There is a prevailing demonic principality over our nation that must be dealt with if we are to experience breakthrough and revival. This spirit is the gatekeeper to many cities, and defeating it is the key to others being able to break through spiritually. Defeating it is one of the keys to reaching more people for the harvest and the increase of God's kingdom manifesting in the earthly realm. It is important that those in the body of Christ understand and recognize how this spirit works so that together, we can join forces to take down this principality. There are important keys in this article to help each of us overcome! The spirit I am referring to is known as the spirit of Pythos, or “python.” Python or pythos, from which is originates, is known by certain characteristics. Some of them are:
- Overwhelming tiredness, loss of desire to fulfill destiny and loss of vision.
- It operates in pride, stubborness, heaviness, depression and bitterness. (Acts 8:23)
- Will counterfeit real prophecy with divination, which is from a demonic origin and a form of sorcery (witchcraft). (Acts 13:6, 16:16). Divination defiles and often ends up causing bitterness and rebellion towards the Lord because false prophetic words often end in disillusionment and discouragement. Pythos, or divination utilizes prophecy for profit, or the prostitution of spiritual gifts for selfish gain, (Acts 16:19).
- Is manipulative and deceptive. Uses flattery to gain trust and promote pride. (Acts 16:17)
- Squeezes the life out of individuals, churches, and those under it’s influence. (The nature of the python is to constrict).
- Is attracted to the flesh. (Serpents "lick the dust" which speaks of our fleshly nature. They use their tongue to sense their prey. The more of our flesh they can sense is how it is attracted to individuals.)
- Despises worship and can result in “brass heavens” or an inability to break through in worship.
- Causes heart and breathing problems, back problems and other health issues, sometimes even death. Brings a spirit of infirmity with it.
- Works together with the spirit of witchcraft, or Jezebel, which lusts after power and control. A spirit of lust (a consuming desire for power, sex, money, fame, recognition, etc. often accompanies the python and witchcraft spirit). Withstands breakthrough. (Acts 13:8)
- Perverts the straight ways of the Lord. Influences people to believe what is right is wrong, and what is wrong is acceptable and even approved. (Acts 13:8-10)
- Promotes bitterness, rejection and encourages separation from others rather than seeking healthy, like minded spiritual relationships. Projects doom and unbelief on the future, stripping people of faith. Those under its influence often retreat from fellowship and isolate themselves from others in order to preserve themselves from further hurt or relational disappointments.
- Lies to those under it’s influence to destroy faith in God, and accuses God to the believer.
- Does everything in it’s power to wear out the believer until all their strength is gone. The nature of a constrictor is to slowly suffocate and squeeze the life out of it's victim.
The spirit of Pythos, from which we get the word “python” takes on the characteristics of the serpent and tries to squeeze the very life and breath out of the believer, the family of God and tries to destroy the prophetic voice. It hates worship, hates the prophetic gifts (which can see through it’s deceptive ways and identify this spirit), and it hates apostolic authority. It has no problem with titles, name plates or self appointed labels, but it is terribly fearful of genuine authority in Christ. It will attempt to destroy, defame and defile God’s appointed authority because it knows that it has the power to destroy it’s ungodly yoke of oppression and shed light on it’s deceptive ways.
Because this spirit operates in pride, arrogance, bitterness and hatred towards the Spirit of Christ, it is very warlike. KEYS TO BREAKTHROUGH: To defeat pride, you must operate in humility. To defeat hatred, fear, anger, and grief, you must operate in love. Never engage in warfare by the same tactics or by the same spirit as the enemy.
That is our responsibility in the natural. But as men and women of the Spirit, we engage in combat with the enemy by declarations and decrees which act like stealth bombers releasing bombs over enemy territory. Decrees are actually enforcement of God’s laws, utilizing His word, which declare a higher spiritual law above that of the earthly realm. Demonic principalities operate in the earthly realm and the 2nd heaven (the airwaves where Satan has limited influence) and when we release decrees (speaking the prophetic word, enforcing what God has already spoken through His word), these things give us victory over all the power of the enemy. Air strikes are preparation for what comes next. How many of you know that in war, both air strikes and ground troops are needed in order to advance against the enemy and secure the victory? That is why it is so important for the apostolic and prophetic to work together. Prophetic declarations affirm what God is saying and establish His will, and they also shed light on people's prophetic destinies, while the apostolic releases strategies to the ground troops. Those with apostolic authority often deal with power encounters with the enemy, establish sound teaching and order in the body of Christ, and help mobilize the body of Christ.
Decree an End to the Spirit of Pythos
I declare an end to the Pythos spirit today, in Jesus name, over this geographic region, (the city where I live), over the state of California and over our nation.
I declare Jesus Christ is the stronghold of our family, our city, the people in this geographic region and over our nation.
Let there be revelation of this counterfeit spirit wherever the spirit of python is at work. Let people have discernment to recognize this spirit. Come out of (_________) in Jesus name. (Acts 16:18)
Let the influence and voice of divination be silenced. Let the power of witchcraft and the spirit of infirmity be broken now, in Jesus name!
Where there has been constriction, I speak enlargement: over my family members, over this geographic region, and this nation, according to Genesis 28:14 in Jesus name.
Let the wind of the Holy Spirit breathe new life into those that are weary. Let the wind of the Holy Spirit release resurrection power into those that are empty, dry, and without strength. I prophesy to the breath according to Ezekiel 37:9 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breath on these slain, that they may live.’” I prophesy to the whole house of Israel as I say, “Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves; and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, have spoken it, and performed it,” says the Lord. (Ezek. 37:12-14.)
Thus says the Lord to His anointed (insert your name) : "I will go before you to make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel and (insert your name)." (Is. 45:2,3) Lord we agree, that what you did for your anointed servant Cyrus to subdue nations and go before him to loose the armor of kings; to open before him the double doors so that the gates would not be shut, you have done for us. We thank You for breaking through the barriers and leading us beyond the outer gates and through the doors you have for us. In Jesus name, amen.
#Breakfreefromconstriction, #DeclaringdefeatoverthespiritofPython
Friend, do you sense God holding back from you? Do you feel as if blessings are hindered from coming to you? Then let me ask you, how is your confession? Angels and the Lord are always listening to what we speak. Careless words are one significant reason why people struggle. We may speak something and immediately forget about it, but none of our words are inconsequential. None.
Words are not just words; they carry the power to create in the spirit realm. Words have great power to either release a blessing or a curse. If we are not careful, our mouths have great power to hinder blessings that God wants us to have from actually coming into our hands. Many people have heard of the necessity of speaking life into God’s promises and contending for them until they come to pass. We can believe for good health, financial increase and restoration, family members to come to salvation and many others things, but sometimes there is an area people neglect to consider, and it’s that specific area I want to bring to your attention.
The words we speak about others carries a great responsibility, especially the words we speak regarding other Christians. If we do not harness our tongue, we can put ourselves out of alignment with God and actually hinder Him from being able to release blessing into our lives. "How can we hinder God?" you might ask. Because He is a good Father and teacher. He takes great care to teach us important life lessons because He wants us to not just learn from them, but be permanently changed in our nature so that we begin to look more like him. We must align ourselves with faith in order to move His hand and unlock the blessings, and obedience is a large part of demonstrating faith. In Genesis 12:3 God made a covenant with Abram in which the Lord God said, “I will bless those that bless you, and I will curse those that curse you...” God’s covenant with every Christian is the same as what He offered Abram, and when we speak negative words about others, especially words that have the power to injure a person’s relationships, reputation, livelihood or future success, it is the same as cursing them. When you curse people with negative words, it is creating with the satanic power of witchcraft attached to your words, and God cannot and will not bless it. Speaking ill of others is a direct violation of who we are in Christ. It denies the law of love by which all are judged, and as God’s children, we should know better. James chapter 3 tells us that the tongue is like a fire that holds a world of iniquity in it and is so set among our members that it has the power to defile the whole body; it is set on fire by hell itself. Vs. 9 says “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Vs. 10: “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not to be so.” This is a stern warning about the damage that can be released with the power of the tongue! The contradictory speech of speaking blessing and then cursing can only ever produce bad fruit and negative results. Because we judge others, the fruit of judgement, not blessing, is released into our own lives. (See Matt. 7:1) Psalm 109:17 tells us, “As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; as he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.” You can read the next several verses yourself to see that when people misuse their speech and allow their tongue to curse others through gossip, evil speaking and slander, the ripple effects of those actions goes far beyond what they might perceive at the moment they act careless with their words. They actually release a curse upon themselves that can affect every aspect of their lives. Remember God’s promise to Abram. Those that bless His servant would be blessed; those that cursed him would receive the curse. God has never retracted His promise neither has He nullified His covenant. There are many warnings throughout scripture to advise us to be careful about the words we speak. It is not a light thing in the eyes of the Lord to speak ill of others.
I have had many people speak negative things about me and my family over the years, and admittedly it is not always pleasant to our emotions to have to deal with people that rejoice in wishing you misfortune. I have also had people deliberately accuse, slander and try to influence others to think negatively about us, but if we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will always counsel us to bless and not curse.Friend, what voice are you listening to? Who do you allow to influence you? Separate yourself from a gossip, and depart from those that love to whisper about others or you can find yourself in a snare. Don't allow foolish, immature people to entice you to partake of their own rotten fruit. Bad company corrupts good morals. In Luke 6:26 Jesus gave us words of wisdom when He said, “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you.” A little later in the chapter He continued to advise us “not to judge.”
Friends, the words you speak are important. If anyone is guilty of gossip, slander and speaking curse words over others - especially if they have spoken against another one of God’s children - you need to know that God holds you accountable for what you speak. One cannot sweep everything under the rug with a broad broom of grace and think that there is no responsibility towards what we speak. Words hang in the spirit over others and have the power to release the power of witchcraft or blessing. Now, if you speak well of others you have nothing to worry about. But if you speak things that are not right, those words will boomerang back into your own life with a curse attached to them. God is a shield around those that trust Him. It’s a part of His covenant. (See Genesis 15: 1) So, do you know what a shield does? It deflects the fiery darts, arrows laced with poison and shields us from the onslaught of enemy fire. But if we are not acting in faith, and speaking right things is a part of acting in faith, then that shield is lowered and the person finds themselves vulnerable to taking a hit. Friend, if that is you today and the Holy Spirit has convicted you of speaking the wrong things about someone, then take the opportunity to correct the situation. If you don’t you may find yourself at odds with God and His blessings withheld until you repent. You don’t have to struggle if you will take the road of humility, but pride can keep a person from receiving what is actually theirs. Don’t let pride be your stumbling block. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.Talk to God and ask His forgiveness, then do what Jesus told you to do: BLESS the one you spoke against. Pray your best prayer of blessing over them and their household. Bless their family, their future, their health, their business, and anything else you can think of. Ask God to do for them what you would want Him to do for you. Reverse the curse and take it off of yourself at the same time. God promises to show His salvation to those that order their conversation aright.
Your words have the power to bless or to curse. Now, in light of what you’ve read here today, isn’t it wisdom to bless? I have blessed people when they didn’t deserve it, and not just with my prayers. It brought hot coals of conviction on their head and released my heart with joy. Blessing releases joy and freedom, regardless of how others treat you! When others have come against us, I ask God to bless them, heal their heart, bless their family, bless their household, and I tell you, it works. When we bless, God will take care of the rest. He moves mountains. He changes hearts. He removes those with an agenda to hinder what God wants to do. He will take people out of the way if that’s what is needed, and you don’t have to do anything to make it happen. I've seen it happen. You don't have to worry about a thing. Regardless of how you may feel personally about someone, you can still choose to do the right thing. Maturity and wisdom advise us to choose obedience. Just follow God’s word and bless those that curse you. Pray for those that spitefully use you and persecute you. Then trust God to take care of everything else. He is your shield and exceedingly great reward!!
I will never forget the day when God visited me suddenly and unexpectedly to give me a revelation of His Fatherhood. It changed a lifetime of hurts, religious misconceptions and lies the enemy had introduced into my belief system and caused me to repent for years and years worth of believing the wrong things about Him. I believe this understanding of the Fatherhood of God is a key factor to initiating the salvation of many, the end of the religious spirit and vital to this next move of God. I have been a Christian
for many years and gone through some great trials, had many great victories and testimonies of how the Lord has moved in my life - and, I had prayed for
this particular revelation many times. Yet for whatever reason in the heart and mind of God, the
answer to my prayer to have deep revelation of the Father/child relationship eluded me
until the Holy Spirit showed up with personal revelation. How many of you realize that we don't get to pick and choose how we experience God? He chooses the timing and the way He releases the moment. It is different for everyone. I believe at least part of the reason I had to wait so long is because of the many, many people that are in this 'fatherless generation' and need to be set free from religion, set free from deep childhood disappointments, and receive deep healing for their souls. I have known Him in many other aspects but I do believe that
understanding the FATHERHOOD of GOD is key to this particular time in
the kingdom. This incredible moment was the experiential reality of Galatians 4:6 being poured out into my heart in a way that I have never known before.
There are many things we know and understand intellectually and by hearing them over and over are absorbed as truth, yet without a personal emotional experience that connects us to the heart of our Father. It is this defining moment with the heart of God that has the potential to change us forever, and with it, the unraveling of every lie that has affected our belief system. I cannot fully explain my own recent experience with God - except to say that nothing I have experienced impacted my perception of God’s Fatherhood as powerfully as it did when He suddenly showed up and birthed a cry of “Abba, Father in to my heart, and the wonderful realization that I have a DAD who loves me and will do anything for me!”The truth is, I always had a Father who loved me, I just couldn't see it because the enemy was messing with my thoughts and emotions. I always had a Dad who wanted a relationship with me, but different aspects of my brokenness from my childhood prevented me from being able to relate to Him in a more meaningful way. I knew God was my heavenly father, but intimacy was lacking. The enemy still had seeds of mistrust that were buried so deep I didn't know how to get them out, and he used those seeds of lies to bring me back under condemnation, guilt and legalism whenever it seemed convenient to him. Those lies also told me I was alone, orphaned, and uncared for.
Then, in one moment, my heart has been changed forever. But the most powerful thing about this defining moment in my relationship with "Dad" is that this revelation suddenly shattered lies that had been intricately woven by the enemy since very young childhood. The enemy lost his grip that day. All the seeds of lies that were continuing to operate in my belief system, trying to convince me that I had to work to please God, self effort that tried to pull me back under the law, seeds of mistrust, frustration, and so many other things that warped my understanding of Father God and His Word - began to unravel. Because every lie was an accusation against His character. Every lie was tied to feelings of rejection in one way or another. My own father was mentally ill as long as I can remember. He fathered me, but he was never a dad. He was absent mentally, emotionally and physically most of my life because of his condition. One simply cannot have a healthy, emotionally fulfilling relationship with someone that is not mentally healthy and stable. When it came to being saved and trying to relate to a heavenly Father, it was completely foreign to me. Sure, I can understand the many other aspects of the Lord such as Healer, Deliverer, Savior, King, Provider, and many other dimensions of His nature and character - the I was still missing a very vital component to the heart of God.
There are many other people in the same boat. Many people that for one reason or another, need this powerful revelation in order to feel truly whole. God wants to radically change our perception of Him so that we receive the deep healing that will transform our belief system and change who we are. I continue to pray that those that have felt abandoned, misunderstood, rejected, unwanted and orphaned would have the same experience I have. That the Spirit of Sonship would be poured out into your hearts, thereby settling, establishing and reaffirming the faith and confidence you have towards your Heavenly Father. This is the perfect love that casts out all fear and makes us bold in our prayers!
It truly is the Spirit of Elijah that carries with it the ability to turn the hearts of the children to the Father, and the fathers to their children. God gave me a personal point of reference to be able to connect with His heart. It all started with a word study related to a portion of scripture in Micah chapter 7. In verse 19, the word compassion is used. It is the Hebrew word 'racham' which means to love from the womb. It depicts the tender love of a mother for her own helpless child and it speaks of the depth of compassion associated with this expression of love. Now, this is where the revelation flooded my heart. I could not relate so much to the whole father relationship because mine was lacking, but I could related to how a mother deeply loves a baby in her womb because I'm a mother. Over and over, waves of God's love poured out as He healed the deep issues of my past. Broken areas of my emotions, my heart and understanding were restored and made whole. I was filled with joy, relief, gratitude and I cried rivers of tears. Holy Spirit poured in the revelation of sonship and so much more that day and the moment He did, the struggles from my past, the lies, the religious misconceptions and even the understanding of how prosperity and formula preaching had defiled my heart. All those things had only added to the misunderstanding I had of God in my belief system yet never knew was there.
Some people have absent parents for what ever reason, or those relationships have been broken or estranged. Those things affect us deeply and can produce feelings of abandonment. But the other reality is that religion also produces a sense of being orphans and being fatherless because it substitutes rules, traditions of men and legalism for genuine relationship. It keeps people's hearts from truly connecting with their Father. This may be a blind spot in people, but again, I encourage you to search your own heart and ask Yourself if your relationship with God is one of intimacy, trust, faith, and confidence towards Him as your Father. Do you feel secure in His love, or do you fight feelings of inferiority, fear, insecurity and condemnation? Are you working for your salvation, or are you resting in His complete grace and what the blood of Jesus has made available to you? It is He that justifies. It is He that sanctifies. Jesus did it all. We can add nothing to the gospel or take nothing away; otherwise it becomes perverted with a mixture of man's beliefs and traditions, diluted of power and impure.
My friends, many people have ambition. Many people desire to do good things for God. Many seek the praise of men or have a need to be recognized because inwardly they seek the fulfillment of something that gives them LIFE. But "things" cannot give us life. Only Jesus can give us life. It must come directly from the life-giver. He must have our hearts before we can do the greater things of the kingdom. We can try to do a lot of "things" but if we fail at loving God and loving others we have ultimately failed the greatest commandment Jesus ever gave us: to love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. That is the gospel in a nutshell. We are judged by how well we love. None of us will never be able to love others unconditionally and purely without this revelation of the Fatherhood of God. We will never be able to free ourselves from fear or insecurity in our relationship with God and experience the passion of the Lord without a deep understanding that releases the love of God from our heart to His. 1 John 4: 18 tells us that he who fears has not been made perfect in love. It's not God's love that needs to be perfected, it's ours. When you receive the revelation of His deep, unconditional love towards you, it really will cast out all fear. Would you like to become fearless before the enemy? Set free in your mindset? Bold in faith? Absolutely convinced that God is on your side and will do anything to insure your victory? Then ask for a deeper revelation of Him, because you will never move from where you are now to where you need to go without the faith to get you there. Ask for the Spirit of His dear Son to be poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit and fill every part of you to make you whole. We love Him because He first loved us, and it's the personal revelation of this deep, sacrificial love that gives understanding to every other scripture. He who did not spare His Son for us, but delivered Him up as a living sacrifice for us all (Rom. 8:32) is YOUR DAD and He will do anything for you. How could He not? This is the love that is spoken of in Romans 8:38 which tells us that nothing - absolutely nothing - can ever separate us from this love of our Father who is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I believe that it is paramount to people being awakened in their heart to know God, and when that occurs, it will have such a deep impact that it transforms their heart, their belief system and their faith. It will impact them to such a degree that their lives will suddenly take a new direction and follow after the Lord. This is a key to winning the lost and partnering with God in the harvest. How shall they know unless someone is sent to them? How shall they hear the gospel unless someone speaks? Yet let us deliver a pure gospel that comes not by the teaching of man, but by revelation from the Lord Himself. When purity returns to the gospel, it really will be seen as the good news. Not just as a "get out of jail free card," but the answer to the needs of our heart and soul. The response on each of our lips should be a grateful, "Here I am Lord, send me. "
Note: If you are curious about the trademarks of a fatherless generation and
statistically how impacting and devastating they are, you should do a
little research, but recognize that statistics are only an outward
indicator of an inward reality. People that feel orphaned or fatherless
struggle with deep feelings of rejection, resentment, fear, anger,
shame, insecurity, inferiority and much more. We will never resolve the
problems of society without first addressing the issues of the heart and
soul. Healing is the first answer, not the last. We will never produce
change in society, reduce the crime rate, see the reduction of runaways, people delivered from drugs and prostitution, break people free from
generational poverty and other important aspects of transformation if we do not first focus on the
healing and restoration of people's hearts. Change is produced when the
belief system is transformed and restored. Transformation occurs one
life at a time and it comes by the love and power of God to heal broken
lives.
