Four out of five of my dreams about my faith were so morbid and have caused me so much despair. I'm angry. I've only had one dream that I could recollect where it wasn't some horrific nightmare. What am I supposed to do? Some crazy dream interpretation lady told me I'm going to rot in Hell, and that I'm a phone Christian. I've tried to overcome these dreams and get closer to Christ, but it has near killed my relationship with Him. No one I know has any answers. Everyone says something different. I'm ready to shoot myself. It's like I was single- handedly handed over to the devil, and I'll never get away from these haunting dreams. How could these things happen to me? I always feel like I'm on the outside looking in at all the 'other' Christians out there who don't have crazy dreams like mine. Their lives never seem tormented by dreams of desertion, doubt and death. Why? Why? I can't even function.
2007-02-02 12:26:45 · 24 answers · asked by Arf 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
phony* Christian, not phone* Christian
2007-02-02 12:28:35 · update #1
I know it's my choice in how I live my life (so, bad wording on 'handed over to the devil'). It's just how I feel at the moment. It's the dreams that get me. I was forsaken by Christ in the 12dt dream, other Christians could not tell I was a Christian in the 2nd one, and I was deteriorating in a fire that my friend and mom had to coerce me out of in the 3rd. The first one was the worst. I had seen His face. He had asked me to do something for Him and I clammed up in fear and didn't do it. It's as if He was trying to prove to me in the dream that I wasn't His. But on what grounds would Jesus appear in a dream rather than just strike me blind on a public street instead? I need the truth, not a theory. I need answers, ot suggestions.
2007-02-02 12:41:53 · update #2
Correction: ... forsaken by Christ 1st* dream...
2007-02-02 12:46:52 · update #3
King Nebuchadnezzar had the same problem. However, since you're not royalty, i would suggest a Christian counselor and a prayer group which has older, patient members. Let your problems be known to your Pastor and watch them vaporize.
2007-02-02 12:30:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What a terrible thing for the crazy dream interpretation lady to say. If this is spiritual warfare and not bad pizza, it's Satan trying to convince you that you're a phone Christian (I thought that was supposed to be a good metaphor, not a typo -- like I phone in my relationship instead of seeking God on my knees). These dreams are not from God. God loves you and seeks your healing and health.
When I was in my late teens, I'd have nightmares at home many times. I wasn't Catholic, but one time as I was going to sleep, I made the sign of the cross and said something like, "I claim the protection of the blood of Jesus." I never had nightmares there again. Your dreams don't mean anything bad about you. Seek a spiritual person with DISCERNMENT, not a crazy lady, to pray with you.
2007-02-02 20:35:42 · answer #2 · answered by rcpeabody1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
MOST dreams, even in the Bible, are meaningless. Notice, people sleep all the time in the Bible and only a few dreams are mentioned.
Dreams are USUALLY a way for our brains to sort info, deal with problems, replay daily events or stresses, etc. They usually don't mean ANYTHING.
A lot of people have bad dreams within the church- most of them just forget them shortly after waking up, ignore them, or deny having them. Dreams are not a conscious act or decision, and so have absolutely NO impact on your spirituality.
In fact, a lot of dreams are more the result of spicy food or a mild food intolerance at bedtime than anything special!
There are many ways to deal with bad dreams. My favorite is to try to wake yourself up, then go back to sleep with the mindset that you are going to take control and do some specific act. Another favorite is to write down the dream as soon as possible- that seems to steal a lot of its power or influence over you.
Mostly, just stop worrying so much about them. It just makes them worse. You may want to rethink your bedtime procedure- load yourself with things that help, like
- the scent of lavender
- taking a warm bath shortly before bed
- wearing socks, mittens, and maybe even a cap to stay nice and toasty
- not eating for about 3 hours before bedtime, or only eating very light, bland foods that promote sleepiness
- light exercise a couple hours before bed
- clearing stressful stuff from your bedroom- remove the TV, homework, etc. and replace it with a white noise machine or VERY soft barely audible music.
If this keeps up, consider talking to your family doctor- there may be a medical issue involved.
By the way, as an elder Christian, I have a problem with the 'pray and it will all go away' advice- if it does not work (and it often does not, especially if the problem is medical, anxiety related, food related, etc.) then the person feels worse and even more rejected by God.
Prayer is powerful, but it can also mess you up when it is used as a medicine.
2007-02-02 20:40:13 · answer #3 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, you have to realize that you can never be made to do things that you don't want to do. You can not be handed to the devil. It is your choice, and no matter what kind of dreams you have, the kind of person you are is what determines your fate. Nothing else.
I have had similar problems. I get angry with myself for dreaming things that I don't think are appropriate, and I worry if I had anything to do with it. What I have come to realize, though, is that the mind has a mind of it's own!
I don't take responsibility for my dreams, because I did not force myself to dream them. Something else you have to realize is that if something makes you really uncomfortable, it will keep recurring in your dreams. Dreams often bring out people's fears.
Try to get the negative things out of your life. I have had to stop watching scary movies and even the news because I don't want any bad images running through my head at night. I might not be able to control my dreams, but I can control what I allow my eyes to see.
Don't worry...you are not strange or doomed or anything like that. Try to put more pleasant things in your day, spend a lot of time in prayer, and don't get discouraged. You might just have to evaluate your life and see if you are adding any unnecessary negativity with things you watch or do during the day.
2007-02-02 20:33:54 · answer #4 · answered by hopewriter 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do you do for others with all of your heart? Are you truely sorry for the things you have done? Do you pray? Only you can kill your relationship with Christ. Seriously look into your religion. Is it the right one for you? Sometimes, hints to a change your current religion can come as morbid dreams. Dreams are also collections of events that have happened in your life, that your heart is trying to tell you is not the way to go.
Killing yourself is not the answer. This is only giving yourself over to the devil. Temptation is great amongst us as the devil fights every second to control us. It is easier to take the wrong path than to choose the right one. I will say that is it is very hard sometimes to always go the right way.
When I have seriously bad dreams I ask for my angels to take away my worry and give me peaceful sleep. This works for me on a regular basis. Everyone has their own way in asking for things, you must develop your own way to communicate with Christ.
Good Luck! I will add you to my prayer list.
2007-02-02 20:35:11 · answer #5 · answered by ebay_convert 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christianity is not about dreams. Dreams about you and how you deal (cope) with what surrounds you.
Heaven is where God is and hell is where God is not. Earth are where were are. For the Christian, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
What about dreams? if we are on earth and we are Christian, we know who we are and were we are going. Troubling dreams have nothing to do with our beliefs, but may be a sign of our health. If we are on earth and we are Christian and we still are having disturbing dreams, maybe it is time to see a doctor, a Christian doctor if you like.
In answer to your question: You may be ill and need some medical help.
2007-02-02 21:23:21 · answer #6 · answered by J. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A good friend of mine has had traumatic dreams due to post-traumatic stress. If that is the case for you, you could benefit from going to a counselor and if you prefer, a Christian pastoral counselor.
REVISED ANSWER
Seeing the description of your dream, maybe fear is holding you back in your life. Jesus wasn't necessarily showing you that you 'aren't his' but he did show you that your fear (or doubt) is holding you back, maybe so much so that he couldn't show you in real life because you don't take a risk where he could teach you something. So instead it is coming out in your dreams.
It is often that those who have great doubts and great fears also have equally great capacity to believe and live out great faith.
Keep searching and asking in prayer for answers, and take more strength from your faith in life to act when ordinarily fear or doubt would hold you back.
2007-02-02 20:35:01 · answer #7 · answered by John Henry 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well first of all don't shoot your self if you think youre going to hell, that would just be stupid. Maybe you should try to examin the way you live your life. Are you acting according to Christian morals? Do you ever lie to profit yourself? etc. If you say no then maybe you should try a more conservative form of Christianity, like Eastern Orthodox or Catholicism if you arent already. And if you want to you could get yourself an exorcism. You might look like a fool doing it yourself but it might help even if your not possessed.
If you STILL dont feel like a good christian, maybe God is telling you that you shouldn't be Christian at all. Maybe you should seek out another religion. I highly doubt this but it could happen.
2007-02-02 20:31:28 · answer #8 · answered by YouCannotKnowUnlessUAsk 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I used to have horrifying dreams every night for weeks. I was so afraid of falling asleep. It may be because of stress or something else. I don't know. But I was getting desperate. I borrowed my mother's chanting buddhist book and chanted for around an hour before I go to sleep. For the 1st time in weeks, I didn't have nightmare that night. Afterwards for a while, I chanted every night before I go to sleep in order to not have nightmares.
If you are a christian, maybe you have some kind of a prayer book. Pray for an hour. And before you fall asleep, tell yourself that you don't want to remember your dreams. Tell yourself that you will sleep well and wake up fresh.
2007-02-03 00:11:45 · answer #9 · answered by Renee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do realize that every good and perfect thing comes from Christ, right? So, anything else is of the devil. I can clearly see that this is the devil who has gotten a whole of your mind. But, remember, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world, so the devil can not even more control than you allow him. I would suggest that you claim dominion over you mind in the name of Jesus and ask that God remove any stronghold that the devil may have over you. You need to be strong, get mad and tell the devil to GET THE HELL OUT! I guarantee that he will flee and that you will have peaceful sleep. You are a child of God and you are entitled to it.
2007-02-02 20:32:07 · answer #10 · answered by TwinkaTee 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋