The #1 Reason Dream Interpretation Fails
Actually, there are two main reasons I see dreamers get confused with interpretation and become derailed and disillusioned in their dream work. The first is that they overlook the critical importance of their waking world setting – more on that below.
The second reason is because they take their dreams too literally. Sure, every once in a while, a dream might play out in waking life exactly like it did in your vision of the night, yet I believe most of us would agree that our dream life usually looks quite different from our waking world!
And that’s okay. That is how it’s meant to be. God designed dreams to be communicated in a picture language, and with good reason. We have discussed why God uses symbols to speak His sacred language to us while we sleep, so we realize that even though the language is metaphorical and allegorical, it is still legitimate and we should pay attention and honor it.
Take All Dreams Seriously, But Only Some Literally
For example, God spoke to Gideon through a dream about a loaf of barley bread (see Judges 7). The dream was not intended to be taken literally, but the message was most certainly intended to be taken seriously!
Same thing with Joseph in Genesis. In his dreams, he sees stars in the sky bowing down to him. And the sun and moon bowed too. Not to mention some sheaves of grain were doing the same thing! Now that all sounds silly and strange, but only if you take it to be literal. And as we have stated, most of our dreams aren’t. Instead, the loaf of bread represented an army, figuratively. The stars and sheaves represented Joseph’s brothers, symbolically.
The messages of these dreams were meant to be taken seriously, but not literally. This is a very important distinction for us to make, and I want you to understand why. Here is an example of what NOT to do.
Dream of Infidelity
A precious couple reached out to our ministry for coaching on understanding a dream the husband had. Briefly, his dream showed another man attempting to win the affections of his wife, in their home and even their bedroom, and he was trying to protect his bride from him.
The husband, we’ll call him Mike, was physically positioning himself to come between the wife, who we’ll call Jen, and the other man. Mike was fending off the suitor and fighting for his beloved. Even though Jen appeared to be welcoming the other man’s advances, Mike was committed to her and faithful to their covenant. He loved Jen so much, and he was fighting for their marriage. He wouldn’t allow anything to come between them!
Now, this dream deeply troubled Mike, as he knew God speaks through dreams. Mike takes his dreams seriously as messages from heaven! The only problem is that he was also taking it literally. He immediately assumed this was some type of prophetic revelation that his wife was being unfaithful to him, and he was extremely upset.
Wisely, they sought out guidance from a “spiritual counselor” and someone who actually claimed to interpret your dreams for you. Tragically, this “dream interpretation ministry” violated the number one principle of dream work, which is understanding that in the Bible MOST dreams are symbolic!
Of course, not all dreams are metaphorical, but most are. And the responsible interpretation will thoroughly explore any and all figurative and allegorical interpretations of the dream first. Especially before assuming the stance of the accuser of the brethren and assigning blame and shame on an otherwise completely innocent spouse.
As you can imagine, having a “professional interpreter” confirm Mike’s worst fears regarding Jen’s morality and declaring the dream a divine “word of knowledge” condemning her impropriety only added fuel to the fire of suspicion and judgment.
Throughout it all, she insisted she was innocent, and he desperately clung to the hope that his wife wasn’t cheating on him.
SETTING: The Most Overlooked Aspect of Dream Work
In a last-ditch effort, they reached out to Glory Waves to see if there was any other possible interpretation for Mike’s dream, and of course, we used the DAESI Dream Work Method.
We know the summary of the dream above, so next we zero in on the key action and emotion in the dream. From there, we consider the all-important “setting” – that is, where in waking life are these actions and emotions being experienced? And with Holy Spirit’s guidance and illumination, we match them up.
This is unquestionably the most important – and most overlooked – aspect of dream work and was completely ignored when consulting with their previous “interpretation expert.” We don’t know anything about a dream until we know the setting!
The setting is: what was going on in the dreamer’s life when they had the dream. What were they thinking about during the day? What were they praying about as they went to sleep? Obviously, the dreamer knows this best, which is one reason why you are the most qualified person to make sense of your dreams!
Principle: Those matters your heart is processing are what God is going to speak to through your dreams, and the setting is usually the number one key for unlocking the meaning of any dream. For example, Paul goes to sleep wondering where to go next on his missionary journey and that night dreams of a Macedonian man motioning to come on over (Acts 16:6-10). The dream addressed the question he went to sleep thinking about!
We see the importance of the waking world setting playing out in the life of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, as well. Like Mike, his mind is reeling with questions of infidelity. He loves his fiancé Mary, but she winds up pregnant, and it’s not his baby! But “while he thought about these things,” Joseph had a dream that answers his heart’s question (Matt. 1:18-25).
We’ve already mentioned Gideon, and the waking world setting of the dream that encouraged him was that he was facing an impending battle with an enemy army. That is what Gideon and the Midianite soldiers were thinking about as they went to sleep, and in response to what their hearts were pondering and processing, God downloaded the dream about barley bread to provide heaven’s point of view (see Judges 7).
The final biblical example we’ll mention is found in the fourth chapter of Daniel. The setting from King Nebuchadnezzar’s waking world is that he was living large. His kingdom was flourishing but while he was at ease in his house and happy in his palace, according to Daniel in his interpretation, he had sin, unrighteousness, wrongdoing, and a lack of mercy to the poor. And what was in his heart eventually came out of his mouth when he declared Babylon was great because of his own might and power and for his own honor.
We see the setting in his waking life was arrogance and enjoyment of the fruits of his power over others, and God gave a dream warning him that pride comes before a fall.
The bottom-line takeaway for us is that based on strong Scriptural precedent, we always appreciate the value and importance of examining our waking world setting as we engage in dream interpretation work.
Interpretation Intervention
So as our conversation unfolded, I asked Mike where in his waking world a corresponding match of the key action and emotion would be. That is, a juxtaposition of faithfulness and unfaithfulness, like in the dream. Where in his waking life was 1) someone unfaithful, and 2) someone else was loving and committed despite betrayal?
It was then he admitted that some time back, he had actually been the one who was unfaithful to their marriage vows. Mike himself is the spouse who had previously cheated, and he was so ashamed. Jen knew this and had already forgiven her husband, yet he still felt extremely guilty.
As Mike wrestled with accepting his wife’s forgiveness, he had this dream. He’d gone on a short retreat for personal prayer and fasting, unaware that Jen was also interceding for him. Never underestimate the power of a praying wife!
Jen had seen her husband wracked with guilt and had specifically been praying for him to trust and believe in the love she had for him. She had been praying that God would help Mike know that she still cared for him. She was still committed to him. She was not holding his sins against him. She still wanted to protect and preserve their marriage.
And in response to her prayers, God gave Mike this dream.
Divorce or a Dream Come True?
God was giving Mike the opportunity to feel EXACTLY how Jen felt about their marriage. He was able to experience the full spectrum of emotions from betrayal to passionate protection. She wanted to fight for her marriage! And those feelings are specifically what he experienced in the dream.
In the face of infidelity, he still wanted his wife. He loved her so much, he forcefully stepped between her and the other man, shielding her from his embrace. He was willing to go to blows for their marriage without a second thought! Even though she was being unfaithful to him – his love for her did not stop. He kept caring. His desire was for her. He fought for their marriage, and he won.
Which is precisely what Jen had done in waking life.
When Mike cheated, she forgave him. She still loved him and stayed committed to him. She was all in and she was fighting for their marriage! And now, because of the dream, Mike knew exactly how she felt. He just lived it!
This is another extraordinary gift of dreams – they allow us to feel another perspective. Feel God’s heart for us. Feel our spouse’s love for us. We feel it and we experience it and we know it, because we “live it” in our dream.
Mike knew in his mind Jen had forgiven him, but he could not feel it in his heart. His dream allowed him to get beyond mental ideas and into pictures. Emotions are byproducts of pictures. God gave him a new picture, so he could experience new emotions.
And that’s what the dream was about: A hurtful betrayal. A stronger love. A faithful wife. An answered prayer.
And when Mike saw the dream for what it was – a glimpse into the heart of his bride, her commitment to him, and her unfailing love – it changed him. He was able to feel the forgiveness and grace she had extended him so many times in waking life. Now he knew it in his heart, because of what he had just seen and experienced in his dream.
Faithful Interpretation
In summary, this is how we process the dream in a responsible interpretation method such as DAESI:
Dream: A spouse attempting to shield his partner, fending off advances of another lover.
Action: Fighting to protect and preserve a marriage.
Emotion: Love, faithfulness and forgiveness in the face of adultery.
Setting: Infidelity; yet a wife praying that her husband knows how much she still loves him.
Interpretation: Mike experienced exactly how Jen felt. God answered her prayers and gave him a heart revelation of what grace and forgiveness and agape love truly feel like, so he would know how committed she still was to him and their marriage despite his infidelity.
Praise God they persevered until they heard an interpretation that resonated with them both! I am so proud of them, and I trust this illustrates how seriously we want to take the business of dreams, while also showing that by no means suggests we automatically take them literally.
Principle: Always try a dream on symbolically first to see how it fits! Then invite Holy Spirit to unpack it with you as He brings a message of encouragement and peace. We do this by asking for revelation and tuning to flowing thoughts which light upon our minds (Jas. 1:5; Jn. 7:37-39). God never condemns us – even His correction comes wrapped in comfort, inspiration, and hope.
An interpretation that does not consider your personal perception of the dream symbols will be incomplete at best. And as this example demonstrates, an interpretation that does not take into account your own waking-life context is not just dangerous—it could be disastrous.
My prayer for you is that you don’t believe every interpretation. Like all revelation, test the spirit of it and examine the fruit it produces in your heart. Do you feel more peaceful and faith-filled and loved? That is the evidence of a Holy Spirit interpretation! That is the kingdom of God.
Always remember, you know what the symbols in your dream mean to you better than anyone. And not only that, but you also know the setting from your waking world better than anyone. Which means YOU are the most qualified expert to make sense of your dreams.
Father gave you the dream, and there is no mediator between you and Him except Jesus. Holy Spirit leads you into truth and His anointing teaches you all things. So feel comfortable and confident becoming your own master interpreter. God can’t wait to meet you in your dreams!
Next Steps
- Equip yourself with training resources.
- Hire a dream coach to help you through the process.
- Enroll in our dreams e-learning module.
- Download the interpretation app free.
“The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” (Daniel 2:45)
Power to the dreamer!