There is a common term used in connection with dreams: lucid dreaming. On the surface, the phrase seems to be something we should all strive towards since the word lucid means bright or luminous, expressed clearly or easy to understand. Shouldn’t we be trying to put those nighttime hours to good use by clearly remembering and understanding our dreams?
The term lucid dream was coined by Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 article “A Study of Dreams.” It described a dreamer’s ability to be aware that they are dreaming. The practice of lucid dreaming began long before this.
Part of the ancient Indian Hindu implementation of Yoga Nidra and the Tibetan Buddhist include the practice of cultivating the dreamer's ability to be aware that they are dreaming. It is a central aspect of these religions.
There are definite levels to lucid dreaming; the basic level is a simple awareness that you are dreaming. There is nothing wrong with this; your consciousness is simply aware that what you are experiencing is not really happening. Those who teach about lucid dreaming often encourage dreamers to purposefully control and interact with what they see and do while dreaming.
Let’s look at this from God’s point of view. We know from Bible stories that God gives us direction and wisdom in dreams:
King Abimelech of Gerar (Genesis 20:3)
Jacob (Genesis 28:12, 31:10)
Laban (Jacob's employer - Genesis 31:24)
Joseph (Genesis 37:5, 9)
Imprisoned butler and baker (Genesis 40:5)
Ananias sent to heal Saul (Acts 9:10-12)
This makes it clear that God has continued to use dreams after our Lord came. Since this is a communication line from our Heavenly Father, why would we seek to control it? Shouldn’t we be listening to what He is trying to say to us? When we try to manipulate a dream, we are overriding what God is telling us. There are some exceptions to this :
In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
Solomon said, “You have shown to Your servant David my father great mercy and loving-kindness, according as he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart with You; and You have kept for him this great kindness and steadfast love, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a lad [in wisdom and experience]; I know not how to go out (begin) or come in (finish). Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who cannot be counted for multitude. So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people?
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for long life or for riches, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize what is just and right, Behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise, discerning mind, so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall any arise after you equal to you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings equal to you all your days. And if you will go My way, keep My statutes and My commandments as your father David did, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 Kings 3:5-14 AMPC)
Solomon was dreaming and thought it was only his dream. In reality, God was speaking to him and Solomon was speaking back. This is one of the time that being “lucid” or aware and active in a dream is okay. God is asking you to do something.
In the past, I have been guilty of trying to control my dreams, even when I shouldn’t be. Now that I know God may be showing me something, I intentionally sit back and take note of what is happening, asking God what it means. If you want to receive help from God through dreams and have studied lucid dreaming or operated in lucid dreaming beyond the basic level of awareness of being in a dream, you will need to do the following:
Confess that you tried to control what you received from God.
Plead the blood over these actions.
Ask the Lord to sprinkle your mind with His blood to purify it from all sin.
Invite the Lord to rule over your dreams.
This will reset your mind and put God back in control.
Astral Projection
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken... (Ecclesiastes 12:6 AKJV)
This is one of the few places that the spiritual connection to the body is mentioned in the Bible. Generally, astral projection is described as an out-of-body experience when your spirit and soul leave your body. You are still connected by a spiritual path, which brings them back into your body. Paul wrote about traveling in the spirit realm:
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third Heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. (2 Corinthians 12:2 ESV)
If there is a third Heaven, we know there must be a first and second Heaven. It is easy to see that we can move about in the spirit realm, but when should we? God has created other spirit beings who are much more powerful than we are. When angels appear in Bible stories, they do miraculous acts.
What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings. (Psalm 8:4-5 ESV)
Humans were created with bodies to interact with this physical world, not the spiritual one. In that other realm, we are not very powerful and there are those who hate us. I experienced this firsthand.
When I was under the age of twelve, I often dreamed of the city where I lived. It was always night, and it looked physically the same as in reality. There were specific abilities I possessed in these dreams:
I could jump really high and float for a distance in the air
I could hold onto cars, being pulled along behind them
A few days after one dream, we drove past a very distinctive alley and it was exactly as I had dreamed. As a pre-teen, the dreams became darker. There were shadowy figures I would run from on many occasions. One night, these figures caught me. My eyes were damaged. I could only pry them open briefly to look around, then I would run through the dark, trying to escape the monsters chasing me.
I now realize that these were not dreams, but trips into the spirit realm. Demons and evil spirits live there. They are much more powerful than we are, which is why we should always have the escort of the Holy Spirit when moving in this realm. Religions that practice astral projection will often warn you about moving too far from your body and that there are “other inhabitants” who may attack you.
In my case, a cousin researched my genealogy and discovered that one of my ancestors had an American First People's name which means “flight master” when translated to English. In prayer, sins were revealed that my ancestors had committed: worshiping other gods, blood sacrifice, covenant, witchcraft, and dedication. Because my ancestors had misused spiritual gifts and made a covenant with Satan’s kingdom, the enemy had access to me and my spiritual gifts. This manifested in two ways:
The gifts were hindered until I confessed and covered the sins of my ancestral line with the blood of Jesus.
I was harmed in the spirit realm as a child.
Praise God that He has provided help!
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalms 147:3 ESV)
The words brokenhearted refer to wounds to our spirit and soul. Jesus is our Healer. He can heal any damage done to our spirit bodies while traveling without a proper escort.
There are meditation techniques taught by many different religions that encourage “astral projection” which is merely another name for traveling in the spirit realm. This includes “ascension groups.” If you ascend into Heaven without Jesus greeting you, then you have come in through a wrong way; many refer to this as a Second Heaven experience . Many spiritual attacks may be due to either accidental or intentional spiritual traveling which has left a spiritual gate cracked open.
Even if you traveled in a dream without really knowing what you were doing, you will still need to ask for forgiveness for operating outside your realm of authority. A blood covenant is one of many things which can affect the spiritual realm for generations to come and travel down a family line. Others are:
Blood sacrifices to other gods
Dedications - in the form of prayers
Agreements with other spirits
Unholy oaths or entering into unholy covenants with other gods
Being next in line to a high priest or priestess
Should these be present in your family line, you will need to confess the sins of your ancestors, as well as your sin to be healed and seal the door. Other OCC Courses have more information about how to find and close spiritual doors.
Nightmares and Sleep Paralysis
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep (Psalms 127:2 ESV)
We are beloved by God because we have accepted His Son. God’s will is for us to have rest at night. Our Heavenly Father can send many types of dreams: A scary dream doesn’t necessarily mean it is from the enemy. However, night terrors come from Satan who is trying to take away your desire to dream through fear.
When you lie down, you shall not be afraid: yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24 AKJV)
If fear is plaguing our nighttime hours because of what occurs in the night, we know we have an open door somewhere. If you are frozen, unable to move, and overwhelmed with fear, it will take prayer to get to the root of the situation. In some extreme circumstances, there may even be markings on your body when you wake up.
During sleep paralysis, if you will call on the name of Jesus, even if it is only in your mind, often this will break the power of the enemy enough that you can wake up. You should pray each night before you go to bed:
Ask God to place His angels around you to protect you in spirit, soul (mind) and body.
Ask the Lord to shelter you under His wings according to Psalm 91: “Jesus You are my Lord, my God, and my King. I take refuge in You and shelter under Your wings. I thank You that no plan of the enemy may prosper against me tonight.”
If you or your child suffers from sleep paralysis or night terrors, please contact our church for prayer: schedule a Let’s Chat to let us know what is going on. We strongly recommend you begin learning in the Removing Attacks Course at OCC for it contains material about how to remove the enemy from your life, which may be necessary to remain free from attacks. You must begin looking at what is in your life that may be allowing these attacks to occur.
Other enemy dreams may not be as threatening as sleep paralysis. A dream that is only in black and white is from the enemy, but may not be dangerous. If you don't recall the color, it isn't the same as being in black and white only. You will definitely remember if it has no color or is in black and white.
There are several types of dreams which may be dangerous:
Those involving intercourse that are lustful are often a demon trying to get a place in your life.
These should be renounced before covering them with the blood of Jesus. If they happen frequently, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the open door.
If you eat in a dream, that could also be the enemy trying to get “into” you or is symbolic of being in covenant with someone.
Follow the same procedures as above.
Even if a dream is from the enemy, you may want to bring it for an interpretation to see where the enemy is attacking you. Is it a wrong covenant or agreement? Is there a generational curse? Are there items in your room that are affecting your dreams? (learn about that in the Removing Attacks Course)
Just because a dream makes our heart rate go up, doesn't mean they are bad. We must look to God for the true answer. Members of the body of Christ may be gifted to help us understand what is being said and the reason for the dream, but we must always remember that our Father in Heaven is the source of that gift.
If a dream is an attack from the enemy, you will need to learn how to identify the open door through which this attack is coming. We teach about open doors in the Removing Attacks Course: Classes 2. Identifying the Enemy; and 8. Where is This Attack Coming From?
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