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Random Dialog
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Strange and Dark Dreams
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I just had a dream last night and it is one of MANY that I've had along the same lines; in fact is is a recurring dream.
In this particular recurring dream (they're not always identical, but the theme is the same), I am in the presence of "something" demonic and am confronted with it. The dream then turns into an all out fight against the entity whereby I assert authority through Christ in order to rid the situation/person/whatever it is of this entity. It almost always starts where I am saying things against this being, but I can't speak; my mouth moves, but not much more than a whisper comes out. My voice then does get stronger with each passing statement and eventually I wake myself up.
These dreams used to frighten me, but they're more of a nuisance now than anything else. I don't know why I have this particular type of dream and I do believe in "spiritual warfare" and wonder if they are some kind of test as such. I've never been hurt in such dreams and despite the inability to speak at first, I prevail over the entity in the end.
I was wondering if anyone else has ever had such dreams and if so, if they are recurring; it's one thing to have a single dream, but another to have it recur with some frequency. I don't think I'm worried about them as such, but I'd like to get to the root of their meaning sometime; for example maybe the entity in the dream is a substitution for something else that is occupying my subconscious mind that I'm trying to battle or get rid of.
Or, being a believer in spiritual warfare, maybe it's just that and such entities are using sleep and dreams in order to try to connect to me.
I don't think I'm crazy or anything like that and again, I'm not overly concerned, but it's a bit disturbing. When people ask me the next morning about how I slept, after a night of those dreams my reply is simply, "Well, I didn't sleep so well last night; I was exorcising the devil again."; they know what I mean because I've told them of such dreams in the past.
Again, they used to terrify me, but now they're more of a "What IS this about?" dilemma.
Any takers on that topic?
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 ILJ 04/30/2012 19:36 |
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Lanny Carlson
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04/30/2012 20:17 |
I'm no expert, but I can hazard a guess.
Since you believe in spiritual warfare,
you probably give it a lot of thought,
and sometimes our dreams reflect those things
with which we are preoccupied.
My suggestion would be to stop thinking about spiritual warfare so much,
and give heed to Paul's advise in Philippians 4:8 -
"Finally, brothers, 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."
I suspect it will help your sleep!
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Jake Van Horn
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05/01/2012 00:15 |
Sounds like some wild dreams! I seem to go through periods of time when my dreaming will just be crazy to say the least and will just leave me dumbfounded. You know I really think that many times dreams are just dreams but there are examples in scripture where they are more then that. I would take the fact that in the end you have prevailed through Jesus Christ as a positive. What I've started to try to remember to do is to pray specifically for a peaceful night sleep and for my heart and mind to be filled with the knowledge and the Spirit of the Lord as I sleep. I also pray along similar lines with my daughter before she goes to bed. The way I look at is if God wants me to have some crazy dreams I'm going to have some crazy dreams, but it can't hurt to ask. Praying with you Dennis.
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Craig from Illinois
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05/01/2012 07:32 |
Just my two cent perspective here, but I come from a scientific worldview. It includes chemicals excretion and synapsis firing. I'm not a firm believer in spiritual warfare when it comes to dreams. I do believe that dreams are a reflection of your emotions and what you've seen in the past. Have you watched dark imagery in the past - even on accident?
I do want to add that I can believe in God placing dreams in your sleep. He's done it before (Biblical speaking) and he probably does it now. I like what Lanny and Jake write. It's good advice because you're going to be putting your mind in a good place prior to sleeping.
I re-listen to old DAB podcasts as I fall asleep! This isn't a criticism, but scripture and Brian's voice is an amazing sleep aid!
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ILJ
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05/01/2012 16:51 |
You know, I do watch television before bed quite often and it's not unusual to flip through any of the given channels and come across shows on the paranormal on 5 or more channels on any given night, so maybe it could just be some latent imagery in passing that works its way into my subconscious mind.
I appreciate everyone's comments; I was really more curious than concerned. But your comments all make sense.
Again, I do want to stress that this is not something that frightens me as such any more; at first I was a bit spooked, but now it's not that big of a deal. I mean, I don't discount it, but I'm not paranoid about it either.
And one never knows... maybe it also has something to do with that "spicy creamed artichoke" meal I had before bed that I saturated in "Frank's Extra Spicy Red Hot Sauce." That can make for a sleepless night for sure! ;-)
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John T
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05/02/2012 18:06 |
I'm betting on the spicy creamed artichoke Dennis! :-)
All that aside, the Bible often lets us know that we are in fact in a battle. I'm reminded of this verse.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
I was just listening to a great message last night by Tom Harmon (www.tdharmon.com) on the Sword of the Spirit. We're taught that we are in a battle. Respectfully, Lanny and Craig, I agree with Philippians 4:8 completely, and I need to dwell on that often. I know a great song that has that verse as the chorus. Whatever is noble, whatever is true... Awesome stuff. BUT, that said, soldiers in a battle don't do their best when they try to pretend that there is no battle, that it doesn't exist. First Peter states that our enemy is waiting and watching for a time to strike and we need to be on guard and resist him!
1Pe 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1Pe 5:9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
I've been thinking on this a lot lately, since, like many men, I've experienced the battle, and I know that there is more to it than just me. We are definitely not alone in the battle. First John teaches us that it's not our strength that wins, but the strength that is in us as Christians - Christ!
1Jn 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
I love that. I need that - Greater is He who is in me.
John Eldredge comes to mind - he has some great audio teachings that I've listened to, and likely something in his books about the reality of the spiritual battle and how to handle it. Even his daily prayer deals with that I believe. It's been a while since I've listened to it. Tom Harmon's Morning Prayer (http://www.tdharmon.com/morningprayer) speaks of it as well.
All of that as just an introduction, Dennis, I can't interpret dreams, only God can show you that. Does it have a meaning? I don't know. It is good that you're battling. I like Craig's suggestion of listening to the Bible or reading it or praying it before bed. I remember learning that the day begins in the evening once, at sundown -- that meditating on God's truths before bed can make a difference to our dreams and how we awake in the morning. I wish I had an answer, but I just wanted to encourage you. Don't ignore the battle - pray, ask God what he's doing, perhaps there is a stronghold in your life that the devil is trying to keep a hold on that needs defeating. John Eldredge talks about those as well.
Be blessed,
Keep on keeping on,
John
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Cabingirl
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05/03/2012 08:42 |
Strange, but I have had several dreams like that recently. My kids are going through this stage where if they see the curtains moving from a draft, the get scared of the "ghosts in the room". Between that and several thing I've read from John Eldridge, lately I've been pondering on spiritual warfare a lot. So I'm sure that's where it's all coming from. But it's a lot like you described. In the dreams I'll see a "ghost", some object floating or moving by itself, so I start to command it out in Jesus' name. As soon as I start speaking, I can't move, or it's like moving though wet cement, and I can't speak. I fight through it, and eventually I win, but it's really tough for that moment. Interesting. :P
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Ted C
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05/04/2012 01:49 |
Every time I have a bad dream like that I pray for my family, pray for my pastor, pray for my church, claim the Blood of Jesus over my household and all of my dealings, and that seems to do a good job of making the dreams stop. There's really only two possible sources for a spiritual dream. If it's from the enemy, it will always be inherently a lie because, "there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature." (John 8:44). If it's from God, there will always be a meaning for the dream that lines up with Scripture. If the takeaway from the dream is that you are in a standoff with the enemy, or at an impasse and never winning, then I wouldn't think the dream is from God because, "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world," (1 John 4:4) and, "they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." (Revelation 12:11) Cabingirl, I've had the same dream from time to time where I'm confronted with the enemy and I try to say the name of Jesus and it's like my mouth is frozen and I can't get anything out. After I wake up I always think it's just some fallen angel trying to scare me and hence all the praying afterwards as a response. Sometimes I wonder if God makes the enemy expose himself just so we can bind spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places and take the opportunity to pray. I've never had severe or numerous bad dreams like that except when I was coming back to God after having fallen away in college. There are three or four extreme dreams from that time that really stand out and the pattern of the dreams ended with ones where I was lucid dreaming and would literally turn on the lights in the dream (with a big throw switch), or in one dream bind the enemy and watch them be pulled away from me, or in another dream call out a false leader and then start laughing when he got angry and knocked me to the ground. I agree, it's interesting stuff.
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ILJ
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05/04/2012 14:35 |
Thanks for your insight, John T!
Cabingirl and Ted C, I think it's interesting that you experience the same things that I do in a dream. As I mentioned before, I do believe in spiritual warfare, but at the same time I also believe in just the normal and maybe random physical forces in our lives like "spicy creamed artichokes," stress, etc., that also contribute to our (including my) dreams and my only issue is trying to delineate between the two. Everyone on here has offered interesting points of views and examples.
Here's a personal example of mine; I have "OSA"; obstructive sleep apnea and sleep with a Constant Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine which keeps my airway open at night so that a) I don't snore and b) I get the required oxygen into my blood and am able to sleep and wake up without the feeling of fatigue, like I used to have.
My point on that is that prior to starting to use my CPAP, which is over 2 years now, I haven't had the "nightmares" I was used to having before using it. Prior to using it, I had all KINDS of things waking me up in the night and I mean "waking" me up because it was probably telling my brain telling my body to "wake up and BREATHE, stupid!" and the best way my mind could do that was to create a nightmare so that I'd physically wake up and start breathing again.
Since using the CPAP, I haven't had nearly a fraction of those nightmares, but the ones I've had, if you want to call them nightmares anymore, have been what I mentioned, so in that case I think, for me, what's the cause of that? It really shouldn't be a physical breathing thing like before where my body is trying to physically shake me awake to get air, so why would this be happening?
I also think that the things that we've experienced in our dreams, i.e., the inability to speak, is also something somewhat psychological in most human beings; a lack of power? Lack of this? Lack of that? Some kind of metaphor? Etc.
But again, I can't discount spiritual warfare, so I do take it all with a grain of salt, so to speak and that's why I think it's interesting (for me, that is), but at the same time, not alarming (at this point).
Again, I appreciate everyone's comments and I didn't think this topic would garner so many comments. You've all given me food for thought; hopefully it's not "spicy creamed artichokes!" ;-)
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