Practice Doesn't Make Perfect | Episode #064

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

You've probably heard the saying, "Practice makes perfect." It sounds right... but what if it's wrong?

The truth is, practice doesn't make perfect—it makes permanent. If you're practicing fear instead of faith, worry instead of trust, or control instead of surrender, those habits become your default way of living.

In this episode, Craig explores one of the most powerful stories in the Gospels—the father who cried out to Jesus, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). Along the way, you'll discover why so many Christians remain frustrated in their spiritual walk, not because they don't believe in God, but because there are still areas where they struggle to believe God.

You'll discover:

• Why we've normalized doubt without realizing it
• The question hiding behind every fear
• Why practice doesn't produce perfection—it produces permanence
• Three biblical practices that will help you replace doubt with lasting faith
• How to make trusting God your new default response to life's challenges

You don't have to know what God will do to know how God will respond.

If you're tired of living with fear, frustration, or uncertainty, this episode will help you begin practicing something different.

Scripture: Mark 9:14–29, Hebrews 11:6, James 1:6–8, Romans 8:28–29, Psalm 13

Time Stamps

0:00 Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect

01:18 The Horse That Taught Me a Powerful Lesson 

02:08 Every Day You're Practicing Something 

04:11 The Father's Question: "If You Can..." 

04:42 Have We Normalized Doubt? 

05:46 Doubt Doesn't Mean You Don't Believe in God 

06:37 The Question Behind Every Fear 

07:17 Three Practices That Build Unshakable Faith 

07:19 #1 – Practice Confession 

08:16 You Don't Have to Know What God Will Do 

09:04 #2 – Practice Declaration 

10:56 David's Secret to Lasting Peace (Psalm 13) 

12:40 #3 – Practice Demonstration 

13:57 My Battle with Fear and Debate 

15:51 Practice Believing God 

16:00 Final Challenge: What Are You Practicing?

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Transcript

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

You've probably heard it said, "Practice makes perfect." It sounds good. The problem is...

it's not true.

If you're practicing the wrong thing, you aren't getting closer to perfection. You're simply making the wrong thing your default way of living. Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.

One of the most frustrating things about training my horse is that I want him trained… yesterday. Unfortunately, I only get to work with my trainer every couple of months. The rest of the time… It’s just me. Which means, unfortunately, I spend a lot of time practicing the wrong way. Then I catch myself wondering, Why isn’t he getting this? And then it hits me. He’s getting exactly what I’m teaching him.

The problem isn’t the horse. The problem is the practice.

When it comes to having greater faith, I wonder if that’s not true of most of us more than we like to admit. We are practicing the wrong thing. 

If you’ve ever been frustrated over your spiritual walk, you are going to love this talk.

Every day you are practicing something. You're practicing fear... or faith. Your practicing control or trust.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.

There is a familiar story in the Bible that teaches us a very surprising lesson.

This is the story of the man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for healing.

The story goes like this:

Nine of the disciples were standing in a crowd with the man who had brought his son to Jesus to be healed. When Jesus wasn’t there, the father of the boy asked the disciples to heal his son. 

They couldn’t.

A crowd quickly gathered. In the crowd were some of the religious leaders. They were arguing with the disciples.

Enters Jesus.

“When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.”

Jesus asked, “What is all this arguing about?” 

The father of the boy spoke up, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it” (Mark 9:15–18, NLT).

Hearing the man, Jesus expressed deep frustration — frustration that was pointed at His disciples more than the crowd. He said, "How long must I put up with you?" Reading between the lines, Jesus just asked, How long is going to take… How many miracles will I have to perform… before you get me?

Those standing near brought the boy to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy to the ground. 

Jesus asked, "How long has this been going on?" 

The father said, "Since he was a boy?" Then he pleaded, "Have mercy on us and help us…” Then he added these words, “…if you can?"

The man's statement was huge. Jesus responded incredulously, "If I can?" 

We Christians don't like to admit it, but we have areas where we simply don’t believe God. That's the problem. We aren't convinced that we can trust Him.

Jesus ' response was pointed. "If I can?" 

The father knew he had crossed a line. He had. 

Here’s something I’ve noticed. We, Christians, have normalized doubt. We’ve baptized it. We’ve excused it. We’ve lived with it. I’ve been told more times than I can count, "Well, everyone doubts."

We've grown so accustomed to doubt that we no longer question it.

We've treated doubt like the weather—something to endure instead of something to confront.

It is time for Christians to stop enduring it and start confronting it. 

It’s time to stop making peace with it and start making war against it.

Jesus reacted strongly to doubt because doubt keeps us from experiencing God’s best.

“If I can?”

The author of Hebrews tells us why doubt is so damaging. He wrote, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." IMPOSSIBLE! Not difficult, but impossible. 

James, Jesus’ half-brother, told us, "Let not the man who doubts (who what? “…doubts”) think that he will receive anything from the Lord being a double minded man unstable in all his ways." 

Doubt doesn’t mean you don’t believe in God. Doubt means you don’t believe God.

Every time you doubt God's love...

you rehearse unbelief.

Every time you trust God's love...

you rehearse faith.

And eventually...

what you rehearse becomes how the default way you behave.

Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it will make permanent.

I know you believe in God. The question is, when you’re experiencing a trial in life, do you believe God loves you and will work even this out for good?

When your marriage is a mess, are you more likely to get angry or withdraw, or do you seek wisdom and grace from the Lord?

When your finances are in the red, are you more likely to turn to Master Card or the Master who is in charge?

At the root of every fear is the question: Can I trust God?

This is something every Christian must settle. I must come to the place where I trust His love even when I don’t know (or understand) His plan.

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Then Jesus added, “Anything is possible if a person believes” (Mark 14:23, NLT).

“The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24, NLT).

Don’t miss this: At that humble request, Jesus answers both prayers.

He healed the man’s son and helped the man’s unbelief.

Three practices come out of this story that will help you make “trust” a permanent way of life:

#1 – The practice of confession

Recognize and confess unbelief.

Every time you catch yourself defaulting to fear… confess it.

Don’t normalize it. 

Don’t excuse it. Every time you catch yourself doubting, recall Jesus’ response to the boy’s father, “If I can?”

Confess it.

I think one place the enemy has taken a lot of ground from Christians is in the area of what it means to trust God.

We think trusting God means we believe God is going to give us that job, put the check in the mail, heal that illness.

We don’t say it, but we do believe that if God doesn’t do what I think He should do, then life’s over. There is no way I can ever live a full and satisfying life.

Listen closely.

You do not have to know what God will do (Pause) to know how God will respond. (another pause)

Let me say that again: You do not have to know what God will do (Pause) to know how God will respond. (longer pause)

He will always respond in love. (Longer pause)

Most of us struggle not because we don't believe in God.

We struggle because we don't believe God.

Confession: Father, I confess that I haven't believed You. I know You are my Father, but I haven't lived like it. I've acted as though everything depends on me instead of resting in Your love. I've taken control, given in to fear, and lost my peace. Forgive me. I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.

Here’s the next practice.

#2 – The practice of declaration

Practice declaring the truth

This is the practice of replacing a lie with truth.

Listen again to Jesus’ words, “If you believe, anything is possible.” 

It isn’t just that the one thing you want is possible, but that “anything is possible.”

He can do something you never imagined. “Anything is possible.”

That income you think you can’t live without? “Anything is possible.”

The conversation you’re scared to death to have? “Anything is possible.”

That ministry or that business you are afraid to start? “Anything is possible.”

Paul wrote in Romans 8:28-29

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:28–29, NLT).

In this passage, God gives a promise and a premise: 

The promise: God causes everything to work together for good. 

The premise: We must live in accordance with His calling of loving God and living for His purposes while becoming like His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is how that looks in everyday life: As we are going through life seeking to honor God, things happen that we don’t understand and often don’t want. While that is happening, we trust, we rest assured that God is still writing the story and it works out for good.

This is why the Psalms have meant so much to us as Christians throughout the ages. We are watching a man wrestle with his doubts while he learns to rest in God’s love and faithfulness. 

In Psalm 13, David wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1, ESV).

 Then, before he saw a change in his circumstances, before he drifted into the depths of doubt and despair, he felt the tug of the rope tied to the anchor of his soul. 

 “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (Psalm 13:5, ESV).

David didn't know what God would do. But he knew how God would respond.

David didn’t just believe in God, he believed God.

How do we get to that place? How do we get to where no matter what happens in life, we believe that God is always acting in our best interest, we rest in His love and faithfulness?

We practice declaring the truth. In this short story, Jesus gives us an anchor for our soul.

“Anything is possible… if a person believes.”

What does declaration look like?

Declaration: Father, I know that you are God, that nothing is too difficult for you. I know that you love me. I know that you have a plan and purposes for my life… and you are doing a work in me, making me more like Your Son, Jesus Christ. Father, I believe anything is possible.

That’s a declaration you can put on your refrigerator and repeat it daily.

Stop rehearsing your doubts and start declaring the truth.

Now, you are ready for…

#3 The practice of demonstration

Practice demonstrating your faith.

This is the part of the story that many have missed.

This is the part that grabs me. 

Though this boy’s father had been disappointed by Jesus’ disciples, he continued to hope in Jesus. 

And because of that, Jesus didn’t just heal his son; He healed the man’s unbelief.

When you believe that with God, anything is possible, you don’t go away. You keep on asking, you keep on seeking, you keep on knocking because you know you might not get what you think you want, but you’ll always get what His love demands. Anything is possible.

And every time you practice believing God, you interrupt the practice of doubt and make faith your default. 

This is the practice that will set you up to live the life God created you to live and love.

When you stop doubting God’s love, doubt begins to die. God begins to show up in ways you never imagined.

Practice won’t make your faith perfect, but it will make it permanent.

Here’s how to put this into practice today:

Pick one area of life where you are tempted to doubt… to operate in fear over faith?

I’m not talking about that giant thing that for now is out of your reach of your faith. I’m talking about something small.

There was a time when I led a church that was dying, and it looked impossible to restore to health. That was a battle that intellectually I knew was possible for God, but I couldn’t get to the place where I could believe that He could do it through me.

 I did have a small win that I sensed God leading me to get. I had a habit of running from debate if I thought the other person was smarter and more educated than I. So, I didn’t get in many debates.

 God challenged me not to run. 

 Soon, God brought someone into my life who was very successful and highly educated and challenged something I said. I wanted to laugh them off and run, but I remembered my promise. I stayed in the debate.

 Looking back, I don’t have a clue what we debated or how it turned out. Staying in the debate had nothing to do with proving that I was smart enough to debate. It had everything to do with trusting God over my fear. I did, and something shifted in my soul.

I began to not just believe in God, but to believe God was for me, that He was worthy of my trust.

I’ve repeated that practice of confessing my unbelief, declaring the truth, and demonstrating my faith over and over, and today, I can say, “anything is possible… for the person who believes.”

Not only did I learn to trust God during a debate, but I trusted Him to restore our church to health and growth. He did.

You don't struggle because you don't believe in God. You struggle because you don't believe God.

If we fail to develop the practice of believing God, the very practice God designed to bring us joy and peace, that practice will lead us to frustration. 

We would do well to answer the question: How long before you trust Him? What does God have to do before you get Him?

You don’t have to know what God will do... to know how He will respond. He always responds from love.

Like with my horse, every ride is teaching something. 

Tomorrow morning... before your feet hit the floor... your soul will begin practicing something. Fear... or faith.  Scarcity... or trust. Self-reliance... or dependence on God.

Every thought is a repetition.
 Every decision is a rehearsal.
 Every day is another practice.

So, practice believing God... because practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.