Spiritual Suntanning

When I was a teen, I would lay out in the sun, sometimes for hours at a time. Initially, I noticed my tan growing and growing with every tanning session I put in because the contrast was so big! But as my tan darkened, I didn't always see much difference in the color of my skin from when I went out and when I came in. Even though I knew the sun had beat down on my skin for two hours, I didn't feel like I had changed. But then, when I saw my friends that evening, they'd all gasp and say "Holly - You're becoming positively black!"

Prayer is like this. Initially, we notice a difference when we pray and we can see growth in our spiritual lives. But after a little while, as we become more and more steeped in grace, we stop noticing any obvious or drastic change, and think that nothing is happening. Yet others can see.

So when we're tempted to think prayer is doing nothing for us; when we find ourselves in periods of dryness and apparent tepidity, let's keep in mind that prayer is really 'spiritual suntanning'. We can trust that the Son is shining on us, and He is having His effect, and that others will see Christ in us more and more, even if we don't...

posted by Holly at 2:40 PM