In a previous Q&A, the question about whether Satan can influence us when we are asleep was answered. It was proved that God would not allow His people to be subjected to such a situation.
And so, the next question to ask may be: “Where do our dreams come from?”
On the website: https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/dreams/facts-about-dreams/what-are-dreams we read about the process of dreaming:
“What Is a Dream, Anyway?
“A dream is a collection of images and ideas that occur involuntarily during certain periods of repose. When you first drift off, your heart rate slows, your temperature drops, and your brain is busy processing the day’s events. During this initial sleep stage, dreams are made up of flashes of thoughts and images from your waking life: what you ate for lunch, a phone call you made during the day, the movie you watched before bed. You rarely remember these dreams unless you wake up during them.
“After about 90 minutes, you fall into the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, where vivid, often surreal dreams occur. The amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for processing emotions, and the hippocampus, the seat of memory, are both active, which is why REM dreams have a story like quality and are the ones you tend to remember the next day and recount to friends. If you get six to eight hours of sleep, you experience four to five REM periods of various lengths, all of which are dream filled (though you probably won’t remember most of them).”
The article then goes on to say that “they help you understand new experiences, prepare you for change, help you cope with trauma or loss and can facilitate learning.”
Most, if not all of us, can attest to the fact that we do dream, and regularly. We have learned that God will not allow His people to be tested and tempted when we are asleep – a time when they are not in a position to defend their minds. But that should not put us in a position where we don’t pray for the protection of our minds whilst we are asleep!
As we read above, our dreams are a combination of what is in our mind following experiences of the day, and of our lives so far. Before we were converted, we may have developed bad habits that have subsequently been difficult to dislodge but we understand that all of these have been recorded by our brain and are part of who and what we are. Our thoughts, pre-conversion and post conversion, can have a dramatic effect on what happens in our minds when we are in the subconscious state of sleep.
In “Understanding Your Subconscious Mind,” Brian Tracy states: “Your subconscious mind is like a huge memory bank. Its capacity is virtually unlimited. It permanently stores everything that ever happens to you.
“By the time you reach the age of 21, you’ve already permanently stored more than one hundred times the contents of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
“Your unconscious memory is virtually perfect. It is your conscious recall that is suspect.
“The function of your subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data. Its job is to ensure that you respond exactly the way you are programmed. Your subconscious mind makes everything you say and do fit a pattern consistent with your self-concept, your ‘master program.’
“Your subconscious mind is subjective. It does not think or reason independently; it merely obeys the commands it receives from your conscious mind. Just as your conscious mind can be thought of as the gardener, planting seeds, your subconscious mind can be thought of as the garden, or fertile soil, in which the seeds germinate and grow. Your conscious mind commands and your subconscious mind obeys.”
One well-known speaker, Jim Rohn, said: “Our thoughts shape our reality. Our thoughts shape our beliefs. Our thoughts decide whether we feel happy or sad, calm or anxious, content or unfulfilled. So we must exercise caution towards what we allow to enter the door of our minds because it affects our thoughts. And our thoughts are the engine that starts everything – and we do have a choice.”
We mustn’t become complacent just because Satan can’t attack us when we are asleep. Put simply, for the purpose of this Q&A, we have to be careful about our thoughts. Whatever we think about and allow into our minds can surface in dreams at a later time.
We read in 1 Peter 1:13-14 in the NIV translation: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”
We should regularly pray for the protection of our minds whilst we are asleep. Satan may not be able to affect us at this time but the way we live our lives, and what we say and do, can certainly impact on what we dream about. We are warned in Ephesians 4:26-27 that we should not let the sun go down on our wrath and not to go to bed with an angry attitude, nor give place to the devil. Satan cannot directly influence us when we sleep, but evil and bad thoughts, which were recorded by the brain, may lead to unpleasant dreams.
In Isaiah 26:3 we read that: “You (God) will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
In the first two verses of the chapter we read about safety which is the result of faith in God, and it reflects on the mindset of those who are focused on God through trust in Him. One writer, Oswald Chambers, penned these words when speaking about the subject of our minds being stayed on God:
“Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be ‘bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…’ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together.”
One good comparison would be with our computers There are many versions of different anti-virus protection which can protect our computer and all of our information. If we didn’t take steps to protect our information, we could be open to hackers who could do serious damage. Satan and his demons work in a similar way. They will do everything they can, particularly to members of the true Church of God, to influence and affect us in a way that will dent our chances of making it into the Kingdom of God. As we need protection for our computers, we need protection for our minds from the evil forces that do anything they can to derail us. And our protection can only come from God. He will help us to be careful what we let into our minds which can adversely affect us and it is essential that we don’t just carelessly allow wrong thoughts and ideas into our minds which can then surface in any dreams that we may have.
We have to be fully aware at all times about our carnal mind and nature: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Later, in the same letter, we read: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). We must not be part of this society and its ways, and our minds are an integral part of our Godly Way of Life.
In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 the apostle Paul discusses spiritual wisdom, showing that the “natural man does not receive the things of God.” Verse 16 should apply to us: “‘For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” With the mind of Christ, we will only let good and wholesome thoughts into our minds and, if and when these are included in our dreams, we can be assured that our dreams will not distress us or cause us any spiritual concerns. However, probably all of us are still working on our relationship with God and have yet to arrive at the place where we should be and, therefore, any wrong thoughts could easily become part of our dreams; in addition, our brain has stored memories and thoughts which might have happened a long time ago, but which might come to the surface now. That is why we do need to ask for the protection of our minds when we are asleep.
We are instructed not to be involved with those with a wrong attitude and approach: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself” (1 Timothy 6:3-5).
In 2 Timothy 1:13-14 (New RSV) we read: “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” We have to guard the truth given to us with help from the Holy Spirit and have to have the mind of Christ as it states in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” That is the mind that we need, and must have.
In Ephesians 4:17 we read: “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.” We are not to have that approach and a few verses later in the New Living Translation of verses 22-23, we read: “… throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”
That’s the key – to let the Holy Spirit of God help us in all things and in renewing our thoughts and attitudes. Then, our minds will be protected when we are sleeping. This is the only way to live!
We read in Romans 8:5-6: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” This clearly shows the difference of mindset and the direction in which we must go.
How we live, what we think, say and do, and what we allow into our minds will reveal to God how seriously we take our calling. Keeping our minds on the things of God and not of this world will enable us to live a life pleasing to our great God.
We know that Joel 2:28-29 gives us a view of times to come: “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and, on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” However, that time is yet to come when dreams will mean something.
But for now, as we haven’t yet achieved perfection, there will be some failings along the way, but asking God in prayer to protect our minds while we are asleep will continue to be necessary. Satan and his demons are not allowed to influence us when we are sleeping. However, let us not cause problems for ourselves by giving way to wrong thoughts and actions that could be reflected in our dreams.
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
