Word Power with LADI AYODEJI
A nightmare is a horrific experience whether it comes in a dream or real life situation. It is something you’d want to avoid, which nevertheless happens to you once in a while.
Perhaps, it is not out of place to say that a nightmare is inevitable in life at some point. Some readers who have been asking me about this subject should realize this fact. You can’t run away from nightmares as you’d’ see later in this piece
The word nightmare speaks of a very frightening dream or a terrifying real life encounter, which leaves one with a feeling of fear, displeasure or misery.
In the course of my ministry, I discovered that the traumatic experience of victims of nightmare may linger for a very long time. An extended session of counseling is often required by nightmare victims to restore them to normalcy
I had reasoned initially that nightmare is an esoteric subject which may not be relevant to my audience, but I decided to deal with it nevertheless, because almost everyone is a victim in some way.
A wild animal pursuing you in your dream could be a spiritual attack. If you are jilted by a lover in a relationship it could be a nightmarish experience. If you lose a loved one to sudden death, or you lose a fortune in a failed business, in fact, any dramatic change of prospect with negative consequences is a nightmare worth talking about. The Covid 19 season and its grave consequences of serial deaths, job losses and bankruptcies a great nightmare to humanity.
The nightmare we are dealing with here is the type that comes to you in a dream. Contrary to what most people think, the devil is not the only source of nightmares.
God may show you something in a bad dream to inform or warn you about an impending occurrence, so that you pray and fast about it.
For instance, in the famous Bible story in the book of Daniel, the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar had bad dreams that troubled him. God showed the king in his nightmare the judgment set before him.
Another famous dream story in the Bible is found in Gen. 41, regarding Pharaoh’s dream. God showed him something that was about to happen in Egypt.
It was a bad dream of sort. Sometimes, God talks to us about terrible things in dreams and visions of the night or when we are asleep. If the divine message is a warning about an attack, it could be relayed in a negative prophesy, or a bad dream.
What do we do? We pray and ask for divine direction on how to avert such disasters.
Nightmares: Mental illness loading?
When one is on the verge of mental illness, they may be having nightmares. If anyone is having frequent bad dreams or seeing distorted images or hearing strange voices, they should hasten to see a psychiatrist. It could be a symptom of mental illness.
Those who take hard drugs, smoke weed, or abuse medicament are likely to have strange dreams as a precursor for a full blown mental illness.
If you indulge in those things you better stop before it is too late. In fact, excessive consumption of locally brewed gin or substances may cause nightmare. You’ve to kick these bad habits before they consume you, like it did, Majek Fashek, the reggae star.
Don’t experiment with narcotics, hemp, drugs, hot drinks and stimulants; they are very dangerous to your health. Young people have a tendency to experiment with dangerous indulgences just to be considered hip; such thinking is foolish. There’s nothing hip about damaging habits, don’t self-destruct.
Visit mental institutions, you’d be sorry to see famous show business stars, some are celebrities in other fields, who have ran amok and are held in chains like wild dogs to keep them at bay. You certainly won’t like to live a sub-human existence like that. I know young people who have gone prematurely to their graves because of crazy indulgences like this.
A nightmare could be triggered by the call of nature. When your bladder is full of accumulated urine while deeply asleep, the pressure could cause a bad dream to compel you to wake up and go empty your bladder. As soon you do that, you’d find that the nightmare does not return.
This kind of bad dream occurs purely by the instigation of the body system so that you don’t wet your bed. I have had this experience many times. Nature sometimes induces bad dreams to force you to evacuate urine or respond to some discomfort, like sleeping on your arm, neck or shoulder.
The most common complaints about nightmare involve spiritual attacks in a dream. There’s no doubt about it, evil forces do attack people in dreams. Where this occurs, you go for special prayers we call “deliverance”.
Some ailments could induce bad dreams. Malaria, high fever or brain tumors are known to cause nightmare in victims. Only a proper medical diagnosis can help unravel the facts. Not all bad dreams can, therefore, be attributed to evil spirits.
A nightmare could occur at any time of the day, even when you have a nap in the afternoon. The most common indication of an evil attack is when a wild animal like a snake is pursuing you in a dream. The serpent is the most common medium of satanic attacks, because it is the animal most disposed to demonic activity. You have to combat it with prayers. Resist the devil, and he’ll flee from you. That’s what the Bible teaches. Never surrender.
Memory Verse: With God all things are possible – Matt 19:26
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Send Your Nagging Questions To: PASTOR TELL ME –
ladibest16@gmail.com 09059243004 (sms, email, whatsapp only)
Q: Was Jesus born on Christmas Day, December 25?
A: There are no records of that in the Bible, but the Church fathers picked that date to celebrate his birth.
Q: How can I know my area of calling?
A: You may know through the spiritual gifts you manifest. God may speak to you directly by the Holy Spirit like he did to Paul, Barnabas, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.
Q: Which of the servants in the five-fold ministry of Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist, Prophet and Apostle can open a Church?
A: The Pastor. No one else is authorized to open a church. Whoever does that without being a Pastor is operating outside his commission.
Q: Can a woman Pastor a church?
A: No. However, because there’s no gender in Christ, she can serve in an administrative capacity if it’s necessary for her to oversee a church. But the spiritual head of that church must be a man; the Pastor.
Ayodeji is an Author, Rights Activist, Pastor and Life Coach. He can be reached for prayers, speaking engagements and counseling on 09059243004 (sms & whatsapp only).
