Honorable Mention

I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. (Philemon, 4-6)

It’s not unusual for us to pray for people when they have a need. We often pray for people because we know they long for some sort of deliverance: they might have a sick family member, or they might be in financial straits, or they might be studying for an exam. We learn of the need, and we pray for God to help them.

In Philemon, we see the apostle Paul take a different stance. He prays not because things are difficult for Philemon, but because things are good. Sometimes we leave the ‘Philemon’s of the world off our prayer list because we don’t sense a pressing need to pray on their behalf. But Paul provides us with a prayer template we can model today: Lord, more. Let the faith of the faithful  be more effective. Let them see You in every good thing they do.

As we pray, let’s remember the sick… and let’s remember those who are well.