Whispers of Peace: Ep 2: Rest in Him: Encounter Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in Your Dreams

0:00 Welcome to the Diary of Black Women podcast with our Faith on the Go series, where we explore the intersection of faith, culture, and personal transformation. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we'll continue our journey into the powerful ways God speaks to us through dreams. In this episode, we'll focus on how we can encounter Jesus as the Prince of Peace. The title of today's episode is Rest in Him, Encountering the Prince of Peace in Your Dreams. Whether you're someone who remembers dreams vividly or someone who rarely recalls them, today's topic will encourage you to reflect on how God communicates His peace to us, especially in the quiet hours of the night.

0:50 So get comfortable, open your heart, and let's dive deeper into the whispers of peace that comes when Jesus reveals himself in our dreams. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time to come together and reflect on your peace, the peace that transcends all understanding. As we explore how you, Lord Jesus, reveal yourself as a Prince of Peace in our dreams. We ask you to open our hearts and minds to receive your words of comfort and assurance. Let your peace fill our spirits, guiding us closer to you.

1:32 In your precious name we pray, amen. In a world full of uncertainties, anxiety, and turmoil, it can be hard to find peace. But the peace with a capital P that Jesus offers is unlike anything the world can give. We know he is known as the Prince of Peace and his peace goes beyond the absence of conflict. It's a deep abiding peace that settles within us, even when life around us feels chaotic.

2:13 Isaiah 9, 6 speaks to Jesus with powerful titles. For unto us, a child is born, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The title Prince of Peace emphasizes that Jesus doesn't just bring peace, he embodies it. And one of the ways he communicates that peace to us is through our dreams. I want you to think about how often we go to bed with troubled hearts or anxious minds seeking relief.

3:00 In those vulnerable moments, Jesus meets us, reminding us he is in control and that his peace is available to us no matter what is happening around us. I'd like to share a personal story that deeply impacted my understanding of this title. I shared it in the other episode one, and I want to share it again because once it's impacted, you want to share it over and over again, right? So it says, the Prince of Peace. I recently had a dream where Jesus whispered to me, I am the Prince of Peace. It wasn't a loud proclamation, but a quiet, gentle reminder in the stillness of the night. That one sentence carried so much weight because I was going through a season of uncertainty and stress.

3:50 But in that dream, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm and security. It was as though Jesus was telling me, no matter what you're facing, I am here and I bring you peace. It's easy to forget this truth when life seems overwhelming, but in that dream, Jesus reminded me that his peace is not just a concept, it's something he offers personally, directly to each of us. And in these moments, when we encounter him in our dreams, that we are given a glimpse of this profound peace he wants us to experience in our waking life.

4:33 So I remember waking up so you're going to bed under like this uncertainty and stress. And I don't it's been a minute but it's like I was probably in between just kind of deciding on what to decide on right I'm like what I'm gonna do if this happens you start having these little doubts and things and I remember when I had this dream this he didn't just speak to me he just Like when he spoke to me, remember he's supernatural. So he spoke to my supernatural side because we are a natural being, but we have a supernatural side. So when he spoke to me, I can feel that in my whole body. My whole body just kind of like relaxed, like all the worry, all the stress, all the anxiety just escaped the body.

5:18 So when I woke up, I just felt this sense of serenity, like, whoa. Oh, first of all, Jesus interrupted my dream in a good way. But yet, I don't feel that anymore. Because a lot of times when we feel stressed, we can feel that pressure in our chest, our hearts beating really fast. A lot of times we can just feel like maybe we just want to go back to sleep. We just wish that thing would just go away. But when Jesus decides, most of my, I think I was more amazed that he decided, first, that I recognized his voice in my dream. But second, that he decided to come and visit me in my dream and just speak to me.

6:03 I said, wow, Jesus, thank you for just speaking to me in my dream. Wow. And reminding me that you are the Prince of Peace. not just a concept, but it's him. His presence brings peace. You see what I'm saying? His presence brings peace. And he has that for all of us, that he offers his presence for peace. So when we seek him, it's peace. But when he, I always say interrupt my dream, but he's always invited into my dreams.

6:46 But when he stopped the chaos in my mind and he just spoke it into my ear. Remember, he's never that far off. So we think he's coming from a long journey to come visit us in our dreams. I think he just waits for us to quiet down enough so that he can lean over while we're asleep to whisper in our ears and says, Connie, I am the Prince of Peace. Like I'm bigger than those problems. I'm bigger than those anxieties. I'm bigger than anyone because I am, get the I am part, the Prince of Peace. So the Bible is filled with examples of how God brings peace through dreams.

7:27 One of the most potent examples is found in the story of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. In Matthew 1.20, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Joseph was facing a confusing and potentially shaming situation. But in that dream, God provided clarity and peace. Now think about this with Joseph. Joseph was, you know, said to marry Mary, said to marry Mary. And at the end, he finds out that Mary is pregnant with what she was calling the Holy Ghost. Now, I think in the world today, that sounds a little bit strange, right?

8:10 But yet, God spoke to Joseph in a dream and says, she is pregnant by the Holy Ghost with a baby that you're going to father. Dang, that cleared up everything for Joseph. Isn't that what we need sometime, a little bit of clarity? So when God speaks and says, I am the Prince of Peace, everything else clears up. Everything else got to go so think after he after god spoke to to joseph not joseph decided to continue to marry mary to go ahead and and be the father of jesus how perfect is that story so dreams can actually give you directions into your future it can clarify some things, In Matthew 2, verse 13, we see Joseph was warned in a dream to take his family and flee to Egypt to escape Hera's decree.

9:13 So imagine the anxiety and fear he must have felt, yet God provided direction and peace in the midst of danger. So one thing I'm learning about dreams, too, is that they seem to be more trustworthy to me because I told you I had a warning that it was two part dream. One part I didn't understand. Second part brought clarity to the first part, but it was really a warning. I had to put some action in place to be obedient and do what God said. And put some foot behind some faith, right? And move some things out the way because God said, I need you to do that like right now, like almost yesterday, right?

9:54 And so same way with Joseph. Joseph had that first dream. That first dream was clear. He says, I want you to go ahead and marry Mary. This baby is yours. You're going to be the father of this baby that Mary's carrying. So that gave Joseph some trustworthiness in his dream. The second dream says, I need you to move fast because Herod got this thing going on, killing babies. I need you to go. And so Joseph was faithful to the first, what God said in the dream. And he was also faithful in the second part of a dream. So a lot of times we get a dream that maybe it's a warning, a warning dream.

10:35 Like I said, I felt that warning dream and it did not, that feeling, I told you to wake up and God speaks to you. And that feeling of his presence stayed with me all day, even after I obeyed and did what he told me to do. So that was like powerful. Like, I need you to do this. It was just not like a friend. You cannot no longer be friends with this person, contact this person and just say, Hey, we can't be friends anymore. Not give them the long, sad story. Not give them the long, sad story about why you couldn't be friends. You had a dream.

11:15 And God said, just say, hey, you know, I think this, I'm going to have to find, this is not really working out as we thought it was. So, hey, let's just, let's just, boom. And you know what happened shortly after that? There was no more texting, no more calls, nothing. Why? Because God knows when the friendship is over. and when God says it's over, you ain't got to do all the explanation because God's already spoken to that person too. They know, right? No drama, no drama. And so that obedience opens that window that I think like when God spoke to, when God spoke to Mary, he probably also spoke to Joseph, just like that relationship. So I love that.

12:00 So there's no, imagine there's no fear, anxiety, when you know clearly in your dream that that's God's voice. So how do you get confirmed? We're gonna go over that probably later, but you need to know that that's God's voice. And we went over some steps in the first episode about how to know and how to check that if it's according to the word of God. You have to put the word of God in you to know when God is speaking. You'd be like, dang, that sounds like that scripture. Then you can understand that that's God speaking to you, right? You ain't gotta say, God, what verse is that? because you've got the word of God in you. It sounds just like the word of God speaking to you. Right? Dang, that sounds like that scripture because God speaks according to his word.

12:43 Amen. Sounds very familiar. Like, dang, that sounds like that scripture. You look it up and you can confirm that's God speaking to you. If it's a little bit off, say, Lord, where is that in the scripture? Because you might not know all the scriptures and he will show it to you. That's how you confirm. So we see that Joseph knew God's voice. He acted immediately. He got clarity, he would marry Mary. He got clarity, he moved and moved the baby Jesus out of danger. These stories remind us that God doesn't just bring peace after a storm. He brings peace in the storm. Through dreams, he can offer guidance, assurance, and the calm that only he, the Prince of Peace, can provide. How powerful is that?

13:34 And you know, if you think about the times when God speaks to you, the world can just shake. Every building can fall down and you could be the last woman or last man standing. And you can know beyond a reasonable doubt that that was God who spoke to you and told you not to do that thing. That's the peace of God, standing firm in that. So when we think of a peace, we often think of stillness, of quiet moments where nothing is happening. But the peace that Jesus offers, especially in dreams, is active. It works to calm our hearts, restore our mind, and anchor us in God's love, no matter the circumstances.

14:22 This peace is transformative because it shifts our focus from chaos around us, come on now, to the presence of Jesus within us. That's what I just said. The whole world can crash and burn. And just because you know you heard from God, you are still standing. Have you ever woken up from a dream with a sense of calm that you couldn't quite explain? I can say yes to that. That the peace of God, you may not always remember the details of the dream, but the feeling of rest and security remains. That's because Jesus is actively working in our hearts while we sleep, reminding us that he is near.

15:11 Oh, isn't that powerful? That when we rest in the Prince of Peace, that we can sleep in peace, knowing that Jesus is near. Let's cover some practical steps to embrace the Prince of Peace. I'm so excited. Let me slow down. Practical steps to embrace the peace of Jesus in your dream. So if you're wondering how to embrace these encounters with the Prince of Peace in your dreams, here are a few practical steps to invite this divine peace into your dreams.

15:53 Number one, invite Jesus into your sleep. Like I meant, I didn't mention this in my other devotional, but I want to remind you that on my website, Diary of a Black Woman, LLC.com, I always put a copy of the devotionals on the website. And on those devotionals, there are decrees that you can decree. There's additional scripture, too, that you can read, look up, and study. For the podcast, I keep it short and sweet. Remember, always go to the website and look for the devotionals so that you can find those and get your decrees too.

16:37 Sorry, I forgot about that on the last episode. It just came to me right now, but let's go. Invite Jesus into your sleep. Before you go to bed, take a moment to pray. Ask Jesus to reveal himself to you in your dreams. Invite him to bring you peace as you sleep to calm any anxieties that may be weighing you down. So that's one way, right? So I invite, say, Jesus, I invite you into my sleep. But before you ask that, spend some time with him, right? So as you're spending some quiet time with him, like getting to know him. Like maybe it could be 15, 20, 30 minutes that as you closing out your time with the Lord, then you can say, Lord, I invite you into my rest, invite you into my dreams.

17:28 And then as you lay down, you rest and go to sleep, trusting that he will come in as an invited guest. But like I said in my first podcast my first episode that I just go to sleep trusting that if he has something for me he will come in and invite me because I you know I ask and then he don't show up I said Lord you didn't show up but he did show up because I got good sleep right but I was just like I don't I want this I don't know why I like surprises you're are you one of those kind of girls that are males men that like surprises so I always I had a dream thank you Lord for the dream. And then I write it all down.

18:10 I don't know why I like that. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I like to just be surprised when God talks to me, especially when I go, Lord, you gave me another dream. They'd be like a week of dreams. I'm like, oh my God, he gave me another dream. So you can invite him into your sleep, spend some time with him, and then ask, say, Lord, I want to invite you into my sleep. You are welcome here. Number two, Two, surrender your worries. One of the reasons we struggle with rest is that we carry our worries into our sleep. Surrender those worries to Jesus. Say to him, Lord, I give you this burden. I trust you to take care of it and I receive your peace. So that can come through that time of prayer with him.

18:54 Just surrender your worries to him. And number three, as always, keep a dream journal. As I mentioned in the first episode, journaling your dream can be a powerful way to reflect on how God is speaking to you. When you wake up, write down anything that stands out, especially if you feel a sense, a deep sense of peace. Over time, you begin to notice patterns in how Jesus reveals his peace to you. And as you continue with this podcast, like I said, I'm at 178 devotionals, and I can tell you many of them are coming from my dreams.

19:35 So they're increasing more and more and more. They're just good. And then reflect on scripture, spend time meditating on scripture that speak about Jesus as your Prince of Peace or whatever scripture that he gives you. Like this is during the whispers of peace. So if you're in need, if you're going through a lot of anxiety or worry, it's a good time just to meditate on him as your Prince of Peace. And if you wake up, like say, for instance, you go to bed and you went to bed, anxiety and worry and stress, and you wake up and you have a sense of peace and comfort. But yet nothing hasn't changed. Check. That's your Prince of Peace. He has already given you peace in the middle of chaos. And just begin to just give him praise.

20:21 So in John 14, 27, it reads, peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Come on now. Can be the source of comfort before bed. God gives us peace. And then pray for discernment. Not all dreams are divine messages, but when you sense that Jesus is speaking to you in your dreams, ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. Pray that he will help you understand the messages applied into your life. And I would say, like, sometimes before you go to bed, read your Bible. Like, get to know what God's voice sounds like. So when it sounds like, not like the voice of the Lord, even in your dreams, you can say, I don't think so. I rebuke you in Jesus name.

21:13 You become more, you'll have the authority and the name of Jesus to say, I don't think so. I remember sometimes we have these dreams where you're fighting. I don't know about you, but I'm a retired police officer. And so I, when I was policing, I will have these dreams, but I knew the power and authority of the name of Jesus. And I would always win because I would use the power and the authority that Jesus has given me in his name. And so sometimes we don't even know we rise up or we call out Jesus and he shows up in our dream because there's a fight going on. Remember, we're in a spiritual war. So sometimes our peace is taken because we're in the middle of a spiritual warfare.

21:55 But praying for discernment, putting that word of God in you. So when it's time to be squeezed, I would say when you squeeze you, what will come out? It should be the word of God. Amen. So as you continue to reflect on this topic, think about the areas of your life where you need peace. Are there unresolved worries or anxiety unto which you are holding on to or been holding on to that you won't let go? Remember, a lot of times because it's generational, we will go, oh, I can't let this go. If I let this go, everything's going to crumble. Try just releasing it to Jesus and see what happens. Right. So I encourage you to bring these concerns before Jesus tonight and ask him to speak peace in those situations.

22:43 Trust that the Prince of Peace is near, ready to calm the storm in your heart. Before we end today's episode, I want to leave you with this thought. The peace that God offers is not temporary. It is not dependent on our circumstances. It's the lasting eternal peace that he freely gives to those who seek him. So as you go through your day and night, remember that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is always near. Ready to offer you rest, security, and the assurance that you are never alone. I want to pray here. Prince of Peace. Oh, Father God, in the name of Jesus, we just pray right now.

23:29 Thank you, Jesus, for being our Prince of Peace. We come before you thanking you for the peace you offer that surpasses all understanding. We ask that you reveal yourself to each of us and our dreams and our waking lives, Lord God, speaking to the deepest part of our hearts that need your calming presence. And we rest in you tonight, knowing that you are in control and that your peace is a gift on which we can always rely on. In your precious name, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for joining me today on the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our Faith on the Go series.

24:11 I pray that you encounter Jesus as the Prince of Peace in your dreams and that his peace fills every corner of your life. Stay tuned for the next episode, and we will explore how to find strength in the mighty God through our dreams. Until next time, may you rest in his peace and love. Amen.