Sleep is a Time of Communion with God

When the Lord knit us together in our mother’s womb, He designed each of us with a body, soul, and spirit. He set mankind apart from the rest of His creation. Scripture tell us that man was made in the image of God.[1] We know from the Word that God is also described as something called a tripartite, or trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). And so, it should come to no surprise that God made man into three parts like Himself. Let us explore the details of each part, which will give us the bigger picture of why it is vital for us to sleep.

Body = Soma

Our body is the physical structure of a human being, in other words the physical part of a person. Apostle Paul tells us to take care of our body, because it is a temple that holds the Holy Spirit.[2] He also urges us to glorify God with our bodies.[3] When we die, our physical body becomes an empty shell, and our soul and spirit leave this realm.[4]

Soul = Psyche

God created man as a “living soul.”[5] Our soul consists of three parts: mind (including our conscience), will, and emotions. Modern psychology has been exploring this phenomenon for decades, and some experts have caught on to the fact that the soul is tied together with our physical body and can affect that part in considerable ways. Our mind connects our body to our soul.

Spirit = Pnuema

There is also a connection between the soul and the spirit which is the “heart.”[6] God knows our heart and speaks to each of our hearts directly. Our spirit-man is always in communion with God. When we are sleeping, our spirit is awake and having conversations with God. I have personally woken up many times hearing my spirit singing a song or talking with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.[7] When the body and soul are both at rest, and under submission, our spirit-man is awake and under submission of God’s Spirit. Scripture also tells us that the Word of God is the only thing that can separate the soul and spirit.[8] The Word of God is like a sword and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

One of the values of staying awake during daylight hours is that we can go to sleep at night, resting in God’s spacious arms.  We best give sleep its due as a spiritual gift in its own right.  It may be the most intimate form of prayer we know: communion not petition.  It may be holy ground. 

Jay McDaniel

Earworms

Have you ever woken up singing a song, or with a song replaying in your head? These are known scientifically as “earworms.” Let me give you a few examples.

My friend has a nephew named Jeremiah that was recently in a mountain climbing accident with his friend, who fell 300 feet. When my friend was interceding for them, a song came to her (which she hasn’t heard or sung in 30 years). The song goes: “Ah Lord God, thou has made the Heavens and the earth by thy great power. Ah Lord God, thou has made the Heavens and the earth by thine outstretched arm. Great and mighty God, nothing is too difficult for Thee!” The Lord told my friend to sing that song out over them as her weapon. A lot of times we must sing the victory before we see it. So she decided to look up what the scripture reference was for the song, assuming it was a Psalm. She found out that it was a scripture from the book Jeremiah, which of course is her nephew’s name! The Holy Spirit revealed to her that He has been singing that song over Jeremiah since he was born. It was a part of his destiny.

Another friend of mine wakes up with worship songs in her head, and the songs are generally singing into areas that speak of the condition of her heart. When her heart is full, her spirit is praising the Lord even while she sleeps. And when her heart is grieving, the Lord sings over her, providing her spirit with an infilling.

There have been numerous times when I have woken up with a song in my head. Most of the time it is my spirit-man trying to alert me to something. There was a time when I had been releasing worries about finances the night before, and I woke up with “Jireh” in my head. Another time, as I was going into surgery, being put under anesthesia, I could hear voices singing Psalm 36. When I woke up, I realized I had been hearing angels, because the music that I heard was more beautiful than anything I had ever heard in my life before.

Smells

According to scientists, smelling in your sleep is a hallucination. To me that sounds like how they usually explain things they can’t understand. Have you ever woke up smelling something, and then it disappears gradually as you wake up? A friend of mine wakes up smelling things in her room that aren’t there. Sometimes she smells roses, cedar, pine, and even marshmallow.

There was a time when I smelled blood as I woke up. It startled me. When I prayed about it, I discerned the words “human sacrifice” from Holy Spirit. And when I looked it op, I realized that night had been dedicated to illuminati sacrifices. Sometimes we wonder why God showed us something that we can do nothing about. And I’ve realized over time that God always calls a witness. So, sometimes we see things so that we can later testify that they happened, and there can be justice. Especially those things that happen under everyone’s noses, things that are more than likely labeled as conspiracy theories. Oh, how I wish they were only theories.

It is amazing the way the Lord uses our senses in our sleep. How much more does He do that during the day, without us noticing? Let’s be tuned into Holy Spirit, inviting Him to habitat within our lives. Ask Him to reveal the ways that He speaks to you throughout the day. He is in the mundane things, the seemingly meaningless tasks- He is there. The times when I’m most able to hear the Lord are when I mow the lawn, do the dishes, drive to run some errands, or sort the laundry. And the reason isn’t because I’m a favorite, it’s simply because I asked Him to reveal Himself to me in the morning and throughout the day. After asking, the trick is then to watch for it. I’m praying that you will experience this kindness and goodness of God. Both in your sleep, and when you are awake. And may it move you to growing closer to the Lord, being transformed by His spoken and written Word.

I hope this was helpful to you, and would love to hear what the Lord has been showing you in your dreams in the comments below. Stay tuned for another post of dreams. The next post will be about the three types of dreams. Be sure to subscribe so that you are alerted when a new post is published.

RESOURCES

Goll, James W. Dream Language: The Prophetic Power of Dreams, Revelations, and the Spirit of Wisdom. Destiny Image, 2006.

Thompson, Adam F., and Adrian Beale. “Songs, Names, and Numbers.” God’s Prophetic Symbolism in Everyday Life: The Divinity Code to Hearing God’s Voice through Natural Events and Divine Occurrences, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA, 2017, pp. 45–56.

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[1] Genesis 1:26-27 (NASB)

[2] Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)

[3] 1 Cor. 6:20

[4] Ecclesiastes 12:7

[5] Genesis 2:7

[6] Prov. 4:23 NASB “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”

[7] Romans 8:16 (ESV)

[8] Hebrews 4:12