The glory faded. Moses and Elijah disappeared. And Jesus continued to walk around with people who didn’t understand everything they had seen, who didn’t live as if they believed what he said.

But even though the glow faded, the presence of God did not. Jesus was with them. Jesus was working on them, instructing them, correcting them, loving them.

And that is still true.

Jesus left the disciples on another mountain several months later. He had been killed, buried, and rose again. He taught and appeared. And then he ascended to heaven, promising several things. That he would be with them to the end of time. That he would send the Spirit of God to help them remember, to keep teaching them. And that all power was his.

And he told them to teach people how to obey what he commanded.

He didn’t tell them that they would glow.

So people watching us may not find our praying very exciting. When we talk with God about the work that we have, about the things he is asking us to do, our faces may not glow. Our faces may stay just like this.

But the people who know us may be changed by the change that happens to us as we spend time in conversation with God.  They may be surprised and challenged by the way that we become more loving in difficulty, more patient in suffering, more willing to serve when the demands increase.

And the truth is, they may see our faces relax as we reflect the peace that God gives us. Even in the middle of struggles.