Philemon 1:4

4 When I remember you [a] in my prayers, I always thank my God

Philemon 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Philemon 1:4

I thank my God
Meaning on account, of Philemon, for the grace bestowed upon him, thereafter mentioned; (See Gill on Romans 1:8) making other saints, ( Romans 1:9 ) ( Ephesians 1:16 ) ( Philippians 1:3 Philippians 1:4 ) ( Colossians 1:3 ) ( 1 Thessalonians 1:2 ) , the apostle was a man much in prayer, frequent at the throne of grace; and he prayed not for himself only, but for all the saints, for all the churches and ministers of the Gospel; whom he not only bore upon his mind and heart, but made mention of them, it may be by name; however, he remembered them, and put up petitions, with thanksgivings, for them; and so he did for Philemon; and which he takes notice of with the same view as before: the word, "always", is so placed in the original text, as to be put either to his thanks to God, or his prayers, and may be true of both; the Syriac and Arabic versions join it to the former; and the Vulgate Latin and the Ethiopic versions place it to the latter.

Philemon 1:4 In-Context

2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God
5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.
6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. From verse 4 through verse 21, [you] is singular
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.