2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers[a] to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.[b]”
4 Then the astrologers answered the king,[c] “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel 2:1-23
God speaks through dreams, are you listening? All through the Bible we see God speak to people through their dreams. Some of these were Christians but a lot of the time they were not. We hear stories of Kings and Pharaohs who have dreams and ask for them to be interpreted. In every situation, the response is that they are messages from God and that they have meaning. God is speaking though dreams.
A few weeks ago I was looking back through some old journal entries and I found one from 2021 that was a dream that I had about my church leaving the mill where we were meeting and going to the cinema where we had been previously. At that time I had absolutely no intention of leaving the mill. It was great there and everything was going well. I remember writing down the dream at the time feeling that it was significant and wondering what it meant. Three months later, there were problems at the mill that forced us to leave and we returned to the cinema. God was giving us an insight into what was coming up.
I think that he did this so that we would know that this was his plan for us, that we were still in his will and to give us confidence. Reading back over the dream filled me with gratitude and hope for the future.
What have you been dreaming recently? Could it be that God wants to speak to you through your dreams?
- Have you had any memorable dreams recently? Write them down and pray about what they could mean.
- Before you go to sleep pray and ask God to speak to you through your dreams. Leave a notepad by your bed and write down your dreams as soon as you wake.
