quote:

---

Originally posted by Tigress

Hi! I've been praying for Amber regarding her nightmares. Has there been any improvement? Last night I was reading in a book I have called The Idiot's Guide to Interpreting Your Dreams that said that lucid dreaming is a way of taking control of nightmares. Lucid dreaming is basically being consciously aware during a dream that you're having a dream, and then causing things to happen within that dream in order to change the outcome. The authors talked about turning around and talking to the monsters that are chasing you and realizing that they're only hungry, so you then imagine sitting down to a banquet with them, so they won't chase and scare you anymore.

Obviously Amber's situation is more complex because she's dreaming of real beings. We don't know if demons really are causing her to have these nightmares, or if her mind is just using these images to symbolize some inner fears she has. But, the Bible is clear that through Jesus and The Holy Spirit all God's children are given power over Satan and his demons so with practice, it might be possible for Amber to start confronting these images head-on and changing the outcome of these dreams.

The authors said that the first step in lucid dreaming is to pick an object that you regularly see in a recurring dream (like a tree, a chair, a lamp, etc.) and use that as a sign to yourself that you in fact are dreaming. Then, since you're no longer disillusioned into thinking that what's happening is real, you can alter anything and everything that occurs in your dream. I don't know the details of what Amber is seeing in these recurring nightmares of hers, but if for instance she constantly sees demons coming at her to harm her, she could turn and face them and rebuke, bind and cast them out of her dreams in the Name of Jesus, just like she would if she were awake. She could visualize a holy angel or Jesus Himself standing next to her or in front of her, protecting her from the demons, and ultimately making them go away.

This actually sounds a lot like Greg Boyd's imaginative meditation technique that he teaches about in his book Seeing Jesus. So, there should be no reason why we can't take control of our thoughts while we're asleep, as well.

The Bible says that we are to take every thought captive to Christ, and I think we in Christ, can do the same with our dreams, too if we just pray and work at it, just like with anything else in our daily walk with The Lord. And I'm certainly not saying that this is going to be easy for Amber. Nothing ever is, but I know that Jesus doesn't want us to be victims to anyone, especially to demons. I hope that this information will be of some service to Amber. Please let me know if it helps.

---

quote:

---

Tigress,
I am so thankful for your prayers. She is tormented by these dreams. This has been going on for more than three years now, and if it was just once in awhile, that would be different, but we're talking night after night after night of horrifically violent dreams. She's in most of them, either being attacked brutally, or attacking someone. One dream was of her walking into a bathroom to see a tub full of dead body parts. And her dreams are in vivid color.

She is compassionate, a prayer warrior, loves the Father, is an amazing lyricist/singer - an artsy type. This has been the single most troubling, confusing thing of her life. Why would an all good, all powerful, all loving Father allow this to continue in her life? (She's not an open theist, so this has shaken her to the core at times, but she hangs on). She bottoms out, then just hangs on, and keeps on going. She can't sleep, is afraid to sleep, sleeps in a tent, tries to stay awake. It is torture, and it needs to end. I don't know if it is demonic. I talked with a YWAM director at the conference in Shipshewana, but I haven't heard anything from her yet. She went (our daughter) to South Africa right out of high school in 2000, and the dreams have been consistent and horrific ever since. A lot of them involve demons.

I don't know if this had anything to do with South Africa, but I believe I will write YWAM and talk to them about it. I've also talked to our Dr. who doesn't seem to have any answers.

Your prayers mean a lot. Thank you.

I'll look the book up. She has been talked to about rewriting the dreams. I've spent countless nights praying for her, crying over it, as she sleeps on the love seat in our living room. It is hard to see your child being tormented.

God Bless you,
Jo-Anne

---