Q&A Dr. Charity Virkler Kayembe

A DREAM EXPERT AND AUTHOR ANSWERS OUR MOST PRESSING QUESTIONS.

Does God still speak to us in dreams today? Scripture points to the answer: yes. God’s never-changing character (Hebrews 13:8) means he continues to meet with us at night, as he did in the times of the Bible, because sometimes it’s the only time our minds are quiet enough to hear him. Just as Jesus spoke in parables, God uses our dreams to convey messages to us. But how can we figure out what he’s trying to tell us? We asked Charity Virkler Kayembe, who has a doctorate in biblical studies and is the author of Hearing God Through Your Dreams, to share what she’s learned.

How significant are dreams to God?

Very! If we add up all the Scriptural references to dreams and visions, and all the interpretations and actions that people took because of dreams, it comes to a third of the Bible. In addition, many important events happened while our biblical heroes were sleeping. For instance, Solomon received his legendary gift of wisdom in a dream. And Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, received instruction to take Mary as his wife in a dream. Because God values dreams and visions, we should too.

Why are some dreams literal, while most are symbolic?

Some people, like creatives, visionaries—really right-brained people— have more literal dreams. But for 95 percent of us, our dreams are usually symbolic, speaking to us in a figurative language we need to learn to understand. Symbolic language does not make the dream any less valid or true. Remember Joseph’s dream in which the sun, moon and 11 stars were bowing before him and all of his family members immediately recognized what the symbols represented (Genesis 37:9–10)? Though the meaning was veiled in figurative expressions, it was a true message to Joseph from God.

Why does God allow deceased loved ones to appear in a dream?