A Prayer for Progress over Perfection
By: Jennifer Heeren
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
My goal in life is to be transformed and to learn to walk in love as I continue to grasp just how much I am already loved by my precious Heavenly Father. Seeing this love will enable me to know which goals I should strive for—the goals God desires for me to have. The more I realize the immenseness of God’s love for me, the more I will make progress on goals that I would like to complete.
God doesn’t love our completed tasks as much as he loves our enthusiasm to work for Him. He is pleased the entire time that we are taking steps of obedience, not just at the end. There are some things that will never be completed this side of heaven—like world peace, for instance—but God is pleased when we take steps to live in unity with one other person.
Progress toward our goals, and even more importantly, progress toward our becoming more like Christ, is an ongoing thing. There will always be more to do and more ways to grow in character and love. God is pleased when we take steps, when we step out of our comfort zones, and when we try.
Hebrews 11 says a lot about God’s happiness with our progress—otherwise known as faith:
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for and is the evidence of things not seen yet.
Through faith, people earn a good reputation.
We can never fully know God and His ways but we can take steps to seek Him and seek to walk in the ways that we can decipher.
Even when Abraham reached the land God had promised him, he lived there by faith. Abraham confidently looked forward to a city designed and built by God.
I will and should complete tasks in this life and with enough progress, the end of a project will come. But there will be another project to follow that. It’s a journey and each project will teach me something new and grow my character.
You can be obedient and make progress each day of your life, a little at a time. And God will help you as you seek Him. God gave you that good work to do and He won’t leave you until your progress is complete.
Pray with me:
Dear Lord, You made me for good works. You gave me the desire to always learn and grow in my ability to love You and my neighbors. Help me to make progress on my goals each day and not to worry about the conclusion that you may bring out of that obedience. Remind me regularly that your conclusions of every matter will always bring fruit even though the conclusion may be different than I was thinking. Your ways are above my ways.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Editor’s Note: Content taken from “God is Pleased by Our Progress, Not Perfection” by Jennifer Heeren. You can read that piece in full here. All rights reserved.
Related Resource: "I AM" - A Lenten Journey with Jesus
When the world feels heavy, clarity isn’t always what we need most. Sometimes what we need is presence. In John 8:12, Jesus doesn’t promise all the answers. He promises Himself: “I am the light of the world.” Light doesn’t show us the entire path—it gives us enough to take the next step. It reminds us that we are not alone in the dark, and that God is present with us even when things feel uncertain. I’m praying this meditation reminds you that Jesus is present—and you don’t have to walk in the dark alone. This week’s guided Scripture meditation is part of my larger Lent series that invites you to slow down, listen, and follow the Light who leads to life.
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Originally published Friday, 19 February 2021.
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