In this Prayer UPGRADE, Dawn writes about her experiences with distractions—which bother her most when she's praying!
Some of the funniest dog humor is about "squirrel distractions." Perhaps you've seen some of the funny memes about a dog that is one minute intently obeying his master... and then the next minute is bounding off after a scampering squirrel.
I've been easily distracted like that since early childhood. In elementary school, my wind wandered off all the time. Teachers scolded me, and I had to learn how to keep my mind on a tight leash.
As I got into high school, I tried to understand whether God made my random, easily distracted brain this way—or if my crazy brain circuitry is one way my body is affected by The Fall (Genesis 3).
Regardless, I know the Lord understands my struggle.
By the time I got to college, I was still highly distracted. In classes, I wrote everything down, just to survive.
I once challenged a professor who had placed a question on a test. He misquoted what he said in class. The test did not align with what he actually said, so everyone answered the question wrong. When questioned about that, my professor was adamant that the class must not have heard him correctly.
But I (not so humbly) proved him wrong with my copious class notes—much to my classmates' delight.
I continued to write countless lists and take notes—becoming a "detail person"—to get through college and then, motherhood.
I think I'm a lot like the awkward disciple Matthew in the hit series, The Chosen. And yet—look how Jesus used him!
Whether at work or play, I live by lists, and lots and lots of note-taking.
In church, I've always taken detailed notes so I won't be distracted by the pretty lady's hairdo in the row across from me, or the man tapping his knuckles on the pew.
But my greatest frustration spiritually—the thing that breaks my heart about my walk with God—is that I get sooooo distracted in PRAYER.
I believe Satan delights in this. He loves it when I'm praying, and suddenly I'm thinking about groceries I need to buy, or other lesser things.
There are so many untamed quirrels running around in my brain.
But over time, I've found a few simple solutions that help. I wondered if they might also help others—those who are easily distracted in prayer, or simply those who'd like to focus more.
There are all kinds of ways to pray. Some are short bursts, like Peter's "Lord, save me!" when he was walking on the water and began to sink (Matthew 14:30). But most of us would like to have extended prayer times, and it's important to be attentive.
Four Ways to Be More Attentive in Prayer
1. Seek Out Quiet.
That means, turn off the TV and other noisy distractions.
For me, it even means turning off Christian music, because even though music might be conducive to prayer for others, I end up taking way too long listening and singing instead of praying. Sometimes I give up the prayer time altogether. (Everyone is different in regard to that.)
When I shut out as many sound distractions as I can, I'm better able to focus on talking to God. I have to tell all the noisy squirrels, "BE STILL!"
"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10a). "Be still before the LORD...." (Psalm 37:7a).
Begin to be still by asking the Holy Spirit to calm your mind and prepare your heart. Focus on the second part of Psalm 46:10—"know that I am God."
3. Remember You're in a Conversation.
Sometimes when I'm distracted, I feel like I'm praying AT God rather than conversing WITH Him.
Prayer is simply talking with God.
Prayer for prayer's sake accomplishes little or nothing. But prayer as a means to talk to God and draw closer to Him accomplishes much! Prayer is more about the attitude of the heart than the words we pray.
Most of the time, we might close our eyes to prevent distractions. But sometimes I have kept my eyes open and looked at a "picture of Jesus" or even an empty chair so I can better visualize being in God's presence.
What helps me is to pray aloud. It's much easier to catch myself getting off track when I hear the prayer rather than "thinking" it.
R. A. Torrey said,
"If we would pray aright, the first thing we should do is to see to it that we really get an audience with God, that we really get into His very presence. ...
"we should have the definite consciousness that we are talking to God, and should believe that He is listening and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him."
We need to be convinced that prayer is the most important conversation in our day. He will meet us when we call on Him.
"The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth" (Psalm 145:18).
3. Write As You Pray.
Have you ever noticed that when you write something down, you hone in on what is important?
When I write, I focus better.
I often write down my actual prayer to God. (Usually, I use paper. But I've been known to "write" the words on my hand with a finger, or on my table as I pray.)
Some call this "journaling" our prayers. Writing helps us remember all God has done and is able to do. I simply find it a way to focus and "cast" all my concerns on Him (1 Peter 5:7).
4. Pray God's Attributes.
When all else fails, I pause and start thanking God for His marvelous attributes.
As I said, I'm a list person; and the discipline of listing God's attributes (His love, mercy, goodness, wisdom, power, etc.) helps me remember who He is—remember Who I am talking to.
Then I key off those attibutes.
For example:
- God is wise, so I can ask Him to help me make a medical decision.
- God is merciful, so I can come to Him and confess a besetting sin.
- God is sovereign, so I can intentionally commit to trust Him regarding a difficulty in my life.
God reveals His many attributes in scripture, so I need to study who He is in the Word of God. (It's helpful to think about the names of God too.)
As I get further along in my prayer, I can expand to a prayer list or gratitude list, or things God speaks to me about that I want to research later.
But I need to be careful. Sometimes even simple prayer requests can send me down rabbit holes of distraction. I might jump from a prayer request ... to a memory ... to any number of things.
TIP: Jot down one or two words about the distracting thought and get back to praying!
5. End the Conversation.
I've been known (too often) to simply trail off in my conversation with God and start something else. One day I thought about how that might look if I did that to a human.
It's SAD... and RUDE!
I decided I want to end each conversation well. I tell the Lord how much I love Him, and recommit to obeying Him throughout the day.
Just as I would with a good friend, I've even said, "I'll talk with you again later!"
Be Intentional
I know that many of the things I've mentioned as "distractions" are not wrong in and of themselves—and they may not distract you at all. The point is, we need to be intentional about our focus on prayer.
Sometimes I do listen to Christian music or pull out a hymnal and meditate on the words of great hymns. Or I read Christian books as a launching pad to understanding more about God's will and ways. There are so many positive activities with spiritual purpose that can be incorporated into a devotional time that includes extended prayer.
But this I know: I always need to CARE enough about prayer to PREPARE.
Or else my prayer time might go something like this:
"Dear Father God ... oh, wait ... squirrel!"
What are some of the ways you prepare to focus on talking to God? What tends to distract you most?
Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, 
and the creator this blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for Revive Our Hearts, and writes wiki-type posts as a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.