6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 15:6-10

Here are two instances within the same passage where God is uniquely guiding Paul and his companions. Why didn’t He allow them to go into Asia? Timing? Hearts weren’t ready? Any number of reasons because at this point we can only speculate. And in the second instance God spoke through a dream. This begs the question, does God speak through dreams today? Absolutely but we need to be very careful about how they are interpreted.

For instance, many a Bible School student dreamed that such and such girl was going to marry him. Well, without her having a similar dream, it turns into what we would call a pipe dream!

Similarly don’t be surprised if what you’ve been thinking about throughout the day comes out in a distorted fashion in a dream.

On the other hand, if God wants to do something through you and He lets you know in a dream, make sure you get godly counsel from men and women you respect before acting on the dream.

In the Muslim and Hindu world (and often was the case in the Communist world), God appear regularly in dreams to men and women who were seeking the truth.

Pray for these men and women. We will never know their names but God certainly does. May He make Himself powerful in the lives of these men, women, and children.