The moment we give our lives to Jesus we enter into a relationship with the living God. Like all healthy relationships, it is a two way street of love, dedication and communication. Did you know that God loves it when you talk to him and that he actually enjoys talking to you? I fear that many people mistakenly see God as indifferent and uninterested in their lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is an intimate lover and a caring Father who adores his children and loves to talk to them. He is always reaching out to draw us into intimate fellowship with himself.

How sad it would be to not hear God’s voice simply because we don’t realize the ways in which he likes to speak. The primary way that God speaks to us is through the Bible which is our anchor for life and the reference point by which we judge all other supernatural experiences. However, the Bible itself testifies that God also speaks to people through many different means.

One of the most common ways that God communicated with people in the Bible was through dreams and visions, and he still does so today. Acts 2:17 prophesies over our generation: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”  What do prophecy, visions, and dreams all have in common? All three involve God speaking to his people. For us to ignore dreams and visions as a legitimate way that God communicates is to limit our intimate fellowship with our Savior. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The fact that God communicates with us through dreams makes me so happy! What an adventure we get to embark on with the living God. To hear his voice is glorious, empowering us to know him and to overcome adversity.

One such instance occurred in my own life just a few years ago. Through some unforeseeable circumstances we lost our insurance and nearly all of our family’s income virtually overnight. For weeks we brought each bill, expense, and need before the Lord in prayer and watched as he brought in the finances for each one to be paid in full and on time. There were weeks that the Lord enabled me to feed my family of four on $20.00! Even though this season stretched our faith, it was also exhilarating to see how God miraculously provided for us over and over again. We were living a miracle!

Our faith was strong and God helped us resist the temptation to be discouraged. However, Satan was working to undermine our faith and steal our victory. One particular evening the battle was especially intense. Within a few hours we had several discouraging phone conversations that weighed on me. Then I walked outside to find that our only working vehicle had just broken down. And since our other car was also broken down this meant we had no transportation and still no money. I felt my faith being overwhelmed and a physical heaviness settled over my whole body. It was all I could do to not lose it and speak sinful words of unbelief. I knew that I was fighting for my place of victory and I was afraid that if I lost it, I would never be able to recover my peace. Lying in bed that night feeling the crushing weight of my circumstances, I prayed, “Father, rescue me. My heart is set on you. Help me!”

In response, the Lord visited me in the most amazing way in a dream. I dreamt that I was on the edge of a deep and dangerous ravine that was covered in ice and snow. My Father (who represented Father God in the dream) stood on the opposite side of the ravine and called across to me, “Autumn, everything is going to be ok.” But then something happened, I slipped and fell a long way down the very deep ravine landing in snow that went clear up to my thighs. I immediately looked to my Father who was standing above me on the edge of the great crevice. He called to me, “Autumn, everything is going to be ok.”  I knew in the dream that I was in a dangerous place. A huge ledge of snow was hanging directly above me threatening to break into an avalanche and bury me alive at any moment. Slowly, I attempted to lift myself out of the deep snow when all of a sudden I heard a great CRACK from behind me. The snow ledge had broken and an avalanche was bearing down on me. In desperation, I threw my hands up in worship and looked to my Father who stood above me. The snow rolled around me coming up to my arm pits and piled up against the back of my head. Unable to free myself, I kept my eyes on Father God. Then he spoke again, “Autumn, you’re going to be ok.”  With tears in my eyes, I called back to him, “I know. But the snow is so heavy.”  I could feel the weight of the avalanche almost crushing me.

It was at this moment that an angel appeared. She grabbed my hand and immediately I was out from under the weight of that avalanche and standing with my Father in victory. In the dream I knew that this angelic being was an angel of provision sent by my Heavenly Father to take care of me. The meaning of the dream was clear to me. I would NOT be crushed by these circumstances. Just as the Lord rescued me from the crushing weight of the avalanche, he would also rescue me from all my current problems. I awoke from the dream in a state of complete victory! All of the heaviness and despair were gone and I had a deep confidence that I would be okay because my Father had told me so in the dream. I knew that he was sending his angel to care for me and bring me everything that I needed.

Strengthened by this dream, my husband and I took our vehicle to the mechanic believing that God would provide the money to pay for the repairs by the time it was fixed. We drove the mechanic shop’s loaner car to church that Sunday and to our utter surprise we found that our amazing and loving church family had went together and purchased a new minivan for us! To our amazement, they had organized this BEFORE our financial difficulties and vehicle breakdowns had even started. God had made a way of provision for us before we even knew that we needed it!

What a gift to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. What a gift to have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. And what a gift to be able to hear God’s voice through dreams. Yes, God definitely still speaks today. Perhaps he is even speaking to you, waiting for you to begin listening to his voice in the night.