New Testament Summary
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit Ephesians 6:18
Pray – All of the ideas associated with prayer in the Old Testament are captured in the New Testament with a single word. That word is proseuchomai. It covers thanksgiving, confession, adoration, intercession and supplication. Notice that it is not the same as the word for “worship.” Worship involves a mental and often physical attitude before a sovereign ruler. Prayer is the result of worship. Prayers without the right attitude are fairly useless. Jesus commented on such prayers when He pointed out the hypocrisy of the proud Pharisee’s prayer. Worship brings humility, and in the New Testament, humility is the foundation of prayer.
Proseuchomai is not the only word used for asking in the New Testament, but it is the word that is used when the author wants to emphasize the fact that the request is made to God. Fundamentally, this Greek word means, “calling on God” no matter what the content of the prayer happens to be. You might think of it is the summary of all our conversation with God. If you talk with the Father, you would use the Greek word proseuchomai.
Notice that Paul exhorts us to converse with the Father at all times. You might be easily discouraged by such a command. After all, there are plenty of times in human experience when God is not uppermost in our minds. Of course, if we begin to practice His presence, we will discover that He is available for conversation in every moment. But we are so easily distracted. The day brings many circumstances when we lose focus on the Father’s presence. Are we to be castigated because we don’t spend every moment in divine conversation? No, we aren’t. If we only knew that Paul uses the word kairos instead of chronos for “time” in this verse, we would realize that what he is saying is this:
“Every opportunity to experience the intervention of the divine into your ordinary, counting time is an opportunity to connect with the Father. Take it!”
Be on the look-out for kairos invasions. They can occur in any chronos moment. When they occur, call out to God. Prayer is God’s triumphal entry into any and every human experience. Once you realize what is really happening, you are invited into a conversation with Him. Open your mouth and RSVP.
