It’s sometimes difficult to pin point the cause or the interpretation of what the dreamer considers a nightmare.  Most dreams are in color.  Many times people will not realize they dream in color until you mention it to them and they begin to pay attention and notice.  

There are typically three categories of dreams that dreamers will categorize as a nightmare.  There are black and white dreams, dark dreams, and dreams that are in color but they are scary to the dreamer.  

Black and white dreams are the truest sense of the definition for a nightmare.  True nightmares are from the enemy of your soul and the purpose is to intimidate, instill fear, shame, guilt, and/or hopelessness.  Black and white dreams are typically dreams of chasing you, choking you, killing you, etc.  There never seems to be a way out and there is usually a feeling of hopelessness and fear.

Nightmares are a sign of what we call spiritual warfare.  This is when the enemy of your soul wants you to lose hope in God and all that He has planned for you.  Your enemy wants to provoke you to quit, give up, and/or stop pursuing God and your destiny that he knows lies right in front of you.  He cannot stop you from reaching your destiny, so he tries to get you to forfeit it on your own.  You are allowed to see these so you will understand that the enemy is trying to attack you spiritually and you will call out to God for help.  The other consideration to nightmares is, have you given your enemy an invitation to harass you by the things you’ve watched, read, heard, or been involved in? Watching, listening, or being involved in evil things will cause the enemy to pursue you.  If you have done this, simply ask God to forgive you and ask Him to protect you.  You need to immediately stop doing anything they may be inviting this spiritual attack.  There are some things that seem innocent, but are actually evil under cover.  Anything that is seemingly harmless or fun or funny but involves things like witches, curses, games or cartoons that exercise obtaining power in some fashion, are dangerous and you should stop immediately.  

Dark dreams have color, but it’s muted and, again, there is a sense of fear, guilt, or shame.  Sometimes these muted dreams may come from our soul and are surfacing because of some buried issues or desires that either we have not dealt with or that we are struggling with.  Sometimes simply being around other individuals that have exposed themselves to evil can cause us to have these obscure dreams that feel like nightmares.  There are some that we simply call cleansing dreams and that just means that you are getting rid of some external influences that you know are not good for you.  

Other dreams that are in color but are scary may not be nightmares at all.  Many times these are warning dreams to avert you from making wrong choices or to keep you from being prideful.  God wants you to reach the fullness of your destiny He created for you so He speaks to you in a way to keep you from going down the path that will keep you from all He has for you.  The reason you receive warning dreams is because God loves you.

Sometimes we are allowed to see scary things that will happen in the future so that we can pray to God and ask Him to keep it from happening and pray for the person or situation it is about.  Many times we need to pray that others will make the right choices.   God is good and He never wants bad things to happen, so He intervenes in this way hoping we will call out to Him so He can be involved in the solution.  He is a gentleman and will not force Himself into your life.  He is waiting for an invitation.

If you would like to invite God into your life, into a situation, or into your heart for the first time…or perhaps you know Him, but you’ve pushed Him away and now you realize how much He loves you and you want to go back to Him, simply click on Invite the Light and we will lead you into the arms of God to experience peace and love that will overwhelm you.  He is waiting for you.

If you have further questions regarding nightmares, email us at dreams@gatewaytodreams.com.