h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Please can anyone tell me how I can overcome having distractions in prayer and how I can be come more focused in prayer?

Thank you for your help


Katrine

What kinds of distractions are these? Are your thoughts wandering, or are they unavoidable distractions from the phone ringing, outside noises, etc?

Lady Scott it is mostly from wandering thoughts or fatigue.

Kat

I find sometimes it's easier to focus if my body is more interactive, and not just my heart and lips. Maybe writing down your prayer like a letter... that helps me a lot, because you're putting focus on what you're praying to be able to write it down. I like to keep mine in a little journal, my prayer journal, and it also helps me see what prayers have been answered and such.

As far as fatigue, when in your schedule are you praying? That makes a difference sometimes.

I'm afraid I'm not one to ask about keeping yourself focused on a specific prayer-time, although YS's suggestions are very good if you want to do it that way. I know a lot of people set aside a specific amount of time for prayer at a specific time of day, but to me that always seems a little legalistic, and maybe even self-serving instead of God serving (depending upon your attitude towards things that interrupt your usual prayer time).

I tend to pray on the run, pray as things come up (because I *know* I'll forget about them if I wait till later), and pray about them when I happen to think of them. Otherwise I'd get to my "scheduled" prayer time and my mind would wander the whole time because I wouldn't remember all the little things I wanted to pray about. I've tried this before, but I just don't think some of us are really cut out for the discipline of praying at the same time of day for a specific amount of time. Some of us just have to be more flexible than that.

If you really feel led to have a specific prayer time, one thing that might help is to begin each time by praying that you would be able to keep your mind focused. Sometimes those little mind wanderings are actually a way of reminding you of other things you need to be praying about too, so I wouldn't just try to ignore them completely.

Thank you Yankee shoes and Lady Scott for your very kind and valuable help.

I try to pray in the morning but things are always taking my time and attention away but I always pray at night.


Kat

I agree with Lady Scott about not having to have a specific time to pray, that was the point I was getting to. I find it's helpful to have a time of day set aside, but back in highschool I couldn't do that... my schedule was loopy and I was always tired. I used the 5 min. between classes to pray at my locker, I had scriptures on the inside to help me focus, and then I didn't have to focus for very long, and felt really energized and connected all through the day. I called it "snacking' on daily bread... I still do that a lot today.