The Importance of Kairos Moments
As is often the case, our English translations do not fully convey the content of Greek words. With the intricacies of their language -- the various tenses, moods, forms, etc., the Greeks bragged that they could say more in one word than other languages could in an entire sentence. That’s why amplified and expanded versions are helpful.
Another problem is that our translations often use one English word to translate multiple Greek words. This can at times be very problematic. For example, the word “power” is used to translate both dunamis and exousia. However, dunamis is literal power, as in dynamite;(1) exousia is authority, the right to rule or release power.(2) When not understood, this leads to misunderstanding. The New Testament tells us Jesus dealt with and delivered us from satan’s authority (exousia) – the RIGHT to use his power (dunamis) on believers (Colossians 1:13). Christ did not remove all of satan’s powers. The devil still has power, he simply has no legal right to use it on us. But since he is a thief and lawbreaker, he tries to do so anyway. Therefore, we must enforce Christ’s victory, exercising our authority (exousia) over satan’s power (dunamis).
Timing
The word “time” in the New Testament is another example of multiple Greek words, chronos and kairos, being translated with one English word. Chronos means chronological time – you can easily see that our English word chronology comes from this Greek word. Chronos is simply the general time or season in which something IS done.(3)
Kairos, on the other hand, means well-timed, strategic time, opportune time; the time at which something SHOULD or MUST be done. Kairos would be the equivalent of our often used “window of opportunity.”(4)
Wuest, a very literal translator of the New Testament, uses the following phrases to translate kairos: “epoch-making periods” (Acts 3:19); “strategic, significant period” (Acts 12:1); “strategic, epochal time” (Acts 19:23). Using his words, kairos times are strategic, significant, and potentially epoch-making.
Kairos Temptation
The parable of the sower is an example of where knowing the difference between these two words is important. Jesus said, “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). “Time” is kairos. Knowing this brings the realization that Christ was saying satan times his temptations strategically, waiting for just the right time. This might be during weariness, confusion, disillusionment, spiritual laziness, and other opportune times. We must be aware of satan’s strategies and well-timed attacks.
Spiritual Warfare and Kairos Prayers
Another subject in Scripture where the use of kairos is extremely important is prayer. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (KJV). While we know we are always welcome in the throne room of heaven, that is not the primary point of this verse. “Time” here is kairos, not chronos. God is telling us in this passage that we have a faithful and merciful High Priest, and we can approach Him boldly in our strategic times of need. The Amplified Classic translates the verse, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” Wow!
Ephesians 6, a chapter on spiritual warfare, is another passage where this distinction is important. Ephesians 6:18 says that we are to “be on the alert . . . for all the saints” and “pray at all times [kairos] in the Spirit.” God is not telling us here to pray all the time, which would be chronos, and would also be impossible. He is saying to pray at all strategic times (kairos). In other words, if we are alert for one another – in this spiritual war with the powers of darkness – Holy Spirit will warn us of the well-timed (kairos) attacks of the enemy. We can then pray, creating boundaries (one of the meanings of paga, the Hebrew word for intercession), a protective hedge, around the person.
One morning, way back in 1978, (I was 10 😊) as I was praying the Lord gave me a vision. I saw a rattlesnake coiled at my dad’s feet. I did not yet know the meaning of kairos, but I knew this was a warning. I spent about 15 minutes or so praying earnestly for his protection until I felt a release, a peace. I knew whatever danger was coming his way involving a rattlesnake had been dealt with.
The next day he called me – he was in Florida, I was in Texas – and said, “You’ll never guess what happened yesterday. I almost stepped on a coiled rattlesnake in the shed. Fortunately, I saw it in time.”
I said to Dad, “Yeah, I know.”
Surprised, he asked, “How did you know?”
“I saw it in a vision,” I responded, “and prayed for your protection. You owe me.” (I didn’t really say the part about him owing me. I acted really humble and said something to the effect of, “Praise God” or “Glory be to God.” You know how we do it.)
In these strategic times of spiritual warfare, it is important that we stay alert for one another. Be sensitive to the promptings of Holy Spirit; when someone comes to mind, pray for them. They may need protection from harm, strength against temptation, or wisdom to deal with an important decision. This could be for a child, a parent, a friend, or the president. Yes, pray regularly for those in your family and for our government leaders. But also be alert for the kairos warnings; when they come, pray.
Pray with me:
Father, there are times (chronos) to pray, and then there are times (kairos) to pray. As we walk with You and learn Your ways, teach us also to hear Your voice and recognize Your promptings. Holy Spirit is our Guide, our Counselor, our Helper. We want to be sensitive to His voice and instructions.
We know that in life there are accidents, things that happen because of people‘s carelessness or mistakes, and there are also spiritually caused attacks, orchestrated by satan. Help us to do as You instructed in Ephesians 6, being alert to Holy Spirit’s promptings, so we can pray for others as You lead.
And we pray now regarding any attacks planned against our government officials. We ask for protection over the Justices on our Supreme Court, members of Congress, and President Trump and his Cabinet. Expose terrorists and violent criminals in our nation. Thwart their evil plans. We also pray for our spiritual leaders, those on the front lines of this spiritual warfare. Please protect them from evil, temptation, sickness, and disease. All of these things we pray in the name of our overcoming Lord and Savior, Jesus.
Our decree:
We decree that we are alert intercessors, always on our posts, and will recognize the warnings and prompting of Holy Spirit.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1411.
Ibid, ref. no. 1849.
Ibid, ref. no. 5550.
Ibid, ref. no. 2540.
Thank you Kelli. God bless.
j
READ KP MESSAGE!!
I’ve probably shared too many comments here this month. I’m truly sorry for the volume. This will probably be a last time because I feel called back into a more dedicated season of prayer, just as Dutch mentioned throughout the post.
Thank you, Dutch! The wisdom and instruction from this is timely and helpful! We all need to be more aware of the times and pray more diligently.
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