. When a dream wakes someone in the middle of the night or leaves an impression, it is worth bringing it before God in prayer.
So, what is God speaking to you?
What dreams have stirred you lately? What visions have stayed with you? Perhaps now is the time to lean in, pray, pore over the Scripture, and ask the Lord for revelation and understanding. In keeping with this Word, He longs to speak to us if we’ll listen.
