Recurring Dreams
If you are a believer in Christ and regularly study the Word of God, you are more likely to understand how one verse can speak to you differently today than it did in times past. Like an analogy a pastor gives to support his message, when the story is backed up by scripture, we see how the Word of God has a universal message for the church, but also how it relates to us as individuals. When the circumstances of life change, God’s living Word breathes life in an entirely new way.
I believe the two dreams that follow symbolize how we can embrace our spiritual calling and the promises and processes of God. Switch out my name for yours, replace my calling for yours, and visualize what God is making known to you.
If the meaning of the dreams don’t resonate with you, a key takeaway is in reference to God’s promise that when we are sharing the gospel and are uncertain what to say, we can depend on God’s promise found in Luke 12:12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”
1:11 Dream (August 2016):
I had a sense I needed to go somewhere but it was more important to rest. In my dream, I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 1:11. In my spirit I heard God say, “when you need to know it, you’ll know it.” I went back to bed (in the dream) and woke up a second time. I looked at the clock and it was 1:11. God repeated, “when you need to know it, you’ll know it.” I went back to sleep and in my dream, I woke up a third time. Like before, I looked at the clock and it was 1:11 and God said, “when you need to know it, you’ll know it.”
Each time I woke up in my dream, I had total clarity as to the interpretation of the dream. When I saw the number 1:11, I understood that the time on the clock represented the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three persons in one being, working together. I had an overwhelming sense I was engulfed in God’s presence. The words I heard dominated my thoughts and I understood this phrase to mean, “when you need to know how to proceed with my will, how to perform what I have called you to, you will know what to do, what to say. You will know at the precise moment you need it. Not a moment before, not after, but right on time (represented by the clock).”
The wisdom God grants will include what I cannot recall to memory.
End of dream.
As soon as my dream ended, I was roused from my sleep. I looked at the clock and it was 1:11 in the morning; reinforcing a revelatory message from God.
This dream was similar to Pharaoh’s dream in Genesis 41:1-15. “Pharaoh had a dream and in the dream, he went back to sleep and had another dream. When the dream ended, Pharaoh woke up.”
The dream started with an instruction: rest in God’s presence.
The presence of the Holy Spirit results in the wisdom of God flowing through me. When I need to know the meaning, I will know it.
1:11 is a significant representation of the Trinity. The “1” separated by the colon represents my Heavenly Father. The “11” after the colon symbolizes Jesus and the Holy Spirit. All that Jesus does for us and through the help of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory to the Father.
Pharaoh wasn’t a righteous man and yet God communicated to him through a dream. He knew this was no ordinary dream and was in search of answers. He found a godly man, Joseph, to interpret only what God could do.
“They said, “We dreamed dreams and there’s no one to interpret them.” Joseph said, “Don’t interpretations come from God?” Genesis 40:8
I knew that my dream was no ordinary dream, but the difference between one like Pharaohs and mine is that I have the Holy Spirit living in me who reveals the secrets of his heart. “Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7).
Interpreting the dream while dreaming affirms that through the help of the Holy Spirit, I can expect an increased anointing to interpret dreams.
Three months after the 1:11 Dream, I had another dream with the same message and in a similar format. I consider this to be a recurring dream.
111 Dream (November 2016):
I saw the number 111.
Immediately upon seeing the number, I heard these words three times: “God is three in one.” When you need to know it, you’ll know it.”
In Genesis, Joseph explained to Pharaoh the reason two dreams resembled the other.
Joseph said, “As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen” (Genesis 41:32). The Amplified Bible states, “That the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh [and in two different ways] indicates that this matter is fully determined and established by God, and God will bring it to pass very quickly.”
God was declaring what he wants to do through me that is specific to the gift to interpret dreams: “I will make happen what I told you will happen. You will interpret dreams for me when you need to interpret dreams.”
It’s difficult to convey the display and powerful move of the Holy Spirit that occurred in these two dreams. I was sound asleep and yet God brought light into my night as though I was hearing him during the day. God was speaking to me Spirit to spirit.
“The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.” Psalm 16:7-8
How can you know what you need to know, and when you need to know it?
Don’t skim scripture. Crave the knowledge and promises that lie between the pages of your Bible. God confirms his Word through pastors, teachers, dreams and visions, but they should not replace hearing God through his Word.
Embrace and know what your spiritual gifts are. The Bible says that everyone has at least one. If you don’t know what yours are, ask God to make it clear to you. Don’t be afraid to ask friends. I have friends who saw gifts in me that I didn’t recognize in myself. Here is a list of spiritual gifts: I Corinthians 12:4-12
What promises has God revealed to you, and repeated, that you’re still ignoring? Joe Ibojie states that recurring dreams or those that are similar in nature may occur because we have ignored God’s message the first time.
Over the course of three years I had four dreams, with a corresponding message, to be a writer. When I had my first dream in 2013, I had no intentions or goals to be a blogger. I didn’t know it then, but God had firmly established his plans, and with his help, it came to fruition.
There are several posts on this blog that are in reference to what God has called me to. The intent is for us to recognize what God calls us to is a process. Doing the Lord work takes time and when we listen to the Lord, day or night, we'll always make progress for the glory of God.
The first two dreams pertaining to being a writer and blogger:
