Please note that it is very important that you record all relevant information and detail about the different symbols in the dream or the vision:
The shape and size of each object. (Only if relevant – Normal sizes need not be recorded, only if something is particularly huge or small).
The color of each object.
The number of different objects.
The direction facing and/or the direction of movement of each object.
The words that were spoken.
The actions performed.
The emotions experienced with each occurrence in the dream or vision.
The place the dream was physically located, the geographical area, background circumstances, the context of the time in history.
Information that you supernaturally knew in the dream and vision needs to be written down exactly as God gave it to you. (The gifts of discernment, knowledge, and wisdom, do sometimes manifest in dreams and visions)
Very important, record whether you pondered on something specific the day before. Did you question a specific situation? Did you counsel a specific person? Were you upset about something? Did you and a friend discuss something that bothered you the day before?
A dream or a vision is almost always an answer to something, or a reply from God, or more information about something that you asked or pondered upon the day before the dream. Sometimes it can be a message or important information about a group of people or for a person, you counseled or thought about the day before.
It is sometimes an answer to prayer. Maybe you prayed for guidance or for deliverance. Maybe you sought God’s face for a specific situation the day before. It is amazing how many people seek God’s face during a particular situation and yet when He answers them they fail to understand that the dream is an answer to their prayer. When dream interpreters do not have information as mentioned above (what you pondered on, questions asked and concerns you had right before the dream) then they are obliged to interpret the dream in a spiritual sense and in a general sense. This leads to dreams being interpreted incorrectly.
The more accurate you record all this information the more successful you will be with the interpretation of the dream or vision. Do not guess if you cannot remember something. If you experienced no emotions in the dream that is OK.
You need to record only and exactly what you did experience in the dream. Remember that each and every symbol and each and every detail in the dream and vision need to be analyzed.
You need to do this systematically in order to bring the total sum of all possible aspects and meanings into the equation. If you do not analyze all symbols and all meanings you might lose vital information and you might end up not interpreting the dream or vision correctly.
Dream Symbols Interpretation Checklist:
Through the years I have realized that it is very difficult to interpret dreams and visions symbols correctly without a “Dreams Symbols Interpretation Checklist”. Without these guidelines, we tend to slip up with important details as well as important aspects of dreams and symbols interpretation.
The guidelines in this checklist will help you to minimize mistakes and prevent incorrect interpretation. Feel free to use this checklist every time that you need to analyze a dream or a vision:
Step 1: Determine the identity of the person who the dream or vision is for.
Which person is this dream or vision all about?
Most of the time, dreams and visions are about the person who received the dream or the vision. This means the message is for the person who had the dream or the vision. You probably pondered on things in your own life. From problems to challenges to traumatic experiences to important things in your ministry or your job to important things regarding raising your children, etc. God, who is always aware of what we think or do, responds by giving you more information about the specific situation or aspect of your life.
Sometimes the dream is not from God but an emotional restoration dream. Again this is about yourself. This enables you to deal with emotional issues in your life. See, This Post, for more information about this aspect.
Sometimes, however, the dream is about a person you pondered about, prayed for, talked about, etc. God hears you inquiring about or praying for or pondering on a specific person. He gets involved by giving you important information about that person, especially when that person needs more prayer, a word of knowledge or wisdom, exhortation, etc. In such cases He wants you to act on such a dream or a vision.
Step 2: Determine what caused this dream or vision to come to you.
What caused God to communicate the relevant information to you?
Most of the time a dream or a vision is an answer to a request, a prayer, something you pondered upon, etc. God heard you pondering on, praying for, requiring about a specific situation, challenge, incident, etc. This second step is not about the person but about the subject of your dream or vision. God sometimes gives you more information about such an aspect, subject or incident in a dream or a vision.
Sometimes, however, dreams and visions come to us without us causing God to respond to something we did or ask. Sometimes God does communicate important information to us randomly. It is just like the relationship between people. Sometimes we respond to each other but sometimes we initiate a conversation. It is the same with God.
The purpose of Step 2 is not to interpret the different symbols of the dream. It is to identify what the subject of the dream is. For instance, if you pondered about a conflict situation that occurred at your work during the day, that night you might dream about red cars and vehicle accidents. When you apply Step 2 you will immediately know that the dream is all about the particular incident at work.
Step 3: Make a list of all the relevant symbols in the dream or vision.
Exactly what must be written down?
In order to analyze your dream or vision correctly, you need to write down absolutely everything. Please read, This Post, in order to understand exactly what you must take into consideration in order to interpret dreams and visions correctly. Do take note that there is absolutely no non-essential information in a dream or a vision.
Step 4: Write down the meaning of each symbol next to each symbol.
What is the meaning of each symbol in the dream exactly?
Although the meaning of all symbols is all the same in any language or culture, there is most often more than one meaning for a specific symbol. Sometimes in a dream, there is often a certain or a specific emphasis on a particular aspect of the meaning of a particular symbol. Although we can apply a few different meanings onto a specific symbol, in the specific dream God might put the emphasis on only one of those meanings. For instance, the color “white” symbolizes victory, righteousness, holiness, faith, and purity. In the specific dream, however, God put the emphasis on righteousness. However, you won’t know this fact if you do not pray about it.
This does make dreams and visions symbols interpretation a bit complicated. This is however how God orchestrated it to be. We always need God to help us find the true meaning of a dream or a vision. It promotes prayer and it promotes a love relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what it is all about.
Dreams and visions symbols interpretation is not meant to be a clinical or theoretical experience. It is not merely looking up meanings of symbols like we do with an expository dictionary. It is supposed to be the result of a love relationship with Christ. A love relationship in which our heavenly Bridegroom expects from us to learn his love language.
Sometimes the meaning of dreams and visions is crystal clear and we do not even have to use this checklist. However, most dreams are not so easy to understand because of the reasons I discussed above.
Step 5: Start praying and pondering on all the detail that you identified above.
You now reached the stage where you need to talk to God about this dream.
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit will lead you and you will be able to find the true meaning of the dream or the vision every time.
The meaning of the dream or vision not making sense to you?
It is important to understand that quite often a dream reflects the situation in a person’s life pertaining to a certain incident, challenge or traumatic experience. It very seldom reflects on a person’s overall spiritual situation. It refers to a specific situation. For this reason, we are sometimes confused about the meaning of a specific dream.
You might feel that you are spiritually above a certain message, word of caution, warning, etc. If you take your overall spiritual walk in Christ into consideration that might be true. However, sometimes we accidentally slip up in a specific situation. When we receive a warning or a reprimand from God about that specific slip up, we must not forget that the meaning of the dream or vision is solely about that specific incident. For instance, if you dream you kill a snake by crushing its head with a staff or a reed, it probably means you achieved victory over the enemy in a specific situation that you struggled with. Other symbols in the dream will reveal more information about the specific situation.
Sometimes a dream is about a situation far in the future. Sometimes God tells you something weeks in advance, sometimes months in advance and even sometimes years in advance. These are prophetical dreams. I personally recorded dreams which I could not understand for years, but sure enough, later on in life, I did and I realized all those dreams and visions have indeed come into fulfillment. My advice with such dreams, just record it and sometimes go back to it and pray about it. One day you will be able to understand all of them.
Summary of dreams interpretation checklist:
Step 1: Determine the identity of the person who the dream or vision is for.
(Who is this dream or vision all about?)
Step 2: Determine what caused this dream or vision to come to you.
(What caused God to communicate the relevant information to you? What is it all about?)
Step 3: Make a list of all the relevant symbols in the dream or vision.
(Exactly what must be written down? Remember, there is absolutely no non-essential information in dreams and visions)
Step 4: Write down the meaning of each symbol next to each symbol.
(What is the meaning of each symbol in this dream exactly? There are different options for the same symbol)
Step 5: Start praying and pondering on all the detail that you identified above.
(You now reached the stage where you need to talk to God about this dream)
Checklist:
Who is it all about?
What is it all about?
List of the symbols
Meaning of symbols
Pray for interpretation
Assessment: Lesson 4
Test yourself on the following:
- Why do dreams or visions interpreters need all relevant information regarding a specific dream?
- Name ten examples of such relevant information.
- Name the correct steps in the correct sequence that interpreters need to follow during the interpretation of a dream or a vision.
- What is the purpose of the interpretation checklist?