We recently discussed how to improve dream recall and several practical things we can do to begin remembering the dreams we have each night. On the other end of the spectrum, another question I’m often asked is what to do if we recall too many dreams – long epic sagas – every single night?

The following email echoes this common concern, so I wanted to share the answer here as well.

QUESTION: Since I’ve started recording my dreams, it seems like there is almost ‘too much’ vivid dreaming going on for me to stay on top of them! I have piles of dreams written out (sometimes three or four a night) that I don’t get time to work on and interpret with the Lord – mainly because the day isn’t long enough.

As it is, I’m spending over an hour with the Lord in the morning, journaling and writing His response to dreams, and praying. It’s almost begun to feel like a bit of a burden, because I really don’t want to miss what the Lord is saying, but I can’t stay on top of praying through them all and analyzing them. How do I prioritize? I’m so very grateful He is speaking to me and helping me, as I’ve felt very desperate for help in many areas….so I don’t want to shut anything down!

ANSWER: That is a great question, and one to which I can personally relate! If you have the DVDs, go ahead and jump to the last one, as I do address this in Session 10. Basically though, the two most important things to understand are…

You can keep summaries of your dreams. That is, the abbreviated, condensed Reader’s Digest version of the dream is enough. Yes, there are things to be learned from all the details, but just as you’ve discovered, it can get overwhelming in a hurry when we try to examine each and every bit of it. One or two paragraphs is usually enough to capture the essence of the dream. Keeping summaries is what Daniel did in Scripture, so we can certainly follow his example (see Danial 7:1).

Also, understand that even though we may have several dreams in a night, they are usually speaking to a single heart issue – just in different ways and different angles. I talked about this a bit on the Sid Roth interview – how God is simply using various symbols in the dreams, but they’re still communicating a message about one certain thing.

We see this in Scripture with Pharaoh’s dreams about withered stalks and fat and thin cows. Those are very distinct dreams and symbols, yet Joseph explained how they were speaking to one and the same issue – the upcoming famine (see Genesis 41:25).

So don’t worry about recording and interpreting every single dream every single night. Look for a common thread or theme, or simply choose one dream per night and work on it. Focus on either the most impactful dream, the most recent one you had right before you woke up, or whatever one Holy Spirit highlights to you.

That way you’ll get the revelation Heaven is downloading, receive the comfort and counsel God is providing… and still have time for the rest of your responsibilities and day!

Want to learn more?

I discuss how to get the “big picture” of your dream message and not miss the forest for the trees in Chapter 12 of our book, Putting It All Together: Practical Tips for Dream Work. There you’ll find examples of what to zero in on – and what to overlook – so you don’t get overwhelmed, giving you a feel for how these principles work in real life dreams.

Another helpful key is to understand that dreams are “real-time revelation,” so they are almost always speaking to what is going on with your current life situations. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about going back through all your old journals from years ago, deciphering and decoding every dream you’ve ever had. Instead, just start with a dream you have tonight, and move forward from there. Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance anything important He doesn’t want you to miss (see John 14:26).

“Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8) He will be faithful to lead you and guide you into all truth! Holy Spirit will help you translate, and become fluent in, the language He speaks at night.