Your child needs to know what to do when he has nightmares or bad dreams. I taught my daughters and grandsons that whenever they had a bad dream or fear came into their heart, they should sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so . . . ”
You can teach them to say, “In the name of Jesus, I will not be afraid!” and “Jesus is my Lord.” But more importantly, we must become aware of the television programming, video games, and all other forms of entertainment available to children today. An enormous amount of children’s TV programs and electronic games are either overtly or subtly inundated with witchcraft, magic, and spells. Today there seems to be an obsession among our young people for everything that has to do with vampires, wizards, zombies, and the occult.
Many parents become numb and passive, telling themselves that as long as they go to church on Sunday, their children will know the difference and will be all right. We rationalize that the child is wise enough or old enough to know that what he is watching is not real but fantasy.
This belief system is very erroneous. Young children become conditioned at a very young age. They are gullible and believe everything they see and hear. Even if you tell them, “Don’t be afraid; that spider is not real—it’s a robot and will never harm you,” when the spirit of fear makes entry into the child’s heart, nothing you say will make a difference. The child will always feel fear grip his heart and cause it to palpitate within every time he sees a spider, whether real or in a movie.
If a child has constant nightmares, I suggest you leave a tape recorder on all night in his room with praise and worship music at a very low volume. Praise music has a tremendous effect on the atmosphere. Evil spirits dislike praise and worship music.
Find out if there is anything evil your child plays with, such as toys or games, videos, movies, or music. Anything with demonic content has the ability to attract the influence of demons.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust. —Psalm 4:8, amp
Iris Delgado is founder and president of Crowned With Purpose Ministries. She has a doctorate in theology and counseling and travels worldwide ministering with her husband, John. She is the author of Satan, You Can’t Have My Children, from which this article was excerpted.
