What Does My Dream Mean? by Sara Whitten
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=What-Does-My-Dream-Mean-by-Sara-Whitten-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Sara Whitten
We all know that feeling - waking up gasping for breath and beaded with perspiration from an intense dream. We wonder, "Did that dream mean something? Was that from God? Am I being warned of something?" If I told you that every thought that pops into our heads isn't always from God, most of you would readily agree. Often, we are more reticent to recognize that the same is true of our dreams. We do have those Holy Spirit-breathed revelations that come to us in dreams. We also have the dreams that bring fear, temptation and distortions from the enemy.
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We all know that feeling — waking up gasping for breath and beaded with perspiration from an intense dream.
We wonder, "Did that dream mean something? Was that from God? Am I being warned of something?"
If I told you that every thought that pops into our heads isn't always from God, most of you would readily agree. Often, we are more reticent to recognize that the same is true of our dreams. We do have those Holy Spirit-breathed revelations that come to us in dreams. We also have the dreams that bring fear, temptation and distortions from the enemy. Sometimes our own voices also try to process our thoughts — or process that bag of sour gummy worms we ate before bed! So how do we know what, if anything, our dreams mean?
The litmus test for where our dreams come from (and what to do with them) is just four simple questions. First, ask, "How did that dream make me feel?" Even when God sends dreams of warning (think Joseph circumventing Herod), they don't evoke panic. They evoke a changed course. If your dream is full of doom and fear and doesn't contain any guidance, insight, or message of hope, it's not God. God is never trying to scare you. He's the gentle whisper encouraging and confirming you in the right direction.
Second, ask, "Where else is God confirming this?" God is always happy to confirm our questions when our hearts are truly to discern and obey His voice. If He's given you a message in a dream, ask for confirmation!
Next, this one takes a little imagination, follow the fruit. Ask, "If I let this dream steer me, what is the possible fruit for the kingdom?" God's purposes in our lives are always for more than just us. Would heeding this dream bring fruit for the kingdom or is it a tactic of the enemy to keep you from something the Lord has?
The final fail-safe is checking the dream against God's Word and character. Ask yourself, "Is this dream pushing me toward action that goes against God's Word?" If so, it's not God.
If the dream doesn't sound or seem like God, it probably isn't! But if you've prayed through these four questions and all signs point to the Lord as the source, your prayerful conversation with God is just beginning!
Ask the Lord what action or preparation of the heart He's wanting to accomplish through the dream and watch the breakthrough your obedience brings!
Sara Whitten
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=The-Lord-Says-I-Am-Training-Up-Warriors-on-the-Mountains-by-Sara-Whitten&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Recently, God said, "I am training up warriors on the mountains." As I began to look up mountain warfare in the natural, I realized that this was a word for the Seven Mountains of Influence (religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment and business/finance). Mountain ranges, in the natural, have been highly desired for their strategic importance; they are natural borders as well as sources of water. Kingdom breakthroughs on the mountains of influence also represent the taking hold of borders. Some of the staunchest divisions between the way society is patterned (ways that follow the Lord versus ways that are contrary to His Word) lie in these seven areas. What flows from them also "waters" society.
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=Seven-Ways-to-Activate-Your-Spiritual-Immune-System-by-Sara-Whitten-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
The Lord said, "My body needs to remember it has a spiritual immune system - and use it!" As I began to look at how the Lord designed the physical body's immune system, God began to reveal powerful, spiritual protocols for His body, the church, and how we can remember to activate our spiritual immune system. What strengthens the spiritual immune system?
http://www.identitynetwork.net/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=God-Says-Hold-On-by-Sara-Whitten-&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
As I was walking through our neighborhood on an evening walk the other night, I was seeking the Lord for guidance on this next season. The Lord told me, "Hold on." Disappointed, I thought, I've just been through one waiting season after another and now I need to hold on? His response was, "You're going from 'hold on' to 'hold on!'" Immediately, I thought of when you get into a fast-moving vehicle or ride. This kind of holding on is not a waiting period but a period of stabilizing during acceleration.