It was a Sunday evening after life group, and I was trying
to pray. The last week at work was
rough, and I was asking Jesus to orchestrate an easier week for me and everyone
else at work.
As I was praying, I suddenly found myself thinking about how
I wanted to buy a couple extra cans of black beans so that I had some on hand.
What?? I had no idea
how my train of thought derailed so far.
It was as if the new thought had simply been placed there in order to
interrupt my conversation with the Father.
We all struggle at times with being distracted while we’re
praying. Right now I’m going to offer a
few tips on how to deal with those distractions.
Remove
distractions before you start. Turn
off the TV or radio. Silence or turn off
your cell phone. Go to a room where you
can be alone and has the least amount of distracting items. A sink full of dirty dishes or an XBOX staring you in the face may not help you keep your mind on prayer.
·
Visualization. Imagine yourself in a quiet place with
Jesus. Picture sitting next to Him in a colorful
garden or a majestic church, whatever works best. Talk like you’re actually speaking to Jesus,
because you are!
·
Pray! When you’re beginning to pray, ask God to
help you manage your distractions. As
you’re praying, if something seems to be continually distracting you, pause and
ask God if there is something you’re missing.
Maybe that distraction is something He is bringing to mind, such as a good
friend or an unresolved situation that He wants you to pray about. If you determine that it is merely a
distraction and not something that needs prayer, ask God to remove the
distraction so that you can continue.
·
Journal. Because I naturally enjoy writing,
whether at a keyboard or with a pen and paper, I find journaling useful when I
pray. When I’m writing things down,
usually like a letter to God, it’s quite a bit harder to get distracted because
my words are no longer just floating around in my head but I’m seeing them on
the paper. If I get distracted, I
usually notice it right away and can immediately rein it back in. Even if you don’t generally write, you might
give it a try while you’re praying.
Maybe you’ll be surprised.
·
Take
notes. Another good reason to keep
pen and paper nearby when you’re praying is to write down those
distractions. The other night when I was
distracted by canned beans, I picked up my notebook and quickly wrote a note
about getting extra canned beans, and I also wrote a reminder to use the moment
to illustrate this blog post! Taking a few seconds to write it down allowed me to put it out of my mind and continue
praying. If I hadn’t written it down, it
would have further distracted me because I didn’t want to forget it.
·
Keep
going. When you find yourself
distracted, write it down if necessary, and get on with your prayer. This is the most important part of dealing
with distractions. Go back to the last
place you remember in your prayer, and start there. As many times as you get distracted, go back
to where you remember and keep praying until you’re done. Don’t let distractions keep you from
finishing.
Prayer is one of the most important
parts of the Christian life, and it needs to be guarded. Take care that you are aware of the things
that distract you and have a plan to deal with those distractions.
What things distract you when you’re
praying? What do you do to avoid these
distractions or get back on track when you do get distracted?
What if, in a way you cannot fathom, God wanted you to buy two cans of black beans because, in the grand scheme of the week, those two cans would make your week easier? :-) One time when I was trying to pray, my mind ran off on a tangent about mummies, and finally, I stopped myself and wondered why. I traced my thoughts back to the original, which was: as I prayed, I suddenly thought about Lazarus bound up in graveclothes. This image, of course, made me go off on the mummy tangent. But I believe the Lord was trying to show me that I was like Lazarus at that mind, all tied up, and He wanted to free me. And when one considers what my mind did with that revelation, indeed, my thinking was all tied up!
ReplyDeleteThat makes a lot of sense. It could be worth it to try to sort out in your mind just how you got to your tangent in order to not miss something God was trying to show you!
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