Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Dreams and Visions

Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Dreams and Visions.

“Laugh and make fun of me if you want to – I will not keep quiet, nor will I hide the signs and wonderful things that God has revealed to me many years before they actually happened.” (Patrick, from his Confession). 

St. Patrick’s Timetable (all these dates and ages are approximate but still give us a relatively accurate glimpse):

… The Young Boy: Born around 390 AD in or near Wales in Roman Britain;

… The Teenage Slave: Kidnapped by Irish slave traders from roughly 406-412 AD, when Patrick was 16 years of age, and was enslaved in Ireland for about 6 years;

… The Obscure Priest: Trained for the priesthood somewhere in Britain and/or France, and ordained around 430 AD;

… The Pioneer Missionary: Traveled and preached mostly in western and northern Ireland for thirty years, between 432-462 AD.

An Abbreviated List of Patrick’s dreams and Visions: 

1. After six years of living in slavery in Ireland, Patricius had a dream, the first in a long sequence of dreams that were instrumental through the rest of his life. One night he heard the voice of God saying to him, “You have hungered/fasted well. Soon you will be going home.”
2. And the very next night he dreamed that God told him, “Behold, your ship is ready.” So with no hesitation Patricius acted on those divine words, snuck away from his slave master in the dead of night, and escaped into parts unknown for a mysterious rescue ship.
3. After his return home to Roman Britain, Patrick had another dream, and this time in his dream an Irish man brought a stack of letters to Patrick, and this man spread the letters before him and opened one letter in particular. Out of this letter a chorus of voices cried out, what Patrick later said was “The Voice of the Irish.” These voices shouted to Patrick, “Holy boy! We beg you to come back here and walk among us!”
4. Soon after that, another dream included a voice from heaven saying, “The one who gave you your spirit, it is he who speaks within you.” This confirmed God’s call for Patrick to return to the land of his slavery when the timing was right.
5. Once in Ireland, Patrick journeyed to a mountain in County Mayo that the Druids considered to be sacred, and he decided to repurpose it for God’s glory, christening it through a 40-day Lenten fast. While in a cave there, he had a vision of a flock of black birds assaulting him, and Patrick saw them as a multitude of demons trying to keep him from his ministry. So Patrick prayed, fasted, sang psalms, and loudly rang what he considered a sacred bell. They vanished from his sight.
6. Throughout his ministry in Ireland, God gave Patrick many warnings of impending danger which enabled him to continue his work among the Irish people.

Dreams in the Bible. “That night God came to king Abimelech in a dream…” (Genesis 20:3); “As Jacob slept, he dreamed of a stairway…” (Gen. 28:12); “In my dream, the Angel of the Lord said to me, ‘Jacob!” (Gen. 31:11); “One night, Joseph had a dream…” (Gen. 37:5); “The previous night, God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream…” (Gen. 31:24); “Interpreting dreams is God’s business, so go ahead and tell me your dreams,’ said Joseph.”(Gen. 40:8); “Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed… (Gen. 41:1);“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord.” (Judges 7:15); “That night, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream.” (1 Kings 3:5, and 9:2); “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means,’ said King Nebuchadnezzar. He sent for Daniel at once.” (Daniel 2:3, 14); “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream…” (Matthew 1:20, also in 2:19 and 2:22); “God had warned the Magi in a dream.” (Matt. 2:12); “Pilate’s wife sent him a message, saying ‘Let that innocent man alone! I suffered through a terrible nightmare about Him last night!” (Matt. 27:19).

Why Would God Accommodate Us by Appearing in Dreams and Visions? Why would God, who has every means of revelation at His disposal, choose dreams as a way to contact a person and convey vital guidance? Dreams tend to be unreliable, unpredictable, illogical, and poorly remembered if at all. Many if not most dreams don’t seem like a very trustworthy vehicle for divine communication. They can be mistranslated so easily, and sometimes are so bizarre it’s hard to take them seriously. And we know now that dreams can be affected by external things like room temperature, what we ate or drank before bedtime, the events of the day, or even if there are any lingering aromas in the house. And because dreamers are in an unconscious state, dreams are outside of our control as the unfettered imagination runs wild.

Valid Reasons for Jesus-Dreams: Nonetheless, God speaking through dreams didn’t seem to raise any eyebrows in Scripture. Everyone from pagan kings to heroic saints were not surprised by this strategy of God to reach them. We now realize that after decades of so-called dream science, the whole topic of dreams is just as mysterious now as in ancient times. Dreams remain a fascinating frontier when it comes to scientific research, and we still simply cannot confirm why we have this ability to mentally experience vivid pictures, stories and images while in an unconscious state. God in His wisdom knows when to approach someone with divine intervention while a person is in a dream state. He knows a likely prospect for His appearance in a dream. Perhaps some people are more receptive to God’s guidance when in an unconscious state. Perhaps it is only during a dream that a person doesn’t have much of a choice of whether to listen or not, knowing that dreamers are captive audiences. Maybe God waits for when a certain person’s resistance is down. Perhaps a person’s imagination might be more picturesque and creative during a dream, able to manage an other-worldly, heavenly message. Or, perhaps because of religious restrictions, dreams are the best way possible to see the risen Christ.

Contemporary Dreams and Visions. “Call this number if you have seen Jesus!” This sign on a city bus in Egypt reveals the common miracles taking place around the world. Wherever it is risky to follow Jesus, He simply does a workaround and doesn’t even flinch at reaching out through dreams and visions. God loves us too much to let His opponents have their way in limiting access to Him. Our accommodating God will do whatever it takes to tell of His love and salvation. God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself and to offer the hope we all need for this life and the next. The Lord makes a way where there is no way, including dreams and visions.  Appearances of Jesus in dreams is so common now that they have even become a special area of academic study and research, and the term used in scholarly circles is “Christic Visions.” God has chosen and continues to choose dreams to woo us to Him, to warn, instruct and guide, to reveal the reality of His life and presence, and to encourage those who have no other way to have access to Him.

Modern Phenomenon. We are living in biblical times right now as we see a well-documented return to God using dreams and visions. This is especially true in those countries around the world which limit access to Christ, to Scripture, to worship. The wonderful truth is that in those countries of persecution, or where following Jesus is illegal, Jesus is reaching out through His appearances in dreams and visions. There are literally hundreds of thousands of personal reports of Jesus appearing in this way to individuals, whether these people are seekers, believers, or those who have never even considered the truth of Christ. One’s personal dreams, of course, are well outside of secular influence or political power, and are untouched by opponents. Wherever it is risky to follow Jesus, He simply does a workaround and doesn’t even flinch at reaching out through dreams and visions. This is a strategy of the thin place, in which God is using the dream state to woo people to Him, to reveal Himself for the first time, to encourage followers to keep the faith.

The Hound of Heaven. God loves us too much to let His opponents have their way in limiting access to Him. God will do whatever it takes to tell of His love and salvation. God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself and to offer the hope we all need for this life and the next. The Lord makes a way where there is no way, including dreams and visions. God’s very presence in dreams is a mystery as He somehow travels back and forth between spiritual, material and imaginative realities. But we do know that God often chooses to work in mysterious ways even when we can be in an unconscious state. God loves us so much that He will make Himself known, whether we are awake, or asleep, or everything in between.

Internationally, there are many, many scholars, missionaries and pastors that confirm the appearances of Jesus in dreams and visions, including Dr. Justin Bass, Rev. Tom Doyle, Uncharted Ministries and Transform Iran. With a little research, one can find literally thousands of firsthand testimonies.