Python Spirit (Divination)
Jennifer LeClaire
"It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."
She continued doing this for many days.
But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.
Acts 16:16"
The Greek word for "divination" in that verse is puthon. The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon defines it this way: "In Greek mythology the name of the Pythian serpent or dragon that dwelt in the region of Pytho at the foot of Parnassus in Phocis, and was said to have guarded the oracle at Delphi and been slain by Apollo; a spirit of divination." This is in line with Greek myth-ology, but clearly Python is more than a myth since Paul cast the spirit out of the girl.
Python, which is a principality, releases witchcraft, which is a power in the Ephesians 6:12 hierarchy.
The Python spirit is a coiling spirit that works to squeeze out the breath of life (the Holy Spirit) and cut off your lifeline to God (prayer).
Symptoms of a Python attack may include weariness, a loss of passion to worship and pray, feeling pressured, overwhelmed, helpless, and even hopeless. The severity of those symptoms depends on how long this enemy has been coiling itself around you and how much pressure it has applied.