Acts 16:16 (KJV)

Passage

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

Nearby Context

Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

Acts 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

Acts 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "came", "pass", "went", "prayer", "certain", "damsel", and "possessed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And when she was baptized and her..." into verse 17's "The same followed Paul and us and...", so "Spirit" and "came" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.