Have you ever found yourself feeling frustrated by the lack of progress in your prayer life? Maybe you’ve been praying for the same intentions for weeks, months, or even years, and it feels like nothing is changing. That was the case for me recently as I went through my morning prayer routine. I got to the petition part of my prayer time and all I could say was, “Lord, you know all the things that are on my heart.” I didn’t go into detail, didn’t list out the numerous facets of my intentions, because honestly in that moment, I knew Jesus knew what was on my heart. He’s heard me pray for the same intentions over and over again with little to no variation.

But then, as I started to get frustrated with my same ole intentions, a lightbulb went off. I realized without even questioning it, that my laundry-list of intentions is what is actually keeping me tethered to my Lord. The act of me coming to Jesus every morning and sharing in many words or few the things on my heart is what is keeping me close to the Lord’s graces in my life.

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that no change equals no progress. We all want to progress, to get to the next thing, to accomplish goals and move forward. But the Lord, in His gentle way, reminds us that what looks like no change to us could very well be changing the disposition of our souls. And what could be more important than that?

The most important thing in life is getting to Heaven. So what if true progress is clinging to Jesus better each day, rather than accomplishing the next task on our to-do list? I know I’m preaching to myself here, because the Lord knows I am determined and driven to complete tasks and goals. But what if true progress is simply remembering our dependency on Jesus, and remembering that this dependency is what is keeping us close to the Lord’s Sacred Heart?

Being close to Jesus’ Heart sounds like a win-win to me. And I bet it does to you too. So here’s my challenge for all of us going into this new year: let’s rejoice in our dependency on Jesus. Let’s rejoice in sharing the same intentions, even if we’ve been praying for them for a long time, because the act of sharing is what is keeping our hearts open to letting graces enter in. Without those intentions, would we go to the Lord as often as we do? Without those needs, would we be as committed to intentional prayer? I don’t know about you, but if I didn’t have specific, heart-grabbing intentions, I might not be as pressing to the Lord’s Heart as I am.

So let’s embrace and rejoice in the seemingly unchanging circumstances in our lives, knowing that they are actually what keep us close to the Lord and open to His graces. These circumstances may not always be exciting or flashy, but they have the power to transform our souls in ways we can’t even imagine. So let’s embrace our intentions, no matter how often we pray for them, and trust that the act of sharing them with the Lord is what keeps us close to His Heart.