Last week, I said that whatever their origin (divine, human or demonic), dreams are not meaningless; so, none of them should be trivialized. Having already dealt extensively with divine dreams, I will now turn to the other two categories.
Dreams of human origin
The Ecclesiastes tells us that dreams come with much business (vs. 5.3). In other words, our desires, our fears, our anxieties; in short, anything that has consciously or unconsciously occupied our minds during the day, can so set its print in our subconscious that we dream of it at night. Thus, a singer who is about to release his album can dream that he has become a superstar and the album has sold millions of copies. Someone who has just posted a video on YouTube might dream that it became a global buzz. A student who has just taken his tests can dream that he has failed miserably, or on the contrary, that he did so well that his parents offered him the car or whatsoever he was longing for. A girl who is secretly in love with someone may dream that the guy has asked to marry her.
As these dreams can also be of divine origin, caution is required. When we have them, we need to be honest with ourselves and, if we’ve been thinking about the object of the dreams recently, we must not be carried away too quickly but rather put them aside for a while. We should not dismiss them, but just keep a bit of distance.
Dreams and visions of demonic origin
These are dreams that terrify you and deprive you of any sense peace; for some, they are nightmares. The Lord can sometimes give this kind of dream or vision and He did so with Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh. However, it was not their dreams that disturbed them the most, but the fact that they did not understand their meanings. Once the interpretation was given by Daniel and Joseph, they were appeased (see Genesis 41 and Daniel 2). The difference with dreams of demonic origin is that the meaning of the latter is usually very clear and results in a real freeze of our blood: you wake up in sheets soaked with sweat and with palpitations.
A few years ago, I was on vacation and in my room which was upstairs, the bed was next to the window. My daughter of almost 2 years of age loved to climb from the bed to the window. After seeing her at work once or twice, we tried not to leave the bedroom door open during the day, as we could not afford shutting the window during the hot summer. One night, there were only two of us in the house; after putting her to sleep, I went to watch the TV downstairs. At around 10:00pm, I had a clear vision of her getting up from her bed, opening the window and falling in the void while a voice was telling me, 'Your daughter is going to fall out the window and die.' I hesitated a few seconds then responded back, saying: "if you dare touching my daughter, you will see what I will do to you." I had recognized the enemy and I did not leave the couch, except much later, when I went to sleep. It is worth knowing that a few months prior to that incident, I had fallen asleep during the day in Brussels (I was pregnant) when I heard someone telling me to wake up quietly so as not to frighten my daughter. When I opened my eyes, she was on the windowsill, had stuck her head out of the window and was dangerously leaning outside to look at the children playing in the yard. The slightest movement would have ended up in a major drama as there was no terrace on that side of the flat and we lived on the 10th floor! I got up, quietly went up to her, grabbed her from behind and praised the Lord who had warned me. The devil had obviously tried to mimic that experience.
Then, when she was 30 months old, she became very ill with high fever and chills. All the tests carried out were negative. We had just come back to Africa and malaria had already welcomed her less than two weeks ago. I had to postpone an important trip because of her condition. I had booked a new flight and really had to travel this time. Five days before my departure, a friend and sister in Christ called me from overseas and told me not to travel because she had dreamed that my daughter would die in my absence. I listened to her; but something in her dream was not just compatible with the style of my Heavenly Father. So, I told her I was going to travel no matter the condition of the child; and added that in any case, her eventual death would only mean that the Lord had planned to resuscitate her because it wasn’t her time yet. I left in spite of her insistence, and of course, death did not dare knock on my door; or better still, Satan chose to avoid giving me a free opportunity to perform a miracle.
Anyway, the most important thing is that God speaks through EVERY dream. This is why I’ve been emphasizing that no dream is just a dream. You can hear God’s voice and know His will through any dream. Indeed, dreams of 'human' origin help us probe the state of our souls. If you dream that you’ve failed your exams or you’ve been laid off work and you seek the Lord about it, He will unmask your fears and tell you: ‘‘Do not be afraid, only believe.'' In the aforementioned marriage example, if you really want to know the truth, the Lord will tell you that the man represents your heart’s desire, not His; and He would speak to you about the one He has for you.
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you… Resist him, firm in your faith…” (Ja 4:7b; 1Pe 5:9)
As for demonic dreams, they help us understand what the devil is up to and what he wants to distract us from. Therefore, we can go ahead and do the opposite of what he wants. When I realized that he wanted to manipulate me at will by sowing the fear of my daughter’s death into my heart, I did not only refuse to yield, but I also understood in the second case, that her mysterious illness was part of the same diabolical plan. I took authority over it in prayer and on the following morning, my daughter was well. The most interesting thing is that by God’s wonderful grace, 12 years have now passed and she has never been sick again. She has obviously had two or three colds, but has never been sick enough to miss school. Afterwards the devil has realized that it was useless trying to destabilize me from that angle. God is Good!
God speaks in one way, and in two; and He speaks through ALL dreams. He may be found by those who seek Him with a sincere heart: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” The angel told Daniel that he had been sent to him as soon as Daniel had set his heart to understand the meaning of the things that had been revealed to him (vs. 10:12). If we truly desire to do His will, and if we discuss all our dreams with Him because we do not want to be misled, He will answer and tell us what we do not know.
May God bless you with the understanding of your dreams: have a great week!
Dreams have always been a mystery to me. I wake up in the morning knowing that I had a dream but can not remember what it was. Sometimes I remember parts of the dream. I get really worried when I hear people talk about their dreams, I ask myself if there is something wrong with me. How can you overcome this?
ReplyDeleteDear vivian,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment above. A very good and practical answer to your question will normally require another article; but let me try and say this at least:
1) When you are tired (physically, emotionally, etc.), you tend to forget your dreams more. So, go to bed early enough to avoid this.
2) When our wills do not agree with what the Lord is telling us, we also tend to conveniently forget 'His' dreams. So, make sure you are not fighting His will in any area of your life.
3) Again, we tend to forget the dreams that are just reminiscences from our day/worries more easily; especially if we are under psychological stress. It is therefore important to unwind and decompress before going to sleep. Ask God's help for that if necessary.
4) Ask God to speak to you in dreams and ask Him to help you remember His message. But be aware that He will only speak to you if He knows that you are submit to what He tells you and obey. God doesn't talk in vain.
There is always more that can be said; but I hope this helps. In any case, do let me know.
May God bless you and have mercy on you.May He open the heavens and speak to you, because His Word is Spirit and life; His Word is truth and by knowing it, you shall be set free of any bondage. May God touch you and be gracious unto you.