Seeking Wholeness Summary 15 - Dreams and Nightmares

 

Dreams from God, Nightmares and Dream intepretation

Lesson Outline

Outline:

• Introduction
• Defining Wholeness
• What Are Dreams?
• Why We Dream What We Dream
• What Are Nightmares?
• How God Uses Dreams
• Do Demons Cause Nightmares?
• Interpreting Dreams
• Steps of Interpretation
• Scriptures for Nightmares

Scriptures:

• Job 33:14-15
• Isaiah 29:8
• Matthew 2:13
• Matthew 1:20
• Job 33:14-18
• Daniel 7:15
• Genesis 15:12-14
• Daniel 7:1
• Genesis 41:21
• Proverbs 3:24
• Psalms 91:5-13
• Psalms 4:8
• Jeremiah 31:26
• 1 John 4:4
• 2 Timothy 1:7

Introduction

People are more likely to cancel a plane flight if they have a dream about it crashing than they are

1. A warning by the government
2. Hearing of another plane crash recently

Some people dream in black and white

Job 33:14-15

14 “Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. 15 “In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,

Most cultures believe dreams are supernatural

Nearly all cultures and religions have tried to address why we dream

• Native Americans believe dreams are windows to the soul or contain messages from ancestors
• The Abrahamic traditions teach the dreams can be messages from God

King Nebekunezer

• Was going to kill the prophets if they couldn’t interpret his dream
• Dreams in Babylon were considered supernatural

Other Cultures

Some of the most ancient texts of the Samaritans describe dreams

• Meaning
• Interpretations

Jewish

talmudic statement: “A man is only shown in a dream that of which he thinks during the day.”

• Jewish opinion is mixed

Christians

Christians don’t agree on the importance of dreams

1. “God only speaks now through His word”
2. “God gives me a word every day through dreams and revelation”

Science

Scientists don’t agree on the purpose of dreams

The dream shows the inner truth and reality of the patient as it really is: not as I conjecture it to be, and not as he would like it to be, but as it is.

—Carl Jung

Disclaimer 

• This Bible study is for religious and educational purposes. If you need medical assistance please see the appropriate medical professional.

Defining Wholeness

Wholeness is about being _______ healthy

• spiritually
• emotionally
• mentally

Free from oppression of

• Our past
• Bad thinking
• Strongholds
• The enemy

We’re talking about

• dealing with life’s current stresses
• being healed from experiences/wounds of the past

We’re promised eternal life

• We’re also supposed to have: joy, peace, patience, and self control here on earth

Through this 4 year series we have identified traits that we defined as the goal for wholeness

Traits of Wholeness

• Authenticity
• Honesty
• Kindness
• Behavior not influenced by external approval / validation
• Living by values and principles
• Setting Boundaries
• Taking ownership of your responsibilities
• Living with purpose and passion
• Optimism
• Confidence
• Not losing control of your emotions
• Free from addictions
• Addressing Conflict with truth and love
• Vulnerability
• Not critical or Judgemental
• Not jealous of others
• Forgive those who have wronged you in the past
• Know that you’re worthy of receiving love
• Not afraid to fail
• Able to manage irrational fear, worry, and anxiety
• Selfless encounters with others
• Not manipulating others trying to control their actions
• You care about how others feel
• Patient
• Don’t give into peer/social pressure
• Can communicate without antagonizing others
• Recognize, manage, and take responsibility for your own thoughts and feelings
• Slow to anger
• Ability to maturely express your wants, needs and desires
• Can listen without reacting
• Can respect others without having to change them
• Can function well… Alone or with others
• Able to take responsibility for our own destiny in life
• Able to maintain a non-anxious presence in the midst of anxiety and stress
• Able to ask for what they need want or prefer clearly, directly and honestly
• Has the capacity to resolve conflict maturely
• Being led by the Spirit

What Are Dreams?

Dreams are stories and images that our minds create while we sleep.

Dreams occur in/from the nonconscious mind.

• Your conscious mind relaxes when you sleep
• Your nonconscious (unconscious) mind never really sleeps

Does everybody dream?

• Pretty much
• Unless you’ve had brain injury

Everyone has several dreams each night

• Each one typically lasts for between 5 to 20 minutes
• Even for people who claim that they don’t dream
• They just don’t remember

Fetuses dream

Dreams vs Visions

A vision occurs when a person is awake and alert

A dream occurs when a person is asleep.

Typical Dreams/Nightmares That People Have (Universal)

There are certain dreams that are universal around the world

• Being nude or not dressed improperly in public
• Being late to an important meeting
• Being unable to find the location of something important
• Discovering a new area of a familiar location
• Being killed by an unstoppable disaster like a tidal wave or the end of the world
• Dead people being alive
• Being attacked
• Body Being unable to move
• Teeth falling out
• Search up 300% during pandemic
• about stress and anxiety
• increases teeth grinding during stress which triggered jaw pain that influenced dream
• falling
• school and studying
• sexual experiences
• snakes, spiders, creepy things
• being chased or pursued by malevolent people
• Our partner cheating on us
• Fighting
• Death of a loved one
• Otherworldly beings (demons, aliens, vampires, etc.)
• Dark places

You can experience emotions in dreams that you have never experienced in real life

Common dreams that believers have

• Dreams of casting demons out of someone
• Dreams of praying for someone on crutches or in a wheelchair and they start walking
• Seeing a sea of people around you as you preach to them

Why We Dream What We Dream

1. Messages from God
2. Your unconscious (nonconscious) mind trying to tell you something
3. What you focus on during wakeful hours
4. Your environment
5. Foretelling the future
6. How we learn/store new information
7. Help us sort out your thoughts
8. Solve problems
9. Threat simulation
10. Emotional consolidation
11. Spiritual Warfare ??

What  You Focus On

• When you were awake

• Bad or good

Isaiah 29:8

8It will be as when a hungry person dreams—

And behold, he is eating;

But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,

Or as when a thirsty person dreams—

And behold, he is drinking,

But when he awakens, behold, he is faint

And his thirst is not quenched.

So will the multitude of all the nations be

Who wage war against Mount Zion.

Many times we are merely dreaming about what we focus on during the day

• afraid of

Examples

• If you go to bed angry you may have a dream that’s disturbing
• You watch a horror movie and you have a nightmare
• You think about a work problem and you dream about it

Some Scientists  suggest that it’s not that you had a strong emotion because you had a dream but rather you had that dream because you had a strong emotion experience the emotion while you were

We dream about things that we desire

It may be repressed desires

• Things you say you don’t want (anymore)
• Or things you have tricked yourself (your conscious mind) into thinking you don’t want

Our Physical Environment

We dream about things that we experience when we are awake

Your dreams are influenced by your environment

• Temperature

Example: dog barking nearby

•  Your dog could then appear in your dreams

Issues Currently in Our Lives We Need to Address

Relationships

Psychologist say

When you dream about relationships from the past, it might be your brain trying to apply the lessons you should’ve learned then  to a current situation

What Are Nightmares?

Nightmares are defined as dreams that produce a strong negative emotional response, such as fear or horror.

Nightmares may be:

• Frightening
• Sexual
• Violent

Causes of Nightmares

Past Trauma

Non-conscious mind processing Toxic Issues

When your non-conscious mind tries to route out our toxic issues it results in

• Dreams
• Nightmares
• Night terrors

Dreams Can be a Sign of Anxiety or Stress

These dreams can often be connected to feelings of:

•  Anxiety
•  Stress
• Depression

Nightmares From Scary Movies

What if I told you I had a dream that someone with a disfigured face was chasing me with a knife and trying to kill me… What do you think could be happening?

• Is it demonic?

What if I told you that I had just finished binge watching the Friday the 13th horror movie series?

• It’s natural

what you give your attention to impacts what you dream

Threat Rehearsal

Some researchers feel that nightmares can help the body prepare for “threat rehearsals.” In other words, the brain runs us through some worst case scenarios, so when we encounter them, we’ll know how to act.

“Most nightmares we experience prepare us for situations which will never take place. They test our fight or flight responses and help us to work through anxieties that inhibit our day to day activities.”

Misperceptions of the World

Some of your perceptions are based on narratives that are not true

• Your perceptions always need to be questioned

—these cause nightmares

Example: they don’t like me because of my race

• It’s actually because you wear T-shirts with offensive slogans

Sleep Pattern Disruptions

Chemical Induced Dreams

Dreams caused by changes in our body

Major change to neurochemistry can impact your dream

• Drug withdrawal
• Eating spicy food
• Eating before bed

Example: malaria medicine creates hallucinations and nightmares

How God Uses Dreams

God spoke in dreams to:

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Joseph
• Jacob
• Daniel
• Solomon
• Joseph the father of Jesus

In the Bible, God used dreams to:

1. Warn of future events

• Joseph (and Mary)
• Nebakanezer

2. Reveal His will and give direction
3. To Change Your Character/Behavior

• Correction
• Warning

4. To accomplish His will
5. Talked to Solomon 1 Kings 3:5-15

• Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding to judge Israel

Warning You of Danger

Matthew 2:13

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

• This was also to facilitate His will

God uses dreams to communicate with unbelievers too

• Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 6-12)
• The Egyptian Pharaoh  (Genesis 41)
• Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19)
• “I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him (Jesus)”

Reveal His Will

Matthew 1:20

But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

• God clarified that “this is of God”

To Change Your Character/Behavior

Job 33:14-18

14 “Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. 15 “In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of people, And horrifies them with warnings, 17 So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct, And keep a man from pride; 18 He keeps his soul back from the pit, And his life from perishing by the spear.

God may frighten you in your dream in order to get you to change your behavior

Change your

• Character / Behaviour
• Future actions

To Accomplish His Will

Examples

• Told Abimelech Sarah was Abrahamms wife (Genesis 20:1-7)

God Gave the Dream to People Who Could Do Something About it

God gave dreams impacting nations to the rulers of the nations

• Pharaoh
• Nebekunezzer

Or to people who have access to the people who can implement His will

He may give you that vision for you to pray

• Not for you to tell others to look spiritual

Starting a Conversation

The dream can be God starting a conversation with you

• When you begin to ask questions about the dream,  you engage the conversation
• “ God… What is it that you are doing with this?“

Do Demons Cause Nightmares?

Do all nightmares come from satan and demons?

 [From night + Old English maere an evil spirit or incubus]

The word “nightmare” is based on the belief that evil spirits attack us while dreaming

People in many different religious traditions throughout history have regarded dreams as a potential source of interaction with evil spirits and seductive demons. This is truly a cross-cultural phenomenon, and possibly a universal feature of human communities.

–Oxford study

There are no Bible verses or examples of Satan or demons influencing dreams

Some people think Satan or demons are infiltrating their minds during nightmares, but there is no passage in the Bible to directly substantiate this.

–GotQuestions.org

4 reasons nightmares are not from Satan.

https://youtu.be/eTunErDjGYQ

Frightening Dreams From God

Is it true that our scary dreams are from the enemy and our dreams from God give you peace?

Daniel 7:15

 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

Dreams From God Don't Always Bring You Peace?

Sometimes the warnings need to be frightening for us to actually pay attention

Abraham

Genesis 15:12-14

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

• There was nothing that Abraham could do about this
• God even said “know  for certain“

All dreams from God do not invoke peace

All of the disturbing supernatural dreams in the Bible were from God

God’s Disturbing Dreams Reveal What’s Already Happening In Your Life

Your scary dreams may be Revelations about what’s going on

When a dream scares you it is telling you that this needs the utmost attention

• It is simply God bringing your attention to something

Dreams can be a revelation of what’s already happening in your life

• It is a window into what is happening spiritually
• Some people rebuke the dream instead of rebuking the influences that are happening in your physical life
• That’s the only time you moved from the physical to the spiritual

“Demonic” Dreams can be God Revealing That You Are Being Attacked

• God can be revealing the fact that demons are attacking you in your woken life
• God is showing you in dreams so that you know how to pray
• Just because a dream is scary doesn’t mean it is from the devil

Interpreting Dreams

Joke: wife’s birthday dream

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAqF8yZOGo-/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Dream Interpretation Sources

There are many resources for interpreting dreams

• Books and references to symbols in dreams
• Dream symbol dictionary
• Many occult sources

The Ancient Egyptian Book of Dreams is the oldest manual of dream interpretation in the world.

• 3,000 year-old papyrus

We are not going to be talking about what specific dreams mean or what specific symbols mean

• We will talk about general principles of interpretation

Symbolism in Dreams

Pharaoh's Dream

• The cows did not represent cows
• The corn did not represent corn
• Cows and corn = years

Dream Digital Archive (search engine)

Calvin Hall & Robert Vandecastle in 1960s created a coding system to classify dreams

• Supposedly completely objective
• you code dreams by
• Characters
• Social interactions
• Activities
• Successes and failures
• Fortunes and misfortunes
• Settings
• Objects
• Descriptive details – color, etc.
• comparing frequencies of individuals compared to groups

other studies  suggest that it’s not the objects/symbols that matter, but the

• relationships between the elements
• the course of action the dream takes
• Plot
• actively involved, observer, powerless

The concept that different symbols and animals represent the same thing across cultures and ages and sexes doesn’t have much science behind it

• Doesn’t have biblical support

A lot of websites give interpretation

• They copy from each other
• Many Christian ones look similar to New Age and witchcraft references

Each Person’s Dreams Are Unique - Caroline Leaf

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxfUVmTzwHHtTA79hivSphTLpN80VT_yLV

Recurring Dreams

You have recurring dreams when it’s important

1. Your unconscious mind is trying to tell you something
2. God is trying to get the message to you

I would be hesitant to try to draw conclusions from my single dream

But if there are patterns you might want to compare those with the normal dreams

Unconscious mind

A recurring pattern…can be a message from your non-conscious mind telling you to pay attention

In order for you to fix something… There needs to be conscious involvement

if you keep having the same dream and you wake up tired… That is a message that you need to keep exploring

Patterns

Your unique pattern is your unique story

• You can’t just Google a pattern

Example:

• Powerless
• Late

Steps of Interpretation

Write Down the Details

Daniel 7:1

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and told the following summary of it.

Keep a dream journal

Write the story

Write The Details

Details

• Was the water dirty or clean?
• What time of day was it?
• The people

Example: thin cows didn’t get fat after eating

Genesis 41:21

When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.

• This details turned out to be important
• This meant that when the bad years came no one would remember the good years

Your Initial Interpretation

Write down what you think the dream means

Your initial thought about what the dream is about is often correct

How Did You Feel?

It is not just about what you saw in the dream.

• It is also about what you felt in the dream.

Pay attention to your emotional tone in the dream.

Where are you

• Afraid
• At peace
• Happy
• Confident

Example: If chaos is happening in your dream, but you are at peace then it could mean that it is still in the hands of God.  

Snake Example

Carmen Bit by a Red Snake

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxiIcB1EB5dc0OVi_BchRrqE1xsE1Kfg7N?si=ila75GK_nXx0aCpk

If you see a snake you will fear because in your mind you think that snakes are evil

• It could be healing
• It could be wisdom

Recall Any Reference

Are there references in the dream?

• Biblical
• In your life

Research if there is anything of the Bible that speaks of this

What were your thoughts?

Pay attention to symbols, colors, numbers, and objects

Ask the Lord for the meaning

Pray to God For an Interpretation

Pray about what God is wanting you to do

If you know that a dream was important and you forgot it… You can pray that God brings it back to your memory

Is this dream giving me information or instruction?

Sometimes they overlap

Is this informing me of your plans and your purpose so I’m at peace when it happens?

Am I supposed to say or do anything… Or is it just for me to know?

Is this inform them about

• Information I need for a friend
• Something I need to pray for
• For me to know the future
• For me to warn the people of God
• Something I should pray against

Understand there is timing involved

If it is an instruction… Then you need to ask God about the timing in the strategy connected to the word

It is not something to rush into… It is a conversation that God is starting

If the dream is from God, and you can’t understand it… It may be for future time

When You Don’t Get an Answer

If you have prayed and you are living right and you still don’t get an interpretation… You can ignore the dream

When You Don’t Get an Interpretation for Your Dream

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3Cm5_m_iu9t-7llceH5HZhHTNTPXYMtq

Scriptures for Nightmares

Proverbs 3:24

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Psalms 91:5-13

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the plague that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that devastates at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the retaliation against the wicked. 9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge, The Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will happen to you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11For He will give His angels orders concerning you,

To protect you in all your ways.

12On their hands they will lift you up,

So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will walk upon the lion and cobra,

You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.

Psalms 4:8

 In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, LORD, have me dwell in safety.

Jeremiah 31:26

 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep had been pleasant to me.

1 John 4:4

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Story: sewing machine

Instructor: Michael Leadon

References

Dreams From God

Dream Interpretation

Nightmares and Evil Dreams

Participants were more likely to report that a dream of a plane crash... | Download Scientific Diagram (researchgate.net)

Interpreting dreams

Everything I know about podcast

Extra

Studies show that women are significantly more likely to remember their dreams

• Because women are more likely to be poor sleepers

inventive and curious people will tend to recall their dreams more and have more vivid dreams

• Versus consistent and cautious people

Night Terrors

What Are Night Terrors?

Night terrors = sleep terrors

During night terrors you wake up from a deep sleep

• You are disoriented
• Screaming
• Sweating
• Heart racing

Night terrors are when it’s so embedded in your physical body that your body goes into fight or flight

• You are manifesting these physical representations

Not Nightmares

During the first part of sleep cycle you get deep sleep

• during the ladder portion you get more lighter REM sleep

Night terrors happen in deep (non-REM) sleep

• Night terrors usually occur within 2 to 3 hours of going to sleep
• You often don’t remember but you wake up disturbed
• Common for people who have had PTSD or extreme levels of trauma

Night terrors are not caused by bad dreams - Dr Tracy Marks

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx4r2s8BYip0wtYss6VcDL_UQ-kqwK_7FZ

• Night terrors are not triggered by having an upsetting dream

Preventing Night Terrors

How to avoid night terrors – Dr. Tracey Marks

https://youtube.com/shorts/earmpgfqc8Y?feature=share

Sleep paralysis

REM Atonia

Have you ever woken up and can’t move your body or speak?

That’s sleep paralysis or REM atonia

Cause of Sleep Paralysis

A naturally occurring phenomenon

While we dream our body becomes paralyzed so that we don’t harm ourselves

you wake up before your body has gained its functioning back

Sleep paralysis occurs when you partially awaken during REM sleep

Sleep Paralysis Facts

• usually only last a few minutes,
• but it may seem like it lasted the whole night
• It usually affects people under the age of 25
• 1/3 of the population may experience it during their lives

Supernatural Experiences

Some people Experience dream like hallucinations on the semi awake mind

• Alien abduction
• Ghosts
• Vampires
• Demonic activity

3 main reported sensations

1. Feeling or seeing a dark malevolent presence in the room
2. seeing an evil being sitting on top of your chest preventing you from breathing
3. A form of levitation

1. Being raised by a ghost
2. Bing lift it into a spaceship

A dark or evil figure enters your room

You wake up at 3 AM

• You can’t move
• You can’t breathe
• you see a dark figure sitting in your room

Evil Spirit?

Some say the enemy take this opportunity to frighten you

• The enemy puts a lie into your head by showing you a demonic figure in the corner

Demons Scare You During Sleep Paralysis

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtwUd38Azpn/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Solutions for Nightmares

No Screens an hour before bed

Renounce and Halt Any Occult Involvement

Stop all involvement with occult activity

• Psychics / palm reading
• Witchcraft
• Other religions
• New Age activity
• Secret Societies
• Ouija boards

Pray

Romans 8:26-27

26 Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

• Even when you don’t understand…the Spirit does
• Pray in tongues

Isaiah 38:1-5

1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Please, LORD, just remember how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept profusely. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

Even if you see something negative prophesied… Pray that God will work it for your good

Fasting

Don’t eat anything after 6:00pm

• Just drink water

Skip a day of eating if feasible

Exposure relaxation and rescripting therapy

• This is best done with the assistance of a trained therapist

Engage in some form of relaxing activity

• meditation
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Guided relaxation
• Breathing

Choose a nightmare that you want to address

• Give it a title

Or a recurring theme

• Being trapped
• Being chased

Write out the script of the nightmare

As if you were going to make it a movie

Include as much detail as possible so that if someone was reading it they could actually picture it in their mind

• How did start/end
• Who else was there?
• Where where you
• Smell, sound, taste
• Thought you had during your dream
• Where are you
• Afraid
• Angry
• Sad

What was the worst point of the dream?

How did you feel at that moment?

How did your body feel?

• Did you wake up in sweat?
• Did you have trouble breathing?

A point where are you saw something to meet you you felt powerless

Write your desired emotion

Write down how you would like to feel instead

If you felt powerless… Would you rather have felt in control

• Or had the answers at the time

Change the moment

Rewrite your script that you made in step three.  just before you get to the worst moment, change the story so that you end up feeling the way you said you wanted to feel and step five.  You don’t have to limit yourself to realistic scenarios.  anyone could be part of your story to help you rewrite the outcome.

Read your script out loud repeatedly

Read it multiple times throughout the day.  you are basically brainwashing yourself to make yourself believe that this is the way it happened.  

Record yourself reading the script… And listen to it.

Creating this visual in your mind helps turn it into a new memory

• It is a fake memory
• This memory can be pulled into your mind when you are dreaming

Practice the script just before going to bed

And then return to your relaxing activity and step one

—---------

If this doesn’t work try tweaking your new script

1. Maybe there’s a different part of the dream that is really the worst part
2. Write a different ending

Imagery Rehearsal Therapy

For the believer, the potential effectiveness of this treatment can go up when we remember who our God is and the power and love He demonstrates in our lives. If we can alter the script of our nightmares by including reminders of the presence of God we can tap into a greater truth that provides our brains with new content for dreams.

1. When you wake up from a nightmare write down or record quickly the scary details of the dream (you may leave a light and a pen and pad next to your bed). Acknowledge what has happened and what the intense or terrifying parts of the dream were. You do not need to try and process everything at that moment if it is too intense. If you want to wait to process the dream simply practice breathing and meditation to calm yourself down.
2. When you are ready, try to remember the narrative of your dream. Write out a script of what the nightmare was. You can add to the dream by writing a short story (try to keep this to a paragraph or two in length).
3. Then rewrite the narrative drawing on key similarities, but this time bring God into the picture. Allow Him, His truth, His power, and His love to reframe the script. Perhaps think of a Biblical story that could serve as a parallel to your situation which show God’s intervention, care, and presence.
4. Rehearse this script multiple times throughout the day. Allow this story to sink into your mind.
5. Don’t be discouraged if this exercise doesn’t prove immediately effective in eliminating nightmares. Try it again.