Lord, teach me the art of small steps

"L'art des petits pas" (Theart of small steps)... This beautiful expression - sometimes taken up as a personal development precept - is also the request made in a prayer written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. The author of Little Princeand Night Flight or of Terre des hommes was not only a  writer, poet and aviator, but also a man of faith who knew that man's great adventure is above all spiritual. Behind his simple words, he invites us to a path full of wisdom to sanctify our day and make our daily life a path to Heaven. Discover this beautiful prayer to recite every morning to turn our small steps into a big journey!

Updated on 31/03/2026|Reading time : 4 min


Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's morning prayer

"Lord, teach me the art of taking small steps.
 I'm not asking for miracles or visions, but I am asking for strength for everyday life!
 Make me attentive and inventive, so that I can seize at the right moment the knowledge and experiences that particularly affect me.
 Strengthen my choices in the allocation of my time.
 Give me a sense of what is essential and what is secondary.
 I ask for strength, self-control and moderation, so that I don't get carried away by life, but organize my day with wisdom.
 Help me to deal as well as possible with the immediate, and to recognize the present hour as the most important.
 Help me to recognize with clarity that life is accompanied by difficulties and setbacks, which are opportunities to grow and mature.
 Make me a man capable of reaching out to those who lie at the bottom.
 Give me not what I want, but what I need.
 Teach me the art of small steps!
 So be it. "

The art of small steps: everyday wisdom

The whole of Christian tradition evokes this art of small steps. Jesus doesn't ask us to perform feats, to push ourselves to the limit every day, to surpass ourselves in everything. He asks us to keep moving, as he defines himself as the way: "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,). By taking small steps, we allow God to act in our lives.

Small steps also invite us not to look into the distance, but to look at what's happening, right here, right now. It's a way ofwelcoming God's gifts here and now. The Desert Fathers, as early as the first centuries of our era, were already inviting us to be in the present moment, the only time for grace and the condition for right discernment.

The art of small steps also calls for humility. It is reminiscent of the "little way" of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who shows us how holiness can be cultivated with simplicity on a daily basis. (Discover the Little Way prayer).

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