Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream in a speech that became infamous. He had a dream that one day people of different colored skins would walk side by side in freedom. Martin Luther King had a dream – what’s yours?

Do you have a dream? There are different kinds of dreams, but dreams grounded in biblical principles are the best ones.

There are real dreams that come to you as you sleep. Some of these have seemingly no meaning while others are actually prophetic. In the Bible, God spoke to individuals through dreams, like in the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors, Jacob’s ladder, or when Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, was told to not be afraid to take Mary to be his wife.

Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. —Genesis 37:5

He dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. —Genesis 28:12 

Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. —Matthew 2:13 

Other dreams are better described as something you long to see happen or a deep desire. These dreams are sometimes described as dreams of your soul or spirit. Learning to decipher which of these are selfish desires and which are from God is often a tricky endeavor.

Sure, you can dream of magical Disney World-style things. With this form of make believe dreaming, anything you imagine could happen with just a wish to make it real.

The sky is the limit for dreaming this kind of dream, but often, just as quickly as Cinderella’s carriage turned back into a pumpkin at midnight, these lofty imaginary dreams seldom become a reality. If they do, they seldom fully satisfy.

On the other hand, if your dream is from God and fits into the plans that He has for your life, be assured that your dream will be within reach and become a reality. Put your trust in Him and pursue it.

I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. —Acts 2:17

It sounds quite spiritual to announce that you do, in fact, have a Holy Spirit inspired dream; but, how do you know if the dream is from God or within His plans for your life? Start by writing it down, and then pray about setting goals to achieve your dream.

And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. —Habakkuk 2:2

Writing down your dream not only gives you something substantial to look at and compare with scriptures, but it also makes it more tangible to have a written goal to pray over and proof for your testimony after you dream comes to pass. When you see something in writing, and read it out loud, it becomes more clear as to whether it is just a fly-by-night selfish ambition or if it was truly inspired by God.

After you have written down your vision for the future, read and re-read it to determine if anything in it is contrary to scriptures. God cannot lie and will not deny Himself. If you have a dream to marry a particular person but the person is already married to another, it’s a red flag that this ideal is probably not from God. Similarly, if your dream involves any sinful act to fulfill it; it is time to pursue a different dream.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He can’t deny himself. —2 Timothy 2:13 

On the other hand, if your dream checks out to be in line with Scriptures; it doesn’t automatically mean that it’s going to happen immediately or magically with no effort on your part. Some Godly dreams look completely impossible, but will happen if you keep the faith and don’t give up.

For everything spoken by God is possible. —Luke 1:37