8 Types of Christian Dreams from God

God often used dreams in the Old and New Testaments to communicate with people, showing His constant connection with humanity. Each dream in the Bible served a purpose, offering guidance, protection, encouragement, blessing, or correction.

These messages weren’t about selfish gain; rather, God used dreams to steer individuals away from trouble and sin, drawing them closer to His love. Ultimately, the Bible is filled with dream examples, showcasing the significant relationship between dreams and God’s plan.

Those skilled in interpreting dreams often have a deep love for the Bible, recognizing that many dream symbols find their roots within its sacred pages. For instance, symbols like fish and water in Ezekiel 47:9-10 are later validated by Jesus, demonstrating God’s consistent love and fulfillment of Old Testament promises. It says the water of life will bring many fish and bring forth life. Then Jesus came and did exactly that. He said that he came to gather fish and satisfy our souls with the water of life!

1. Warning Dreams

Warning dreams reveal future events that we can avoid or prepare for. We see that warning dreams are biblical from Abimelech’s and Laban’s Dream. In Abimelech’s dream, God told him he was on the path to sin by sleeping with a married woman (Genesis 20; Genesis 31:24). Essentially, warning dreams encourage us to act righteously or pray.

Similarly, God warned Cain before he sinned, saying, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). This shows how God desires to help us escape all temptations. You can also click here for more examples of warning dreams I have had.

2. Divine Revelation Dreams

Divine revelation is when God or a higher power gives us special knowledge or understanding. This can happen in different ways:

• Divine revelation dreams can also impart a spiritual gift to you. For example, in Solomon’s Dream, God blessed him with supernatural wisdom. He went on to write the book of Proverbs — a practical guide to living.
• In another example, God revealed King Nebuchadnezzar’s prideful heart in a dream. (Daniel 4) Although this dream was also a warning, the dream also gave him revelation about his own behaviors. Emotional revelation dreams highlight unhealthy emotions that have gone unnoticed or ignored. The dream reveals the hidden things of the heart.

Emotional Revelation Dreams: These dreams highlight emotions that we might not be aware of or have ignored. They can show us our own feelings or those of others.

• Your own emotions: For instance, I’ve had dreams of my ex-boyfriend, un-forgiveness, anger, and fear of dying. And dreams of losing things or not getting hired. I pay attention to the highly emotional state in the dreams. It may be showing me what is happening inside my heart. These dreams happen so we can seek mentorship and/or pray for God to heal our hearts from the pain, fear, and disappointments that have hurt us.
• God desires to purify us: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 Someone else’s emotions: Dreaming about someone else is tricky. It may be a warning, directive, and encouragement. Before taking action and sharing a negative word, it’s important to ensure your interpretation  is correct and you have a pure heart. Just take caution because God could be trying to tell YOU something that you think is about them! Or it may just be something for you to pray on!

3. Recurring Dreams

Recurring dreams can emphasize a message from God in any category. Urgency, importance, and God’s swiftness to act were the motivator for Nebuchadnezzar’s recurring dreams in Genesis 41:1-5. In 2013, I unintentionally did something that I was deeply ashamed of and it caused pain between me and a friend. I have been dreaming I’d make that same interaction within all my relationships. In 2021, I realized I was AFRAID of doing the same hurtful thing again.

Ultimately, God cares about the condition of our heart and character. God helps me to see impure pieces of myself in dreams. He points out bad habits and bad thought processes in my dreams so that I can correct them and become more holy. The more I accept holy discipline and His rebukes, it allows me to hear God more clearly. Why? Because when we filter God’s word and voice through pain and a defiled heart, we tend to twist His words to fit our own agenda.

4. Instructive Dreams

We see that instructive dreams are biblical from Jacob’s Dream. Jacob was instructed that it was safe to return home and God would bless him abundantly. (Genesis 28:12) Similarly, sometimes God will tell us to do something in a dream. In this dream (click here), God told me to be more vulnerable in a situation. God wanted me to trust him that everything would be okay.

Examples of dreams:

I wanted to pass up a job because of the small pay. God revealed my pride and love for money, so I took the job. In another instance, they lowered my hours to part-time. I was furious. In a dream, God said: “Your hours will allow you time for kingdom business.” So, I never bothered to argue my way into more hours. When creating this website I was procrastinating. A friend dreamt of me working on this site and I never even told her! I was encouraged, but still hesitant… Then I kept having dreams where people were waiting on the advice I had to give. I knew this was a prompting from God to get to work! And here we are!

5. Spiritual Warfare Dreams

I believe Pilate’s wife’s dream  was terrifying because it revealed the unfair attack against Jesus. I believe this dream was to simply show the unrighteousness in the atmosphere. (Matthew 27:19) Therefore, spiritual warfare dreams are a call to immediate prayer and/or action. God may show you something about yourself or someone else.

For instance, I was on a church retreat and had a dream that a witch was praying over the territory. In another dream, a witch was cursing me, and things kept popping up in my view as I drove. She was trying to stop me from seeing the Godly vision for my life clearly!!

Demonic Dreams: Only God can allow the enemy to manifest in your dreams. God showing you how an evil spirit is attacking you in the spiritual realm. These dreams give me direction to pray! Example: If there is a sexual desire or dark presence in my dream, I know that God wants to protect me from that, so I pray against it and actively seek healing in that area. But, don’t be scared of terrifying dreams because you are a conqueror in Christ that can trample over powers and principalities of darkness. Usually, when I take more spiritual authority in the natural world, my dreams will start showing that I’m running faster than the enemy or stopping a spiritual attack.

Here is a list of Spiritual Warfare Dreams that I’ve had. I also share 75 Prayer Points to help you Destroy Evil Spirits!

6. Encouraging Dreams

We see that encouragement dreams are biblical from Jacob’s and Joseph’s Dream. In Jacob’s dream, God told Jacob about his future blessings. In Joseph’s dream, he was told he’d be a blessing to Egypt. (Genesis 28:12; Matthew 1:18–24)

These dreams are to increase your confidence, identity in Christ, and deepen your faith. God is the master complimenter and he likes to remind believers how amazing they are! So cool huh? God wants us to be confident. In one dream, I was with a group of people begging for food. Someone turned to me and said, you don’t know who you are? I was transported to a palace and she said: “You’re the daughter of a KING!” The dream was a reminder to stop settling for a mediocre understanding of the Gospel or I’d also have a mediocre ministry!!!

These types of dreams might also show you something great that will happen in your distant future… Write it down and ask God to show you in different ways if that’s His will for your life.

8. Confirmation Dreams

We see that confirmation dreams are biblical from  Joseph’s Dream. (Matthew 1:18–24) When you feel lost or like you’re not sure what path to take God will send a confirmation dream. Sometimes these dreams are just trying to tell you that you are at the right place at the right time, a reminder that God is real & you HEAR him.

I had a dream about a guy named John Winthrop. Then a year later, I was teaching my American History class that name. He is the a preacher that wrote about the city on a hill in America’s founding. I didn’t remember the dream, and I had a deja vu moment. Then, I realized that I had the dream. The dream was prophetic and reminded me that I hear God. The truth is, sometimes life feels boring and stagnant as we wait for God to manifest in different ways. The enemy would like to tempt you and make you stray from the narrow path of righteousness. Confirmation dreams are little kisses from God reminding us that we should keep going, and we will eventually win if we keep running the race.

9. Prophetic Dreams

Prophetic dreams are revelations of what will happen in future events. We see that prophetic dreams are biblical from the dreams Joseph interpreted. And King’ Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Are you having such a dream? Here are 22 signs you’re hearing God!

Related Article: How to Know if A Dream is Prophetic

My Personal Testimony

Ultimately, dreams teach us about ourselves, others, God, and the world. If we take the time to pray and understand our dreams, it can bring healing, clarity, and direction in life. However, interpreting dreams is not an easy task. To fully understand dreams, you must fully understand yourself and God – which is an endless journey. But it is a fun journey!

In the early stages of my Christianity, I dreamt I was at my boyfriend’s house, and a stairway became available. I climbed up the stairway and went very high. Then it started rocking back and forth. I held on for dear life. Now looking back, God was showing my spiritual ascension and the problems I’d face as I tried to embrace him.

One of those struggles was having faith in a miraculous God. I asked him to help me know if he was truly real or fake. God answered me. He sent me three signs which I still doubted. You can hear my FULL story via YouTube or by clicking here.

Then, God spoke to me audibly. He told me: “If I didn’t make you wait you wouldn’t have prayed. Make sure you pray from now on.”

These signs helped me to leave an unhealthy relationship. While in the relationship, God pointed out my lukewarmness. I started dreaming that I was doing nothing about the chaos in the world. In one dream, my Bible was shut, and I was cuddled up with a man that preferred sin over righteousness.

Sharing is caring!