This story is about a miracle that followed a prophetic vision.
Dreams and visions are an important part of the miracle-production process. In fact, it’s hard to find an Old Testament Bible story that didn’t contain one or the other. For example, Abraham received and entered his covenant with God through a dream; As Jacob fled from Esau, God met Jacob in a dream through which He promised Jacob prosperity and safety; Jacob was instructed to leave his father-in-law’s household in a dream; Joseph received the promise of great promotion through two dreams; Solomon received wisdom and riches in a dream; Gideon received encouragement to go to battle from a dream; and Peter was instructed to go to the Gentiles through a vision, to name just a few examples.
Biblically speaking, the only way the average person ever hears from God is through dreams and visions.
If we don’t take our dreams seriously, we are essentially ignoring God. Bible examples were given to us so that we could follow those examples and live similar lives. To that end, Bible examples demonstrate that it is impossible to follow God’s specific plan for our lives without hearing from God personally. Moreover, story after story unanimously illustrates that all of the biblical patriarchs and main characters paid attention to their dreams and visions – and by doing so, lived miraculous lives.
I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. (Isaiah 66)
Ergo, we cannot follow God to the answers to our prayers if we ignore our dreams. Moreover, we cannot please God without following Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and faith means following His instructions.
Just a Few of Many Examples
Through dreams and visions, Abraham received the covenant. Through dreams and visions, Solomon received wisdom to serve God’s people along with astounding blessings. Through dreams and visions, Jacob received prosperity and protection. Through dreams and visions, Joseph and his family were guided to safety.
God promised that the New Covenant would make it so that everyone could know God and be led by God personally exactly as the patriarchs did. The Old Testament is our example of how to spiritual relationship with God in the New Covenant.
Paul said that faith is following God exactly as Abraham did before he was circumcised. (Romans 4) It would be impossible to follow God as Abraham did if we couldn’t hear from Him through dreams and visions, as Abraham and his offspring did. To that end, God promised that He would pour out dreams, visions, and prophecies on all of mankind so that we could know Him as our forefathers did. (Joel 2, Acts 2)
But most people don’t recognize that their dreams are from God so they don’t pay attention to them.
Job 33
Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks? For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices. In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds, He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings to turn a man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the Pit and his life from perishing by the sword. (Job 33)
Living a powerful spiritual life that glorifies God is simple. Just follow the Bible’s examples. Do what the patriarchs did: If you remember a dream, it’s from God. Write it down.
Follow Jesus’ Example
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. (John 14)
Another reason to hear from God through dreams is to do the greater works that Jesus spoke of. Every miracle that Jesus did was the result of the Father showing it to him first. Jesus first saw what God did, then He followed.
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing. (John 5)
In the same way, almost every miraculous thing that’s happened in my life (as you will see through every story in this book) was preceded by God showing it to me through a prophecy, dream, or vision. First, God shows me what is going to happen, then He does it.
Example
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.13 Then a voice told him,“ Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!”Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”23Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.24The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.26But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.28He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.32Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism35but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.37You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Before I began having prophetic dreams, I always wondered how God showed Jesus what He was doing. Then, shortly after I began writing my prophetic dreams and visions down, I began to understand.
On one particular night, I had a dream that God was giving houses to people. I had no idea what it meant so I just wrote it down and, like Peter, I waited to see what would happen.
After I wrote down my dream, I went to spend time seeking God. All throughout my morning with God, I had a message blowing up in my heart which I felt burdened to share with the pastor so, I sent an email to the church. A little while later, I heard back from his secretary, Lette (who saw the email first). Lette pulled me aside in church that night and told me that the message that I sent was miraculously timely. She shared that I sent the message at the exact same time that the entire church office was in an office meeting where my pastor was sharing the exact same message at the exact same moment. Needless to say, I was blown away. When it was time for the pastor to preach he shared with the church that God confirmed the same message that He had given the pastor through me and while he was explaining the entire event he called me a prophetess (which was news to me). I was totally shocked that he called me a prophetess: One, because I definitely didn’t consider myself such (and I still don’t); and two, just a few weeks before he said this, I recorded that I had had several dreams and all throughout my dreams I was feeling that I was a prophet.
Let Us Go To The Seer
“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.”
“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”
(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.) (1 Samuel – Biblehub.com)
After the pastor mentioned that I was a prophetess, people regularly began to approach me in hopes of receiving prophetic words from God. Kathleen Christian was the first to approach me. At the time, she was trying to buy a house but there were some financing hurdles that she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to overcome. It looked pretty bad and she was all but certain that it was not going to happen. So one day after a church service, she approached me outside in the parking lot and asked me to pray for a word from God about her house situation.
I was totally clueless. I had never given a word. Didn’t know how to give a word… and I had no idea if it was even possible to get a word for someone upon a request. But as we were standing there, God reminded me of the dream to show me that He knew that Kathleen was going to approach me for a word. Then, I suddenly had a Bible verse blowing up in my heart. It was: Possess the land.
So, I shared with Kathleen that my heart was saying: ‘Possess the land.’
Welp. Kathleen took it pretty seriously. She is a realtor so she had a key to the house, and, taking God quite literally, she took her blanket and pillow to the house and she spent the night. She followed His instructions the best she could and God did the rest. He made the impossible possible. She possessed the land and not long afterward she got (miraculously) approved to buy the house. That is faith! She listened, she believed, and she followed; and God did the rest. And I loved being a part of God blessing Kathleen. There is nothing better than seeing God bless His people. I loved being allowed to participate in Kathleen’s joy and I learned that being the bearer of good tidings is a lot of fun.
Visions That Repeat Three Times
I woke up one morning immediately after seeing a vision of chicken tenders frying in an electric frying pan. The tenders went from perfectly golden brown to the blackest black they could possibly be. But then, suddenly, they went back to being nicely browned fried chicken. The vision repeated itself three times, so I knew that it was important and prophetic.
Later that morning, my mother came to my house and asked me to pray with her for a close family friend, John, who was just pronounced brain-dead. Like Peter, God first sent a vision, and then later He helped me understand how the vision was to be applied. John’s doctors told his family that there was no hope of recovery and advised the family to terminate life support, which they were planning to do the next day. The doctors said that recovery of any kind was impossible, and his immediate family had begun making plans to travel for his funeral. But while my mother and I were praying, God reminded me of the vision that I had that morning, and He revealed that John would recover. John was the burnt chicken and God was going to restore him.
John’s dire situation looked so impossible that people thought I had truly lost my mind because I was so adamant that God was going to restore him despite the doctor’s assurance that there was no hope.
I messaged his wife and explained that God had said that John was going to recover. She thanked me and prayed that it was true.
Then, I told my mother to tell his mother the same thing:
‘Don’t take him off life support. God is going to restore him!’
And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’ Habakkuk 2
The same day, I spoke with John’s brother Dean. Dean lived in Germany, and after speaking with him, I knew that he was pretty torn up about his brother. John and Dean had always been close, I couldn’t remember a harsh between them, and it was killing Dean that he wasn’t going to get a chance to say goodbye to John. While we spoke, he said, “I don’t know if I should fly over now before they remove him from life support, or if I should wait for the funeral.”
“Can I suggest praying about the decision? God showed me that John was going to recover, and I know it sounds a little batty to hear someone say ‘God told me’, but save your time and money for when he wakes up because I know that he will.”
“Alright, sis. I’m gonna take your word for it,” he said.
After praying about it, Dean decided to trust God for a miracle, and he waited for John to wake up.
The next day, the doctors came to John’s room to discuss the family’s decision. When the time came to decide to remove life support, his mother, Marie, threw her body over John and said, “OVER MY DEAD BODY!”
In the end, they chose not to take him off life support. For several weeks there was no improvement and it looked genuinely hopeless. MRI after MRI continued to indicate that John was definitely brain dead, but they did not give up hope. They waited on a miracle.
Then, one day, John started to improve. And, just as God said, John returned from the brink of death. He woke up. He laughed. We spoke! Glory to GOD, John was restored and his brain was as before and when we spoke he thanked me for the encouragement during the battle for his life.
They said it would take a miracle.
And God delivered.
The Moral
Peter didn’t know what the vision meant when he received it but when the time was right it all made sense.
If we seek God and pay attention to the things that He shows us, if we have our hearts set on hearing from and knowing Him, we will hear from Him and He will help us to understand. Then, we will do the “greater works” that Jesus spoke of.
Following Bible examples by listening to God through dreams and visions is one of the biggest keys to a miraculous life. Dreams and visions go hand in hand with miracles and prophecy. All throughout the Bible people knew God, they believed their dreams, and they followed Him.
God communicates through dreams and visions, through prophecy, through angels, or out loud; and the Bible Patriarchs and Matriarchs followed to miraculous results. The recipe for following God is still the same as it has always been, we must listen, believe, and follow. By following God’s lead, we will do the greater works, thus shining our lights and bringing God glory. When people see evidence of God working in the lives of His people, when people see God’s glory up close and ever so personal, it inspires faith. When people see real evidence of the one true God doing real wonders, their faith increases, and people who don’t believe change their minds.
Lesson Learned
So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5)
Follow the examples, and do what Jesus and the Patriarchs did.
Let your light shine so that others may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. If we are to follow Jesus’ example and glorify God on Earth with the “greater works” that Jesus spoke about, we have to know God like Jesus did.