Back to Basics: Dealing with demonic dreams

 

Ugh.

While I totally understand the despair, I would like to offer an alternative response: embrace these dreams as the gifts they are.

This may seem crazy—but let me tell you a story I just heard which may give you a new perspective.

The story  (heard on a Plumbline Ministries video)  goes something like this: a man and his son were driving together. The son looked up and was disturbed to see a number of vultures circling in the sky. “There must be a dead animal somewhere,” he sadly exclaimed. His father wisely pointed out that if the animal were, in fact, dead, then the vultures would have landed. Then the dad asked the child what he thought they could do if they were going to help the wounded animal. The son pondered this, then said, “Well, I guess we wouldn’t want to kill the vultures—because they are our marker for where the wounded animal is.”
Exactly.

The demonic is the marker for the wounding.

So let me give you a strategy for leveraging demonic harassment in your dreams to greater healing and spiritual dominion.

(1)   Choose to put things in proper perspective. If dark spiritual influences could kill you- believe me–you would already be dead! If the worst thing they  can do is give you a bad dream—yes, it is annoying, but seriously, it is just a bad dream!  Don’t put too much weight on it—instead leverage it for change.

(2)   “Dream forward!” (leverage the dream). This requires an action plan. Here are some suggestions—

• Interpret the dream- in general, what is the main essence of the dream? (i.e. let’s say that a witch is stabbing you in you on the couch in your livingroom, and you tell her to leave in the name of Jesus, but she doesn’t . The essence of this dream is that witchcraft – perhaps word curses are preventing you from finding rest/peace in your day to day life and that you do not have the authority to deal with it at this time.
• Look for clues as to the arena—is this occurring at work, home, spiritual community, in your friendships? Drilling down to the specifics is essential to putting this all to an end!
• Note the feelings in the dream- (likely the big 6–fear, anger, shame, disgust, sadness and hopeless) These feelings are the manifestation of the wounding, sin , or generational issues – and succumbing to them often throws the door wide open to further harassment.
• Pay particular attention to “proclamations” made in the dream—by yourself or others. These can give you strategies for dealing with the situation/issues opening you up to such dreams.
• Be attentive to what works and what doesn’t work in the dream—it’s been said that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result! (In the dream above, calling on the name of Jesus doesn’t work—which implies that there is legal ground for the attack (think generational, or intentional occult activity in your own life for which you have not fully repented- could also be aligning yourself with a group that is engaging in witchcraft (knowingly or unknowingly) In a legal ground issue, you can tell it to leave all you want, but until you repent for the initial entry point, you won’t be able to fully appropriate the blood of Jesus.
• Pray the dream. The great thing about praying a dream, is that you don’t even have to understand it! Just pray the dream line by line asking for wisdom, resources, strategies, revelation, at each point in the dream. Pray for revelation of the specific legal ground which has opened you up to this attack, or if it is a training dream, look for evidence of what areas of earned authority and dominion you need to develop.
• Don’t take revelation from a dark dream! Consider it a marker showing you there is an issue which needs to be dealt with—go to God for the revelation, not the dream. (So if a witch or dark being talks to you in the dream, consider the source- their allegiance is to the Father of lies) I only use it as a reference point for strategies to come in the opposite spirit. So if they tell me that I will never get ahead, I think, “hmmmmm this is a strategy to keep me from moving forward into something good that God has for me,” and pray to that effect.  If they say “I will kill you” I think “Hmmm this is an attack on my spiritual vitality, on the very essence of my spiritual life,” and pray accordingly.
• Release the dream.  You don’t want to spend a lot of time mulling over a dark dream—interpret it, learn from it, glean strategies, pray it, then release it! I only pray thru dreams like this once- then release them to God.
• Eagerly wait for the next dream and chart your progress!  This is how you flip the bad dream experience—seeing it as “Father filtered.” Seeing it as an opportunity to address your frailties and grow in dominion—one prayer time may take care of it!—However if it is related to a longstanding issue which has been complicated by deep wounding and wrong responses, — don’t stress—it all comes out in the wash- and your next dream, will let you know how well you did
• Be intentional in leveraging your dream life. Pray each night that your spirit would rule over your soul specifically as you dream. Ask God to grow you in dominion over your own dream life. Ask God to give you additional revelation in your dream.  Ask God to increase your ability to lucid dream. Be intentional. Be specific. And expect God to answer you. Make those nightmares work for you!

(3)   During your waking hours, intentionally pursue earned authority in the opposite spirit. This is where you need to really drill down your area of weakness/sin.  So if you are being victimized, you need to strategically not only work on growing in dominion and establishing proper boundaries, but also intentionally protect the boundaries of others (remember, NOT being victimized only brings you to zero—you need to be in the positive numbers to push back the enemy (light drives out the darkness). If people are cursing you, intentionally start blessing. If people are trying to kill you be life giving etc. Earned authority.

So next time you have a series of dark dreams, remember that the light drives out the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.(John 1:5) Don’t focus so much on the “vultures” only so much as to pinpoint the wounding/issue that draws them!  The moment that wounded animal  in the story receives help /strength/ healing and  “closure”, and starts to get up on it’s feet again,  the vultures will leave. End of story. There is nothing for them to feed on.  No yelling, no shouting them down, no telling them where to go. They simply leave on their own– quietly and willingly.

Taking aim at them, only prolongs the process. You may get relief for a time, but if the root issue remains, they will come back full force. Let them serve God’s higher purpose. …and grow in dominion and earned authority in the process!