Latest / Arise Women of God / Are Nightmares Spiritual Attacks?
Transcript
- 0:01Hey, my friend, have you ever wondered, are nightmares actually spiritual attacks?
- 0:07Because you or your children wake up in the middle of the night with a racing heart or perhaps paralyzed by irrational fear.
- 0:15This can be a terrifying and exhausting situation.
- 0:18And maybe you want to know how to protect your sleep and stop the torment.
- 0:24Well, take heart because by the end of today's episode, you will know how to discern when a dream is an adversarial attack attack.
- 0:32How to use a gratitude reset to calm your brain, and how our Savior Jesus Christ can shield your bedroom so that your sleep is sweet.
- 0:44Stay tuned.
- 0:45Ordinary women extraordinary faith.
- 0:49When God calls, we say yes.
- 0:55Hello, and welcome back to the Arise Women of God podcast.
- 0:59I'm your host, Tamara K.
- 1:00Anderson.
- 1:01And joining me today is the wonderful Tiffany Fletcher.
- 1:05Tiffany is a counseling student getting her master's, an author, wife, and mother who helps women replace fear with Christ's light.
- 1:15And I'm so thankful she's here with us today to talk about are nightmares actually spiritual attacks?
- 1:22Because Tiffany has the spiritual gift of dreams, so it'll be great to have her perspective on this.
- 1:29Here's what we're going to tackle on today's episode.
- 1:32First, Tiffany will talk about the midnight vulnerability and why the adversary targets our sleep and how to cast him out immediately.
- 1:42Second, I will talk about inviting God in as a shield and what the scriptures teach us about nocturnal warfare and claiming sweet sleep.
- 1:55Third, Tiffany will share about the power and neuroscience of counting our blessings at bedtime.
- 2:02And finally, Tiffany will conclude with talking about second guessing our dreams as she shares the pizza versus the adversary rule.
- 2:12But let's begin with Tiffany explaining why dreams are a primary target for the enemy.
- 2:19Our nightmares, spiritual attacks.
- 2:22What do you think, Tiffany?
- 2:24Absolutely.
- 2:25I think that anything that pulls us from our peace and from Heavenly Father, I feel like it's probably the adversary trying to mess with us because that's just something that he does.
- 2:37He wants us to be miserable like he, like he is.
- 2:40And if he can get us in our dreams while we're sleeping and we're feeling like we can't fight back, then of course he's going to try.
- 2:47So what do you do when you wake up with a nightmare?
- 2:51Like, how do you handle that?
- 2:54Anytime I wake up with a nightmare, I always, always, always say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to cast Satan out.
- 3:00Like by name and in the name of Jesus Christ, I, I know that it's from him and I absolutely 100% just pray to cast Satan out.
- 3:08Like, for example, I, I don't know what it is about me.
- 3:11But Satan is really good about trying to make me feel like I'm trapped.
- 3:14Like he will give me those nightmares where I feel like I'm in my marriage or trapped in school because I'm going to graduate school right now, or trapped as a mother or trapped it like just anything.
- 3:25Like I feel like, oh, you are trapped and you can't get out.
- 3:29As soon as I feel that feeling, I know a hundred percent that it's Satan trying to get me to feel that way.
- 3:35And so I immediately say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to cast Satan's influence out in the name of Jesus Christ and to send angels to surround me and to help me and to help me feel his spirit
- 3:45so that I can go back to sleep.
- 3:46And every single time, every, every, every, every time it works, as I cast Satan out, those nightmares go away and I have peace.
- 3:55And it's incredible.
- 3:57I love what Tiffany said.
- 3:59Anything that steals your peace and leaves you feeling trapped or hopeless is not from God.
- 4:06In 2nd Timothy 1:7, Scripture declares, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power and of love and of and of a sound mind.
- 4:19If a nightmare leaves you paralyzed by a spirit of fear, that fear did not originate with your heavenly father.
- 4:27Look at what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2:1:3.
- 4:32He did have a terrifying night vision that left his spirit deeply troubled and broke his sleep.
- 4:39The adversary loves to bring confusion in the dark, but God holds holds the power to untangle the darkness and give understanding.
- 4:50And the prophet Daniel was able to help bring peace to King Nebuchadnezzar with the interpretation of that dream.
- 4:58God has given us incredible scriptural promises for our sleep.
- 5:03But we must actively invite him in to guard us and protect us.
- 5:08Proverbs 3:24 says, when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid.
- 5:14Yea, thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet.
- 5:20Psalm 4, 8 says, I will lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord only makes me dwell in safety.
- 5:30As you go to bed each night, invite the Lord to be with you and angels to protect you.
- 5:37You can even speak these verses aloud as you establish an invisible shield of protection over your bed.
- 5:45God is so good and answers those prayers.
- 5:49Now what do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night feeling angry, jealous or overwhelmed by what you just dreamed?
- 5:58Let's listen to Tiffany share her brilliant gratitude technique.
- 6:04Like sometimes Satan, when I was first married, he would put thoughts into my mind about My husband, like, and.
- 6:09And it's always like, jealousy thoughts, like, right.
- 6:12Like he was, like, going out with my sister or he's doing, you know, something like, you know, like, I don't know what it was that.
- 6:18These jealous thoughts, and.
- 6:20Because then it would tie to my emotions, right?
- 6:23And then my emotions would be, like, so angry, and I'd be like.
- 6:26My husband would wake up and be like, I didn't even do anything, and you're mad at me.
- 6:30I know, but in my dream, it was awful, you know, And.
- 6:33And so what I've learned that respect is I start seeing present gratitude.
- 6:39Like, I'll put my head on the pillow, and I'll be like, heavenly Father, I'm grateful that my husband is this, like, in those trapped feelings, how many.
- 6:45Father, I'm grateful for a home.
- 6:47I'm grateful for a job.
- 6:48I'm grateful for kids.
- 6:49I'm grateful for family.
- 6:51I'm grateful for finances.
- 6:53I'm grateful for all the things.
- 6:54And when you are in that moment of gratitude, like, if you're just sending out those gratitude prayers, like just head on the pillow, just instead of counting sheep, you're counting your blessings kind of thing, like, I'm going to
- 7:05school now for therapy.
- 7:06And gratitude actually changes the neural pathways in your brain.
- 7:10Did you know that?
- 7:11It doesn't just change your feelings, but it changes your mindset and your brain.
- 7:15And so it makes all the difference.
- 7:17And so when you are struggling and having those nightmares, praying and casting Satan out first of all, and praying for angels to be with you and the spirit to be with you are key.
- 7:27But then filling yourself up with light, and that gratitude is the easiest thing that you can do with your head on the pillow.
- 7:32And I promise you, it makes all the difference.
- 7:33Difference.
- 7:33I just testify that it.
- 7:35It works.
- 7:36That tool is pure gold, my friends.
- 7:39The enemy loves using dreams to plant seeds of resentment, suspicion, or fear against the people we love most.
- 7:47If you wake up irritable with your spouse or kids because of a dream, don't take the bait.
- 7:53Recognize the counterfeit and cast him out in the name of Jesus Christ and immediately speak three things you love about them.
- 8:03Now, you might be asking Tamara, how do I know if a nightmare is an actual spiritual attack or if it was just this spicy pizza I ate before bed?
- 8:15Let's head back to Tiffany for the ultimate answer to that question.
- 8:20I think that sometimes we question, well, maybe it's just me.
- 8:25Maybe it's just I ate some pizza for dinner and it didn't set well with me.
- 8:29You know, Maybe or whatever.
- 8:31But the fact is is if you're having a nightmare, it does.
- 8:35Like what does it hurt to cast Satan out?
- 8:37Whether it's you or whether it's Satan, it's making you uncomfortable.
- 8:42And so praying to cast Satan out, no matter what nightmare it is, in the name of Jesus Christ and praying for those angels to be with you and to strengthen you, it's just going to strengthen you.
- 8:54We can't cast Satan out enough.
- 8:56He is like a roaring lion.
- 8:58So it's going to take multiple times.
- 9:00So if you're having nightmares, just cast him out.
- 9:03Who cares if it was the pizza that you ate?
- 9:05Maybe Satan's using the pizza to prey on you.
- 9:08I don't know.
- 9:09But what I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if you're having a nightmare.
- 9:13Cast Satan's influence out.
- 9:15Use gratitude to get back to sleep.
- 9:16It works every time.
- 9:18So whether a nightmare comes from physical stress or spiritual warfare, the remedy is exactly the same.
- 9:26Now for those of you who suffer from post traumatic stress stress, remember to also take the additional step of finding someone who can help you work through that so that you can heal through the power of Jesus Christ
- 9:40and not have those stressful recurring dreams.
- 9:44It takes both the physical doing and work and the spiritual healing through Christ, but you can get there now if you want practical step by step tools to help you dedicate your home, pray over your children's bedrooms and
- 10:00stop spiritual attacks at night.
- 10:03We at Women warriors of Light made our complete digital guide available to you for free.
- 10:09Pretty great, huh?
- 10:11Down in the show notes below, I invite you to click the link to grab your copy of a mother's spiritual defense guide 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and Family.
- 10:21Once you get it, turn straight to the Home Sanctuary Audit where you'll get step by step instructions so that you can notice where Satan is intruding into your home and then follow that up with the Cast out the
- 10:35Adversary Word for Word prayer script.
- 10:38Download your free copy today on our website and reclaim your peaceful sleep.
- 10:44My dear sister, God designed your sleep to be sweet, restorative and safe.
- 10:51You do not have to dread the night hours.
- 10:54Cling to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
- 10:56Invite his presence into your room and rest in the assurance that he who watches over your home neither slumbers nor sleeps.
- 11:07Thanks for joining us today and until next time, may you arise and do it God's way.
- 11:14God Strong.
- 11:16If today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe.
- 11:22It helps us grow and ensures heaven's whispers stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.