Defeating Python Spirit by Jennifer LeClaire

Author:Jennifer LeClaire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Destiny Image, Inc.

HOW A SNAKE THINKS AND MOVES

In order to defeat the Python spirit, it’s helpful to understand how snakes think—and how we think about snakes. Humans are conditioned to fear snakes, even though some are absolutely harmless. Jesus told His apostles to be as wise as serpents (see Matthew 10:16). We have the wisdom of God, which makes us more wise than the enemy. Yet in the heat of battle we must understand how the enemy thinks—what is motivating him, how he is strategizing against us, etc.

The word “wise” in Matthew 10:16 comes from the Greek word phronimos. According to The King James New Testament Greek Lexicon, it means “intelligent, wise, prudent, i.e. mindful of one’s interests.” Strong’s definition is “thoughtful, i.e., sagacious or discreet (implying a cautious character” and “practical skill or acumen” and “indicates rather intelligence or mental acquirement; in a bad sense conceited.”

The devil is definitely conceited and always overplays his hand. The same is true of Python. Jesus wasn’t telling us to be conceited like a snake, but to be intelligent in battle, wise in warfare, prudent in our approach, mindful of His interests, cautious in the fight, and to develop our skills in the skirmish. The enemy has spent thousands of years studying humankind. We’re only here for 75 years, on average, and don’t have nearly enough time—nor would we want to spend all our time—studying the devil. But, again, we must not be ignorant of his devices (see 2 Corinthians 2:11).

Rick Renner, an author and church planter who moved his family to the Soviet Union, has some good thoughts on how snakes think. He says, “When serpents move into a new territory, they don’t make a lot of noise about it. They come in quietly and unannounced—in camouflaged.” “Snakes,” he explains, “evaluate new situations to see where they can hide from attack and where they can find easy kills. Most spiritual warriors I know come in with a loud bang and alert every devil in hell that they are in warfare mode when most of the demons were not targeting them. This is not wisdom!”6

“Serpents,” Renner goes on, “are wise enough to know when to seize the moment and strike. They understand there’s a kairos time to attack. The same is true in spiritual warfare, which is why we have to let God lead us in triumph in Christ Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 2:14). We need to submit to the Holy Spirit’s leadership in the realm of spiritual warfare if we want radical effectiveness.”

It’s also helpful to consider how snakes move. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 30:18 that there are three things that were too wonderful to him and four he did not understand. One of them was “the way of a serpent on the rock.” The Hebrew word for “way” in Proverbs 30:19 is this context is “manner, habit, way.”

Solomon was saying he didn’t understand how the snake moved on a rock. Pulpit Commentary suggests this refers to how the serpent could move on the surface without leaving any track.

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