It Wasn’t Just a Dream

Many people know King Solomon’s story of asking God for wisdom, but not everyone realizes this happened in a dream. In the Western world, we tend to dismiss dreams, especially when they’re weird.

Imagine having this conversation with a friend: 

“I dreamed I was talking to someone, and he said I would be the wisest person who’s ever lived! Then I woke up and realized it was a dream.” 

If we heard a dream like that, most of us would probably think, That’s crazy. No way is that going to happen.

But according to the biblical record, dreams can be real. In many cases, they are far more than “just a dream.” We need to change the way we think about dreams if we want to treat them the way the Bible does.

Some dreams are merely information, but other dreams carry the power to change your life because of what God is doing. That’s what happened with Solomon in 1 Kings 3:4–15. When he woke up, he was different. He clearly knew something powerful had happened in his life.

Don’t discount the experiences you’ve had with God while asleep. Maybe you’ve dreamed about being in heaven, encountering angels, or seeing the Lord—and maybe you’ve discounted those experiences because they happened in a dream. According to Scripture, those dreams can be very real. 

The way we know a dream encounter is real (versus metaphorical) is by observing its fruit. For the rest of his life, Solomon walked in the fruit of this encounter with God. To this day, we still talk about what happened to him—in a dream. 

To hear more about God’s ways and the wonders He works in dreams, listen to episode 18 of The Dream’s Guy podcast.