Does God test us in our dreams? (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Faith] >> General Faith



Message

whisperingwaters -> Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 12:30:31 AM)

Do you think that God tests us and tries us in our dreams? And do you think this is one way the mentally ill would be tried by God in their dreams to see if they loved God or hated him. Do you think someone can come to salvation in a dream. What about those to young to have made a salvation commitment do you think God has tried their dreams and they would go to heaven if they died before age?

Here is a verse of note:

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (Websters Bible)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.



Konstantinos -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 12:47:47 AM)

God can do anything and can use anything for a purpose.

but i dont believe MOST dreams are anything more than that. dreams are mostly part of what your brain collected as knowledge the previous day. you cant be accountable for what you dream...



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 1:01:46 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Konstantinos
you cant be accountable for what you dream...



What if your dreaming sexually explicit things can you still not be accountable?

I personally think we are responsible for what we do and how we react in our dreams regardless what it is in response to. I believe this is one way God uses to try our hearts.


I had a dream once where my neighbors were very old people and I went to their house to fellowship and they pulled a rug up and had a trap door leading to hell. Well they both started descending the stairs to hell and I tried giving them my hands to pull them out but they were just pulling me down with them so I let go. After that the dream ended but I think it was God trying my heart and seeking to know if I was going to follow Him or going to go to hell, after that dream I committed my life to God.



Konstantinos -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 1:37:21 AM)

quote:

What if your dreaming sexually explicit things can you still not be accountable?


sexuality is in every human and needs to be expressed in some way or another. so its really just a reaction of your mind.however its one thing to look at a woman AND lust, its another to look at a woman TO lust. in dreams you cant control them so its always the first case. though sometimes we do feel like we are in control of what we do in our dreams, this doesnt relate to whether you dream of something "bad" or not. and in the end, its a dream, not reality.

as for your dream, like i said, God CAN use anything, thus a dream too, but that doesnt mean that ALL dreams are like that.



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 1:55:43 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Konstantinos

quote:

What if your dreaming sexually explicit things can you still not be accountable?


sexuality is in every human and needs to be expressed in some way or another. so its really just a reaction of your mind.however its one thing to look at a woman AND lust, its another to look at a woman TO lust. in dreams you cant control them so its always the first case. though sometimes we do feel like we are in control of what we do in our dreams, this doesnt relate to whether you dream of something "bad" or not. and in the end, its a dream, not reality.

as for your dream, like i said, God CAN use anything, thus a dream too, but that doesnt mean that ALL dreams are like that.




I believe we are in control of what we do in our dreams, thats where we differ.



PrexicKehdaki -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 2:08:18 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: whisperingwaters

quote:

ORIGINAL: Konstantinos

quote:

What if your dreaming sexually explicit things can you still not be accountable?


sexuality is in every human and needs to be expressed in some way or another. so its really just a reaction of your mind.however its one thing to look at a woman AND lust, its another to look at a woman TO lust. in dreams you cant control them so its always the first case. though sometimes we do feel like we are in control of what we do in our dreams, this doesnt relate to whether you dream of something "bad" or not. and in the end, its a dream, not reality.

as for your dream, like i said, God CAN use anything, thus a dream too, but that doesnt mean that ALL dreams are like that.




I believe we are in control of what we do in our dreams, thats where we differ.


That's called lucid dreaming. Some people can do that, some people can't. It can be learned through practice, but most dreams are not lucid. Though, yours very well may be.



KnowJesus -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 3:18:13 AM)

quote:

Do you think that God tests us and tries us in our dreams?


God can communicate in dreams. But the testing, I believe would come when we awake in our conscious state, not unconscious state.

quote:

And do you think this is one way the mentally ill would be tried by God in their dreams to see if they loved God or hated him.


I can't answer for God on this one.

quote:

Do you think someone can come to salvation in a dream.


Being drawn by the Lord in a dream is possible. Answering to him in a dream, could be just that, a dream rather than faith.
Our conscious choice to receive Christ is by faith when we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.


quote:

What about those to young to have made a salvation commitment do you think God has tried their dreams and they would go to heaven if they died before age?


You are speaking of infants, right? Why would he try them? Theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 3:27:12 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: KnowJesus



quote:

ORIGINAL: whisperingwaters
What about those to young to have made a salvation commitment do you think God has tried their dreams and they would go to heaven if they died before age?


You are speaking of infants, right? Why would he try them? Theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.




Some do not believe that infants do go to heaven because they have not confessed the Lord as their savior and this is not a discussion about whether they do or not but would God try an infant if that were the case.



URForgiven -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 8:37:00 AM)

I once had a dream that I was a burning bush, and awoke with the thought that I was supernatural. Then the pain in my stomach reminded me that more likely the dream was the result of simply eating pizza to close to bedtime...

[:o] Dreams are fickle things.

Peace



SonInMe1 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 8:47:56 AM)

Test us...for what?

God tempers us. Disciplines us. Leads us to truth. Helps us. Loves us.

Why would God test us? Like...He doesn't know we are saved?

Dreams are a manifestation of what your mind focuses on. Its a release of tension built up in your sub conscience.

Yeah, there are God inspired and induced dreams...no question. However, putting too much emphasis on your dreams.....

eh.



tsnody2001 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 10:25:35 AM)

I know of no Scriptures that reference God testing us in our dreams. I think you have to do a lot of mental gymnastics and bending Scriptures out of context to make that statement. Now, God DOES sometimes use our dreams to communicate to us, but that that is supported all throughout Scripture. I have a challenge for you: open your bible and examine whether or not this is true. I don't think you will find one Scripture that states that God tests our dreams. If you find, bring it back here, and we will discuss it. God Bless, Travis



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 2:16:05 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: tsnody2001

I know of no Scriptures that reference God testing us in our dreams. I think you have to do a lot of mental gymnastics and bending Scriptures out of context to make that statement. Now, God DOES sometimes use our dreams to communicate to us, but that that is supported all throughout Scripture. I have a challenge for you: open your bible and examine whether or not this is true. I don't think you will find one Scripture that states that God tests our dreams. If you find, bring it back here, and we will discuss it.

God Bless,
Travis



I gave a scripture in the first post:

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (Websters Bible)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.



This verse says God trys (or tests) the reins of the heart, is not the heart where our dreams come from?



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 2:17:53 PM)

If out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks then it would also be true to say out of the abundance of the heart the mind thinks, and our dreams are all a thought process.



rcjames -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 5:10:07 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: whisperingwaters

If out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks then it would also be true to say out of the abundance of the heart the mind thinks, and our dreams are all a thought process.


Or a reaction to late night cold pizza.


Thanks
RC



Kath -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 5:36:19 PM)

quote:

This verse says God trys (or tests) the reins of the heart, is not the heart where our dreams come from?


No.



tsnody2001 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/29/2008 5:48:30 PM)

I think you just proved my point about the mental gymnastics with Jer. 17:9-10. You get a gold metal because that has nothing to do with dreams, but our wicked hearts and deeds.



OneJohn410 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 12:56:58 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SonInMe1

Test us...for what?

God tempers us. Disciplines us. Leads us to truth. Helps us. Loves us.

Why would God test us? Like...He doesn't know we are saved?

Dreams are a manifestation of what your mind focuses on. Its a release of tension built up in your sub conscience.

Yeah, there are God inspired and induced dreams...no question. However, putting too much emphasis on your dreams.....

eh.


Please go into a little bit more on what you mean by God testing or trying us in our dreams. I don't know chapter and verse, only that there's a passage warning a person to be careful when they say they are being 'tempted' (I believe is the word now that I type this) by God; for God does not tempt anyone. It's when we are carried away by our own lustful desires that temptation is there, and sin can take place.

That may or may not touch on what you are saying, but trying and testing mean setting up a situation in where there's a right or wrong. God is not in that role according to the passage I'm thinking of, but instead provides a means away from the wrong, so we can stay in the right.

Thanks, and I'll get this scripture verse passage for you.

OneJohn410



DreadPirateRandy -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 4:15:46 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: whisperingwaters

I personally think we are responsible for what we do and how we react in our dreams regardless what it is in response to. I believe this is one way God uses to try our hearts.


If we were held responsible, we should have some form of control over our unconscious state. I have no control whatsoever in my dreams, despite the scenario. Should I feel like I'm constantly screwing up because my oblivious state prohibits the ability to mentally control my actions when I'm sleeping?

I think not.

I do, however, think dreams may sometimes be symbolic of our worst fears.



Gazingstock -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 6:56:04 AM)

Lucid dreaming I know and enjoy very much. However, last year I went through a season of very intense, and very ominous dreams. They had a profound effect on me. I prayed to become more lucid in them, and it occurred, but I was unable to stop them altogether. After about 6-months they stopped. I have rarely remembered my dreams since.

Do I think I was learning something spiritually in the process? Yes. I am stronger now than before.



Sadey -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 8:02:21 AM)

I don't understand your point. Are you saying that if we don't remember our dreams and analzye them that we are in trouble spiritually?

I thought sleep was a time of rest, not more work.



Calea37 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 9:11:53 AM)

I don't believe we are in control of what we dream; HOWEVER we are in control of whether or not we dwell on what we have dreamed after we have awoken. For example, if we have a sexual dream, should we dwell on it all day? No. We do have control over that.

I cannot control what I dream, but I can control what I do when I am awake. I know that if I spend time in the Word and in prayer I (sometimes) have dreams that *seem* to have more spiritual significance. [&:] I would imagine if someone surrounds themselves with porn or sexually explicit things they would have dreams about such things too....

I have had dreams where I felt like I should analyze and pray about them, and I have had dreams that were just plain stupid. I don't believe God tests us with our dreams, but I do think we could take a dream as a warning...Like if you did something very regretful in a dream you could use that as a "I'll never do that if this circumstance arises!"



SavedByGraceMD -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 9:25:04 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: OneJohn410

quote:

ORIGINAL: SonInMe1

Test us...for what?

God tempers us. Disciplines us. Leads us to truth. Helps us. Loves us.

Why would God test us? Like...He doesn't know we are saved?

Dreams are a manifestation of what your mind focuses on. Its a release of tension built up in your sub conscience.

Yeah, there are God inspired and induced dreams...no question. However, putting too much emphasis on your dreams.....

eh.


Please go into a little bit more on what you mean by God testing or trying us in our dreams. I don't know chapter and verse, only that there's a passage warning a person to be careful when they say they are being 'tempted' (I believe is the word now that I type this) by God; for God does not tempt anyone. It's when we are carried away by our own lustful desires that temptation is there, and sin can take place.

That may or may not touch on what you are saying, but trying and testing mean setting up a situation in where there's a right or wrong. God is not in that role according to the passage I'm thinking of, but instead provides a means away from the wrong, so we can stay in the right.

Thanks, and I'll get this scripture verse passage for you.

OneJohn410

OneJohn,

I think the passage you wanted was this from James 1

13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.



SonInMe1 -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 9:27:22 AM)

Yep.



deermousie -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 10:53:38 AM)

I went to www.biblegateway.com and typed in "dreams" and got all the places in Scripture where that word comes up. I think the most telling is the passage in Daniel 2, where Daniel not only interprets the king's dream but tells him what the dream was (because the king had forgotten and was going to kill all the wise men because they didn't know, either. Sheesh).

Anyway, this passage tells us that dreams are at least sometimes supernatural and only God knows what they mean. Either He tells us or we don't know. If God is the only interpreter of dreams, I submit that trying to interpret them ourselves is dangerous because we aren't God and we're trespassing on His turf. Nowhere in Scripture does God tell us how to interpret dreams, but all over the place He tells us what to believe and do. So I think we should shrug at dreams (unless God tells us what they mean) and focus on what we *do* know: obey God and believe Him.

So to answer the OP, no, I don't think there's any biblical basis for thinking God tests us in dreams. We don't know what dreams are, and have no instruction for what to do about them, unless God specifically tells a person (and that doesn't seem to be happening anymore in New Testament times except in rare situations, and you'd know it without a doubt).

Daniel 2
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.



whisperingwaters -> RE: Does God test us in our dreams? (6/30/2008 11:34:02 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sadey

I don't understand your point. Are you saying that if we don't remember our dreams and analzye them that we are in trouble spiritually?

I thought sleep was a time of rest, not more work.




No I am not.


I'm personally not sure what I believe in this completely so I was trying to spur on a discussion.



Page: [1] 2   next >   >>



Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.5 ANSI