Are you seeking creative inspiration? One powerful way to find it is through your dreams. Dreaming is a creative process that’s full of wonder. When you dream, you may discover innovative ideas – especially if you ask God for them.
I’ve made a habit of praying for creative inspiration for my writing before I go to sleep. Most mornings, I wake up with fresh insights on the projects I’m working on. It’s rare for me to recall specific words from my dreams to write. However, I often receive new ideas from my dreams that develop into words during my writing process.
Wake Up to Wonder explores various ways that God may send us messages through our dreams, either directly or indirectly. When we’re dreaming, we’re able to perceive inspiration from God well because our minds aren’t preoccupied by distractions, as they are when we’re awake. God sends direct messages on special occasions, when the purpose of those messages is especially important for us to hear. Yet the Holy Spirit counsels us in our minds all the time – including while we’re dreaming – so we can always indirectly hear from God during dreams. Many scientific breakthroughs and artistic projects throughout history have resulted from dreams. Examples include physicist Niels Bohr’s dream that led him to discover the structure of the atom and Paul McCartney’s dream that inspired him to compose the Beatles song “Yesterday”.
Here are 3 key tips for seeking creative inspiration through your dreams:
Try to be in a positive state of mind while you’re awake, since your thoughts and emotions will carry over to your dreams while you’re sleeping. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and follow Philippians 4:8’s advice: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
Open your mind and heart to the possibility of receiving messages from God that go beyond what you can imagine. Expect, and look forward to, inspiration in your dreams.
Say a bedtime prayer asking God to inspire you during your dreams with any creative ideas you need. Ask for the specific guidance you need to solve a problem, make progress on a creative project you’re working on, etc. After your prayer, as you drift off to sleep, keep that intention in mind. When you wake up in the morning, immediately record the details you recall from your dreams – either by writing them down in a journal, or speaking them into an audio recorder on your phone. Repeat this process for as many nights as you’d like after you receive an idea through your dreams, to help you clarify and deepen your understanding of the inspiration you’ve received.
All of us are creative in different ways, and all of us can receive creative ideas in wondrous ways through our dreams. Give it a try!
Learn more about experiencing God’s wonder in Wake Up to Wonder (order the paperback or the e-book) and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year (order the paperback or the e-book).