Jane Hamon: The Importance of Interpreting Your Dreams
Jane Hamon’s interest in dreams grew out of a personal experience while she was away at college. One night, she dreamed in great detail about her younger brother. In the dream, her brother became very ill and ultimately died. Jane awakened and was concerned. She tried to tell herself it was only a dream and that there was probably no reason to be alarmed. When she couldn’t shake her gloomy feelings, she decided to pray for her brother that he was and would remain healthy and that God would look out for him. After a time, she was able to go back to sleep.
Jane realized the significance of her dream when she received a phone call from her mother the next morning. Her mom wanted to tell her of a family emergency during the night involving Jane’s brother. Her brother’s appendix had burst while he was out on a camping trip. By the time he got to a hospital, he was very ill and, in fact, could have died. Jane realized that God had been speaking to her in her dream. This specific event prompted her to begin a serious study of Scriptures to determine the validity of hearing God through dreams. This would not be the last time God would reveal life-threatening information to Jane in a dream.
More Proof
Jane had a second dream regarding her younger brother that more completely convinced her that God does reveal important information to His children through dreams. Jane dreamed in vivid detail that her brother was in a car wreck. The car rolled three times, and her brother was crushed and killed. When she awoke from this dream, she prayed earnestly for her brother’s safety. The very next day, her brother’s car was hit while he was crossing an intersection on his way to school, just as it had occurred in the dream. His car did roll three times, but her brother was miraculously saved. Jane is sure that God sent the dream and awakened her to pray so that her brother’s life would be spared.
Dreams and Visions
Jane wrote Dreams and Visions as a result of her personal study. Though this book has been around for nearly eight years, she says it is highly relevant today as we enter the age spoken of by the prophet, Joel, and quoted in : "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 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."
As Jane points out, this Scripture says God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh – not just Christians. In the Bible, God gave dreams to His servants Daniel and Joseph. He directed Jesus’ father, Joseph, to protect his son on four different occasions using dreams. He also gave dreams to the unrighteous King Nebuchadnezzar and Pilate’s wife as well. Men of God were often called upon to interpret dreams given to the unrighteous.
Jane says it is the same in this age. Christians need to be able to interpret their own dreams and visions and also help the unsaved. Jane says God does speak in these ways and you can gain understanding about a dream or a vision. Jane is also careful to caution that not every dream is necessarily from God. She says, "There are pizza dreams or natural dreams, and there are also dreams inspired by the enemy. There are also dreams in which our own subconscious minds play out matters that our conscience minds may hold at bay during our waking hours."
Interpreting Dreams
Simply stated, a dream happens when you’re asleep, and a vision happens when you’re awake. Jane says that in order to accurately interpret dreams and visions, you must be able to recognize whether a dream comes from God, from your own soul, or from the enemy. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is the message of the dream consistent with the Word of God?
- Is the message consistent with the nature and character of Jesus?
- Is the receiver of the dream/vision saved?
Jane uses the example of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, to show how these questions should have told him immediately the source of his supposed dream from Gabriel. The speaker in the dream told Muhammad, “You are as Jesus, a prophet to the people.” Thus the supposed angel raised Muhammad and denied Christ. Answering these simple questions shows that God would be lying, a flagrant violation of His own character, if He had really sent the dream. Jane says the best way to sharpen skills of discerning dreams is to practice by comparing dream content to the Scriptures and by praying and listening to God’s Voice.
Personal Details
Jane Hamon became a believer in Jesus at age 14. She was Spirit-filled at age 16. By age 17, she was in Bible college, and by 19, she was a pastor and was married to a pastor in one of the foremost prophetic churches in the nation, Christian International Family Church. CI Family Church is the home church of bishop and prophet Bill Hamon. Jane is married to Bill’s son Tom. Jane and Tom have been married 23 years and have three children all actively involved in ministry.
