Opportune Prayer (Eph 6:18)
Eph 6: 18 in the NLT and the YLT It says to pray at all times in the first phrase.
- Which sounds like I am supposed to prayer every second of the day.
- But how would that be possible?
To understand this verse, we need to start by looking at the word “time” in Greek.
- In the Greek there are two words for time.
- The Greek word Chronos means clock time from where we would get our word Chronological.
- The second word in Greek for time is Kairos, which is strategic time.
- “Opportune time” is a lexicon definition of this word.
- A good way to understand this is. “Opportune time”
Here in Eph 6:18 the Greek word used is Kairos time.
- So, Paul is not saying Pray all the time, every minute of every day.
- If Paul had said pray at every Chronos time, then that would have been pray every minute of the day.
- But He said Pray at every Kairos time. He is saying pray at every opportune time.
- So, the best way to understand this is, to pray at every opportune time.
- Now again, the context here is spiritual warfare.
- Author Dutch sheets points out this pray at every opportune time is a tool against spiritual warfare.
- But if we only pray every opportune time related to Spiritual warfare, then we are letting the devil set the agenda for our prayer life.
Continuing in the verse it says to pray with perseverance.
- That sounds similar to Jesus’ command to pray persistently.
- I think Paul uses the word perseverance because the context is spiritual warfare.
- Perseverance speaks of persistence in difficult times.
- The NLT also say stay alert. Stay alert and be persistent…
- In Greek it is the word “watching.”
- Paul is saying that in our prayer, we are to be watching.
- Since, the context is spiritual warfare, we are to be watching for what the devil might be up to.
All of the translations have some form of “pray in the Spirit.”
- Some have tried to interrupt this to mean always pray in tongues.
- The rest of the context and grammar don’t support that.
- Since the enemy attacks us in the Spirit realm we must fight back in the spirit realm.
- What Paul is saying in a nut shell, let the Spirit lead you in the praying.
- For me, this means listening to the spirit before you pray.
The verse ends by saying pray for all believers everywhere.
Within the context of Spiritual warfare Paul is reminding his readers to pray for all the believers.