As we once more consider Paul’s praying for Philemon, we need to consider the qualities that were evident in Philemon’s life.

His qualities began (v4) with a love and a faith in Christ. This is the foundation upon which his other attributes were built, this relationship with Christ. Out of this came a love for all the saints, which was shown (v7) in how he refreshed their hearts. He was a real encouragement to fellow Christians. Far too often today Christians are cynical and critical instead of being encouraging towards others. Are you an encouragement to other Christians? Do you seek to refresh their hearts by your conversation?

Paul prays for Philemon to impact people as he shares his faith (v6). The key to this is that people will see goodness in him produced by Jesus. We need to pray that we and other Christians will have in ourselves the beauty of Christ that will be evident to others. This beauty grows as we grow in our understanding of Jesus (v6).