“One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.”
Acts of the Apostles 16:16-18 NLT
The girl that is mentioned here is said to have a real ability to tell the future. She is so good at it that she and her masters make money off of telling people’s fortunes. She is the real deal, the genuine article.
Of course sometimes power like this can also come from a terrifying source. In this case, her ability comes from a demon on her back, most likely whispering what she should say.
And yet this demon, a bastion of The Enemy, the Evil One, also knows, and loudly declares, that the way of salvation is through Jesus Christ.
She may have been doing it out of mockery. She might have been very disruptive. Maybe that’s why Paul got exasperated.
I choose to read it as that she was doing it out of fear.
(I have a screenplay in my head now, of a short film where the demon is sarcastic and confident at first, and then eventually gets more and more apprehensive as it realises the implications of what it is shouting out. Also, more and more the girl is slowly becoming stronger, able to oppose and suppress and resist the demon within her. Ultimately, as the demon is cast out of her, she crumples to the ground, but gets up, radiant and beautiful through the dirt and the dust, completely free and redeemed.)
It says in Psalms that the waves and wind know His name. And in this story, it is shown that demons do as well, and they fear Him, and they cannot stand against Him.
Paul banished the demon with one line, invoking the name of Jesus.
This power is within us as well. More than fortune-telling, or other flash in the pan, fancy special effect magical fantasy type things. A real power that simply comes from knowing and calling upon the name of Jesus.
Prayer:
Jesus, with Your name I banish the evils in my life. In Your name, I declare that You are the source of what is true, pure, and godly in this world, and that You can effect this supernatural power in my life. Come upon me and immerse me in Your presence Lord. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen