So I’ve been having these bad dreams lately, like really unsettling stuff that leaves me shaking awake at 3 AM. As a Christian, I got curious about what scripture says and whether these nightmares actually mean something. Grabbed my Bible and journal to dive in.
The First Step: Getting Honest About the Dirt
Started by recalling the nastiest dream from last week: crawling through muddy tunnels with shadow figures chasing me. Wrote down every detail I remembered – the clammy walls, choking dirt in my mouth, that suffocating panic. Didn’t sugarcoat anything, just dumped the raw images on paper like unloading trash bags.
Digging Through Scripture (Literally)
Flipped to Psalms first cause David knew about terror. Found Psalm 3:5 – “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” Right there, highlighted it in neon yellow. Then checked Job’s nightmares but noped out when his friends started blaming him – ain’t about that victim-blaming life.
Test-Driving Prayer Hacks
Tried three things before bed next night:
- Rephrased my anxieties: Instead of “God protect me from nightmares,” prayed “Lord, show me what’s crushing me when the lights go off.”
- Scripture under my pillow: Wrote Isaiah 41:10 on a sticky note – “Fear not, for I am with you.” Corny? Maybe. But touching it when I rolled over actually grounded me.
- Pre-sleep audit: Jotted down three stressful things from the day instead of doomscrolling. Turned out I’d been repressing anger at my boss.
When Rationale Failed
Midweek dream involved demonic snakes in my kitchen. Woke up gasping. Checked biblical meanings – deception, evil, yada yada. But praying felt like shouting into a void that night. So I pulled a chair into the dark kitchen at 4 AM and sat there whispering worship songs till sunrise. Didn’t find profound meaning. Just proved the darkness couldn’t swallow me whole.
The Toolkit That Stuck
After two weeks, here’s what works consistently:
- Keep dream journal + pen right on nightstand – no fancy apps
- Ask “What part of this feels like real-life?” instead of decoding symbols
- Recite the Lord’s Prayer backward when terror hits – forces my brain to engage logically
- Pre-bed psalm reading with actual paper pages – screen light messes with melatonin
Turns out most dreams ain’t cosmic messages. They’re just stress vomit. But wrestling them down with scripture? Lets me sleep like Jesus in that storm-tossed boat – dead tired but unshaken.
