Distracted or Tired in Prayer?

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It’s 7am. You’ve got a short amount of time before your day begins, and you sit down in silence to turn your attention to the presence of God before the day begins. As soon as you settle in, your mind is flooded with thoughts of all that needs to be done for today. You replay conversations in your mind that happened the day before. Your mind wanders to a cliffhanger from the current show you’re watching, or speculates over an interaction with a friend and wondering if you did something wrong. Suddenly almost 30 minutes go by. You realize you have to get ready to leave for work, afraid that God must be very disappointed in you.  

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OR.

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It’s 2pm, and you have an hour break in the day before the next meeting or kids wake up from a nap. You grab a cup of coffee and go to a quiet spot to turn your attention to God. Before you know it you are dozing off and can barely keep your eyes open. You wake up suddenly realizing your time of prayer turned into a power nap. You get up to continue about your day, feeling like a terrible Christian because you couldn’t stay awake for the Lord of the Universe.

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Any of these scenarios sound familiar? 

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It would be really easy to list off some easy practical tips to help you focus during prayer. (don’t worry, they’ll be included here), but more than that it is important to address beliefs that surface during these kinds of experiences of prayer. What these beliefs tell us about God and ourselves can often derail our times of prayer, no matter how focused or how alert we are. Those haunting thoughts or feelings can be just as distracting as a to do list can be.

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Who is God?

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If your experience (or lack of experience) in prayer leads you to feel like God is disappointed in you, there may be something deeper going on. It is important to take that belief - “God is disappointed in me” - and reflect on where that belief came from. Does it line up with descriptions of God’s character in scripture? Psalm 103:7-14 is a power example of the nature and character of God:

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7 He revealed his character to Moses

    and his deeds to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9 He will not constantly accuse us,

    nor remain angry forever.

10 He does not punish us for all our sins;

    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

12 He has removed our sins as far from us

    as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is like a father to his children,

    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

14 For he knows how weak we are;

    he remembers we are only dust.

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Nowhere in that passage does God say he is disappointed. If your beliefs about God are different than who God says he is, there may be an invitation to let God transform your beliefs about himself.  

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Practice

In prayer, picture one of your favorite places to go, perhaps where you feel safe and secure. Invite Jesus to meet you there. How does he come to you? What part of his character does he want you to experience today? What does it look like to receive it?

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Who are you?

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Another experience that can be a point of distraction during prayer is our view of ourselves. Maybe it feels like you are never doing enough, or you aren’t good enough for God to listen to your prayers. Just like with our beliefs about God, it is a good practice to take any beliefs about ourselves and reflect on where they came from. Do they line up with who God says we are in scripture? Ephesians 1:3-8 is a great example of who we are in Christ:

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3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

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Instead of not being good enough, Paul says that God chose us to be holy and without fault. Similar to our beliefs about God, if our beliefs about God are different than who God says we are, there may be an invitation to let God transform your beliefs about yourself. 

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Practice

In prayer, picture a place where you feel safe and secure, and invite Jesus to meet you there. What does he call you? What does it look like to receive what he calls you?

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Practical tips

As your experience of who God is and who God says you are changes, it can become easier to focus our attention on God in prayer. Even so, here are a few practical tips that could be helpful if you find yourself easily distracted in prayer.

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Keep a notepad to write out things as they come to mind

If you find yourself continually thinking of things you need to do, just keep a little notepad or list with you during your prayer time. As things come to mind, just write them down as way to capture the thought, and then turn your attention again back to prayer.

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Be alert 

Paul tells the Colossians to “devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and thankful heart (Col 4:2). What helps you have an alert mind? Perhaps you need to take a shower, have a cup of coffee, or work out before you sit down for prayer. Maybe you need to have your phone in a different room or set to “do not disturb” so that you don’t receive interruptions. Or, an alert mind looks like going for a walk while you pray instead of the comfy chair that only invites naps. 

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Receive grace

Pastor Rich Villodas once shared, “I heard a story about someone who was concerned that they fell asleep whenever they prayed. They asked Pope Francis what could be spiritually wrong with them. He said, ‘Nothing, you just need some more sleep.’ Give yourself grace.” Physical exhaustion definitely makes it harder to focus on anything. Sleep could be what’s needed to replenish you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

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Ask God to silence any voices that are not from him

Not every thought that comes into our minds is from ourselves…or from God for that matter. If you find your mind overwhelmingly flooded with distractions or negative thoughts, you might want to take a moment to pray something like this: Jesus, I want to learn to hear your voice in greater and more powerful ways. I give you this time as an offering. I ask that by your power, you take care of any spiritual warfare from the enemy that is coming against me or my family now. Please put a spiritual covering over me now and drown out every voice other than yours. Thank you Jesus, Amen.”

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Invitation to return

Remember, so much of the story of God in the Bible is an invitation to return. Over and over, God offers an invitation to come back..to return to him and experience his unfailing love and compassion. No matter how many times you get distracted or struggle in a time of prayer, the invitation to return always remains.

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Want to work through some of your experiences in prayer with a Spiritual Director? Schedule a consultation call with Exponent Group to learn more.

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