Tuesday, September 30, 2014

One Should Not Pay Too Much Attention to Dreams


"This is where dreams come from. Man's spirit can't rest, for Satan is there even when a man is asleep, though angels are also present. The devil can so frighten me that sweat pours from me in my sleep.

"I don't pay attention to either dreams or signs. I have the Word, and that I let suffice. I don't want an angel to come to me, I wouldn't believe him now anyway, although the time may come when I would desire it in special circumstances. I don't say that dreams and signs are of value at other times, nor do I care, for we already have everything we should have in the Scriptures. Troubled dreams are of the devil, because everything that serves death and terror and murder and lies is the devil's handiwork.

"Satan has often distracted me from prayer and has put such thoughts into my head that I ran away from it. The most severe bouts I have had with him I had when I was in bed at my Katy's side."

Martin Luther
Table Talk (Spring, 1533)
Luther's Works, Vol. 54: 90

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