I dreamt that my teenage daughter and I were preparing for a trip. We didn't have a lot of money and it was dark and raining. We were on a college campus and we went to the eating area where they had a small grocery store and they sold prepared food. We gathered up things to buy for our trip. I think the trip was by car, but I'm sure it was just us two.
1) Dream Setting: The dream took place on a college campus. A college can symbolize several things, but the context and the Spirit tell me that it here signifies a period of testing that the dreamer and her daughter are going through. (Again, if you feel that you have other insights, please send them to me.) Also, it was dark and raining. In this instance, I feel the darkness and rain signify a difficult period in the dreamer’s life. Darkness also symbolizes a lack of direction. They then went to the grocery store, which speaks of a place of receiving spiritual nourishment.
*It is difficult to describe sometimes why I assign a particular meaning to a symbol, because of the element of Spiritual revelation involved. The only way to learn to interpret dreams is to start to do it and interact with the Holy Spirit. Knowledge will only take you so far.
2) Dream Symbols:
a) A Trip = I believe that the trip refers to the next stage of the dreamer’s life. While she was going through a dark and difficult time of testing, the trip signifies a new place of destiny. She was preparing for it, but did not have the inner resources or the light to transition out of the place of darkness.
b) Food = Food speaks of the Word of God.
c) “Things to buy for the trip” = The “things” I believe are the spiritual elements (faith, God’s direction, etc.) the dreamer needed for her “trip” to the next level in God’s plan for her life. (Isaiah 55:1)
3) Dream Subject: The dream subjects are the dreamer and her daughter.
4) Dream Message: The dream is a call to the dreamer and her daughter to focus on their devotional lives in order to receive what they lacked from the Lord to get past the trials and testing. In the midst of the trial, they went to the grocery store (to eat of the Word and drink of the Spirit) to get what they needed for the trip.
5) Dream Source: If my interpretation is correct, then this dream is from the Lord.
Multiple Scenes
Many times, dreams will contain more than one scene. Even when each scene seems totally unrelated to the others, you will typically find a connection. Here are several ways in which multiple scenes might be interrelated. This is a very incomplete list. The possibilities are endless due to the Lord’s boundless creativity.
1) The first scene may reveal a sin in the dreamer’s life, while the next scene shows the possible consequences of that sin if there is no repentance.
2) The first scene may portray an attack of the enemy while the next scene shows the ultimate victory.
3) The first scene might be of an event from the past, while the next scene reveals how the past issue is still affecting the dream subject.
4) The first scene may center on a problem, while the next one could reveal the solution.
5) The first scene might portray a certain behavior or attitude while the subsequent scene shows either the Lord’s pleasure or displeasure concerning it.
6) The scenes may prophetically unveil a progression of future events (Daniel 7:1-14)
* Many times, different dreams which occur on the same night are interrelated. Just as with multiples scenes, look for the ways in which these dreams may connect.
Recurring Dreams
It is important to examine the phenomena of reoccurring dreams. These are dreams you have more than once. What are some of the reasons we experience reoccurring dreams?
If you are having a recurring nightmare, it might signify that there is an open door in your life to the enemy that hasn’t been dealt with adequately. (See Lesson One for a deeper explanation.) Let me give you an example from my own life.
For years I had a recurring nightmare that I was out of town and suddenly realized that my keys, phone, wallet, car and money were gone. While this might not sound so terrifying, I would often wake up disoriented and trembling in fear. I believe that the reason I kept having this dream was because the enemy had a stronghold of fear and unbelief in my life.
Dreams like that will expose the ongoing demonic activity so that you can be set free. This usually takes a combination of repentance and inner healing.
A recurring nightmare can also point to unconfessed ongoing sin. The Lord will continually bring warning through an individual’s dream life where there is continuous sin and rebellion. Because the Lord is gracious and merciful, He will reach out to us again and again as He breaks through our often hardened hearts until His purposes are performed in our lives
If a recurring dream is prophetic in nature, the Lord may be emphasizing the prophetic message as confirmation. For example, if someone has a recurring dream of revival coming to a city, this might be the Lord’s way of affirming and highlighting the truth of the message.
In summary, recurring dreams are the Lord’s way of bringing emphasis, clarity, focus, and/or confirmation to a dream message.