Waking Up From A Bad Dream - Lisa U Maki
How many times have you awakened only to wonder why you had such bad dream?
"Did I entertain some evil thoughts? Did I expose myself to some unholy things? Do I still have traces of my past in me? Is this just an attack of the devil or is God trying to expose something to me?"
These are some of the many questions that I personally ask myself when I wake up from a bad dream. And I know for sure that all these questions may be reasons for a bad dream.
So how do I know if a dream is from God or not from God? I believe that nothing happens to us without God's permission. He may be allowing those bad dreams for the following reasons:
To test how far we will stand our ground and fight our evil thoughts;
To expose something to us that we may not be aware of;
To warn us of a future event;
To teach us to be more cautious of what goes on in our minds; and
To strengthen our faith in Him.
Whatever the reasons are, it is good to examine ourselves in the light of the dream, pray about it, and ask God to speak to us about it.
1 John 4:1 is a verse that we can take into consideration with regards to our bad dreams. It says:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God"...
Though everything happens with God's permission, not everything is directly from God, meaning, there are things He allows to happen because we already chose to disobey. It's more like God turning us over to our sin. The verse above says that we are to test every spirit. This means that we are to test the spirit of our bad dream, whether it is directly from God or it is from the devil.
2 Corinthians 7:10 says: "For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death".
If a bad dream is directly from God, then it should produce the kind of sorrow that leads us to repentance. However, if the bad dream is from the devil, then it makes us feel guilty and condemned, leading us away from repentance.
Sandy Warner mentioned in her article on Overcoming Demonic Dreams ( http://www.thequickenedword.com/rhema/demonicdreams.html ) that a dream from the enemy is almost always a personal accusation and that there is always a measure of truth in it. This is the enemy's scheme: he presents a distorted truth so you will be able to relate to it.
Sandy also identified the devil's evil intentions for bad dreams:
1. To thwart or kill faith;
2. Dump fear;
3. To impose guilt and condemnation about past;
4. To torment;
5. To intimidate;
6. To manipulate one's will or decision;
7. To deceive;
8. To coerce one's will to change;
9. To bring a veil or barrier to ones' relationship with the Lord; and
10. To condemn and accuse.
What we should be careful about is how our bad dreams affect us. We have to be quick in examining ourselves, but at the same time, immediately subjecting our thoughts and feelings to Jesus.
Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to guard our hearts. If the devil can't attack our hearts when we are awake, then he will do so when we are asleep. This is why, when we are finally awake, and after asking God to expose to us the meaning of our bad dream, we are to protect our heart from feeling condemned, tormented, and deceived. We are to immediately shift our focus from our dream to God's Word.
After waking up from a bad dream, ask yourself these questions and use them to examine yourself.
1. What have I been watching on TV lately?
2. What have I been listening to?
3. What feelings and thoughts have I been entertaining?
4. What opening am I leaving for the enemy?
5. What sins keep coming back in my life?
God will surely reveal to you if you seek Him earnestly.
Now if you have been guarding your heart and mind and still continue to have bad dreams, then God may be warning you of some upcoming attack, or the devil is mad at you and wants to see you fall and stumble.
For as long as you are cautious about your walk with God... for as long as you repent of your sins... for as long as you are putting on the whole armor of God... for as long as you remain prayerful... and for as long as you constantly meditate on the Word of God, then the enemy will never win over you, not even through your dreams.
Lisa Maki is the founder of God'z Gurlz, a Bible-based online magazine for women whose mission is to is to provide a place where women can learn to manage their emotions, experience healing, receive love and acceptance, be free to be who God made them to be, and be the best they can be in their homes, schools, professions, relationships, and calling, through sharing of insights and experiences, counseling, prayer, and devotionals, thereby learning from and supporting each other. For more of Lisa's articles, visit http://godzgurlz.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_U_Maki Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7366419