Dreams

The following is just a brief overview of my position on the topic of dreams.

An important thing to consider about dreams is how the dream made the dreamer feel?  Does the dreamer feel important? Is the focus of the dream on the dreamer? Or, does the dreamer feel humbled, in awe of the vision?

Secondly, has the dream changed the dreamer's behavior in anyway that furthers God's will?

For example, a dream / vision of being seated in heaven with God and Jesus who looks at you and smiles. (I read something like this once on www.chrisitanforums.com).  My first reaction was to laugh and dismiss it summarily as "just a dream."  But, in all fairness, I would put it through my 2-part consideration:  How did the dreamer feel, and how has it changed her behavior?

How did the dreamer feel? Did she feel excited and important, like "Wow, I'm in heaven, Jesus smiled at me, cool!" Or did she feel humbled, in awe, or even scared of the awesome power of the presence of the Lord?   Could she scarcely look upon his face to see his smile?

How has it changed her behavior? Are her resulting actions filled with pride or humble service to God's will? Like, she now goes to church every Sunday and proclaims this as evidence of her faithfulness. Or, she goes to church more or less often, but she now reflects deeply on the scriptures and sermons without concern for demonstrating her faithfulness.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the dreamer in this case, and her post did not answer the questions that I find critical to explore when giving consideration to dreams.  Perhaps that in itself answers the question (as to the validity of the dream).