Falling Asleep, Opening to Dreams: A Biblical View

There is only one time and place in daily life where everyone on the planet is absolutely, essentially, and totally equal. And that is while a person is sleeping. While a person sleeps, there is no Democrat or Republican, no Rich or Poor, no Young or Old, no Sick or Well, no Tall or Short, no Man or Woman, no Father or Mother, no Wife or Husband, no Gay or Straight, no Saved or Lost, no Believer or Atheist, no Married or Single, no Talented or Inept, no Handicapped or Able-bodied, no Prejudiced or Impartial, no Addicted or Devoted, no American or Foreigner. All oppositions, arguments, polarities, divisions, contradictions, judgments, verdicts, and appraisals of self and others that order and govern the thoughts and actions of a person’s waking life–all of them dissolve when a person falls asleep.

In sleep every person is equal. And in sleep–unaware of what or of who may be near or possibly be approaching him or her–every person is most vulnerable to physical attack and emotional harm from someone or something. That vulnerability is best expressed in the way we describe moving from being awake to being asleep: we call it “falling asleep.”

But the word “fall” usually is freighted with negative connotations: “falling down” stairs, “falling off” a bike, “falling through” a plate-glass door, “falling out of” an airplane, and “falling into” a ditch, just to name a few examples. Each incident brings to mind images of a body being injured and a person being jolted with fear, because the place where that person’s body is going to make hard contact is dangerous, arbitrary, undirected, and unplanned.

But “falling asleep” gives rise to scenes of surrender, of a person falling into a place that is safe and peaceful, into a bed whose mattress can be trusted to support his body, and whose blankets can be trusted to provide for her a covering of enveloping warmth and protection.

When a person lets go of the world, sleep happens. And when a person lets go of self, Jesus happens. Song of Solomon 5:2 expresses that sentiment well: “I sleep, but my heart is awake.” The bride is safe in her sleep, and her heart is open to Jesus–full of love–coming to her in her dreams.

Solomon in Proverbs 3:21-29 also directs us to keep a strong grip on sound wisdom and discretion because it will be life to our souls and be grace around our necks, so that when we lie down we will not be afraid, and our sleep will be sweet.

Elihu in Job 33:13-18 presses the point: while we are awake, God speaks to us–once or twice–and we do not notice or hear God. Then “in a dream, a vision of the night, when sound sleep falls on people, while they slumber in their beds, then God opens the ears of people and seals their instruction, that God may turn people aside from their conduct, and keep them from pride; He keeps back their souls from the pit, and their lives from passing over into Sheol.”

And Psalm 127:2 tells us with such assuring tenderness: “The Lord gives to His beloved even in his sleep.”

But American Christians seem oblivious to how important it is to God that we become cognizant of and take seriously what Scripture reveals to us about sleep and dreams, and how our sleep and dreams can be crucial to what God is calling us to receive from Him and to do for Him.

Many Christians mention that they dream while they sleep, but when they wake up they think that their dreams are either bizarre or irrelevant for their walk with God. So they let their dreams drift away or ignore them, and then begin their working day, believing that their waking life–with its carefully formulated goals and the step-by-step plans for realizing those goals–is all that matters to give structure and purpose that is in strict accordance with the will of God for their lives.

But God is working around the world through coming to people in their dreams, revealing to growing numbers that it is only while people sleep – letting go of the world and surrendering control of self – that they can experience God’s presence and call on their life.

Discernment regarding how, when, and under what conditions a person goes to sleep is critical in determining the intention of what a person desires in sleep. Sometimes sleep can be an escape from facing reality. In Gethsemane Jesus directed the disciples to stay awake with Him, but their eyes became heavy and they went to sleep. Luke (22:45-46) tells us that the disciples went to sleep because of their sorrow. They either would not

or could not face staying awake as they watched the agonies that were wracking Jesus. Even Jesus’ telling them to pray so that they would not fall into temptation – and go to sleep again – was not enough for them to stay awake, and so they went to sleep again.

Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-8), weary of his running from Jezebel’s imminent threat to kill him and depressed to the point of wanting the Lord to take his life, escaped into sleep. An angel awakened Elijah and told him to eat, because for Elijah to remain hopeless and heavy-hearted without eating would lead only to increasing weakness and deeper depression.

Sometimes a person may be going to sleep to escape reality, but other times a person may not have evaluated the risks and dangers of going to sleep⎯-with disastrous consequences. Sisera, a Canaanite general, his army destroyed by Barak and his forces at the behest of God, sought refuge in a camp he came upon. Exhausted and thirsty, he asked Jael for a drink and for a place to rest. She give him milk, covered him with a rug, and then drove a tent peg through his head while he slept (Judges 4:16-22).

Samson’s (Judges 16:4-21) “soul was annoyed to death” due to Delilah’s pressing him daily to tell her the secret of his strength. After he revealed his secret, Delilah “made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of [Samson’s] hair. The she began to afflict him, and his strength left.”

Uriah the Hittite (1 Samuel 26), loyal to King David to the point of trusting David with protecting Bathsheba’s life and honor, slept outside David’s door on returning from battle, to protect David from harm. But David had already had sexual relations with Bathsheba, who was now pregnant. David, trying to create the fiction that Bathsheba was pregnant with Uriah’s child, got Uriah drunk and encouraged him to go home and be intimate with Bathsheba, but Uriah, considered by David to be one of his thirty heroes, chose to stay close to David, to ensure the king’s safety. Then David, in a last ditch attempt to cover up his sexual sin, plotted Uriah’s murder, which was carried out.

Falling asleep, and opening to dreams. Scripture is laced with examples of God revealing to us how our sleeping and dreaming are an integral part of His plan for our lives. And so, as we are preparing to fall asleep each and every night, may our lives resonate with the bride’s trusting words–Song of Solomon 5:2–as she anticipates Jesus coming to her in her sleep: “I sleep, but my heart is awake.”