In the previous post, What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin?, we explored the spiritual implications of dreams involving sin through two illustrations: a crime and adultery. We saw how Psalm 19:12–14 guides us through the guilt that can follow such dreams, answering questions like, Does this dream signify guilt before God? or Why do I feel so guilty? Moments after publishing the post, a dear friend shared her personal story, which vividly illustrates how God uses His Word and community to bring victory. Her testimony is both deeply personal and profoundly encouraging. With her permission, I share her Victory Story.

Let me highlight a key aspect of her story: she recognized that her waking sinful thoughts and actions, such as romantic fantasies, fueled her dreams, leading her to repent. The previous post focused on the involuntary nature of dreams, but her testimony underscores the importance of addressing waking patterns that influence them.

This story highlights the truth of the previous blog, but more importantly, the way to specifically address this issue through the Word, the church, and great self-counsel.

A Victory Story

To Kevin: I know this was so random and detailed to share, but I hoped that since you shared the article, What Should You Do When Your Dreams Include Sin, it might be a blessing to have a praise story to share with someone else who might come to you who is in the midst of a struggle with this. God is so good! Thank you again for addressing this, I would have loved to have found your article those years ago!

My story:

I struggled greatly with a season of adulterous dreams about several years ago when my husband and I moved back to my hometown and we found a new home church there. Moving back to the area brought up a lot of thinking about my old high school boyfriend and worrying about, but also desiring to, run into him. I was struggling with discontentment with my husband, and with loneliness in general from moving cross country. My discontentment was exacerbated as I had a lot of admiration for, and jealousy over, some of the husbands in couples we were meeting and becoming friends with. I also was watching a lot of TV shows with romance storylines (certainly nothing explicit, but enough for me to quickly realize was an added pressure when I began having romantic and sexual dreams).

As soon as I realized the dreams were a recurring problem, and I knew I was struggling with discontentment in my marriage, I told my small group of ladies and they did an excellent job of holding me accountable and asking good heart questions. (I had only been a part of this small group at our new church for a short while!) They were ongoing prayer partners for me.

After searching the Scriptures and praying, I determined – like you did in your article – that while I am not guilty for the frequency or content of my dreams, I am fully responsible for two critical things: 1) how I decide to respond in thought and action as soon as I’m awake, and 2) my patterns of thinking and fighting sin during waking hours.

As I grew more aware of this truth, I repented to God for everything that was in my sinful heart and asked Him for help. I cut out the TV shows which I knew were unhelpful. I put on intentional prayer for my friends’ marriages and focused on loving and caring for the wives in these friendships. I put on intentional prayer for my own marriage. I put on thankfulness and trust in God’s sovereign plans for my life. I put on thinking of ways to creatively serve, encourage, and appreciate my husband. And I prepared a sort of script/argument for the part of my inner man that still wished that my life had worked out where I had married my high school boyfriend. This was extremely helpful, as I had never fully addressed this with myself and the Lord until that point.

It was a gradual change as I sought to fight these dreams. At first, they came as frequently as they had, but upon waking I would immediately fight my emotions and thoughts with truth. The guilt was still there but I felt productive and closer to the Lord, because I was no longer lingering in or replaying my dreams. Then, over time, the frequency began decreasing.

Then, my favorite part! I started quoting my arguments that I had been rehearsing and praying on in my waking hours, in my dreams! In my dream, my high school boyfriend would appear and confess that he still loves me, and would invite me to run away with him. I would say something along the lines of “No, that means you don’t love me at all, because you’re asking me to sin against God and the husband He’s given me. That could never be love! How could I sin against the God who has loved me and forgiven me? If you’re still my brother in Christ, you would be encouraging me to love and be faithful to my husband!”

No kidding, the first time I woke up from that version of the dream, I was giddy to get to share with the ladies who had been praying for me! And after a few more similar to that, the frequency of the dreams dropped off almost completely. Even up to now, I might have a dream here or there, with or without my excellently-worded argument actually within the dream, but I would say that this hasn’t been a problem since that year or so when I was wrestling through everything after our move to my hometown. My small group of ladies continued to occasionally check in on this subject even long after this season was over, which was also a precious blessing and encouragement.

I’m thankful for God’s redemption of that season of life; while I, of course, wish that I had never sinned or had dreams which included sin, there were three incredible results for me personally. First, I can see how God used this season to refine me to trust His goodness and provision in the marriage and husband He’s given me. Second, through self-counsel, it helped me to intentionally decide to love and appreciate my husband – forsaking all others. And, third, the dreams forced me to take the mortification of sin in my waking hours seriously.

Lessons from Her Victory Story

From Kevin: What an inspiring testimony! God granted her victory over dreams involving sin. Rather than allowing these dreams and intrusive thoughts to persist, she fought their influence during her waking hours. She sought accountability from her church small group, developed a battle plan rooted in Scriptural truth, and put off TV shows fueling romantic thoughts. She repented of waking patterns that influenced her dreams, taking responsibility for her choices. In God’s providential grace, she experienced victory, though Scripture does not guarantee fewer dreams. Her battle plan remains effective for occasional dreams, reflecting steadfast trust in God’s grace.

Run to Your Redeemer

The testimony of this dear sister in Christ reveals the transformative power of God’s Word and His people. God’s Word guided her from guilt to victory, not by erasing dreams overnight, but by renewing her heart through repentance, truth, and biblical fellowship. Her story challenges us: when dreams include sin, we are not defined by guilt, but by God’s grace. Take responsibility for your waking thoughts – put off what fuels sin, put on what honors Christ, embrace the gospel’s power, and seek accountability in His church. Trust that God, your strength and Redeemer, cleanses every fault and shapes your heart to honor Him. As the Psalmist declares, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer” (Ps 19:14). Let your dreams, however troubling, drive you to the One who redeems all things.

If this resonates with you, share your story or prayer needs in the comments or through our contact page. Let us walk together, praising God for His unfailing grace! Your responses to yesterday’s post were a blessing—keep sharing how God is working in your life!