Lately, I’ve been asking the Lord to help me with focusing on him more especially during prayer. I have trouble concentrating and I get distracted very easily. Staying focused during prayer can be challenging sometimes.
Do you struggle in this area?
God wants us to stay focused on him all the time so that the things of this world don’t become so overwhelming. We are to think about all the things he has done for us and all that he is. Thinking about our Lord throughout the day can be challenging sometimes especially when we are having a bad day. But I want to focus today on what we can do when we get distracted during our prayer time with the Lord.
THE ENEMY DOESN’T WANT US TO PRAY
The enemy doesn’t want us to master the art of being focused. He wants us distracted so that we give up on praying altogether. I know I have thought that way a time or two. When I lose focus I just say forget it and tell myself I will try again later but when later comes I am too busy to pray.
Do you ever find that happening to you? The enemy wins every time we give up and if we happen to get distracted during our prayer time.
A lot of the time I get confused when I pray because I spend a lot of time talking rather than listening for the Lord to speak to me. This confusion causes me to stop praying altogether.
But the Lord tells us in his word to let our words be few. This is so that we don’t get confused or distracted when we pray to him.
And Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, "Don't make rash promises, and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few."
WE SHOULD KEEP OUR PRAYERS SIMPLE
We should be direct and to the point. Thanking God that our prayers have already been answered. We should command that our problems leave in Jesus’ name. And thank God for who he is as our savior and Lord.
TOOLS TO HELP YOU STAY FOCUSED
A) A great tool to help with keeping you focused is to have prayer cards on hand. Prayer cards give you the prayer to pray so that you are not trying to find the words to pray. In my opinion, trying to find the words to say can lead to distraction.
You can make your own prayer cards or you can use the prayer cards I have made for you. Here are the FREE PRINTABLE PRAYER CARDS for you to use!
B) Praying scripture back to God is another good way. Find a verse that has to deal with what you are praying about (google can help you find a verse). Once you find the verse pray it out loud. Using the bible is a great tool to stay focused.
C) If you don’t use prayer cards you could just write your prayers in a journal. This is what I do to help me stay focused and it really does help. There is something about writing it down that helps not only in remembering but in keeping you focused.
TIPS TO KEEP YOUR MIND FROM WANDERING
Preparing your mind before you start praying can help you from getting distracted. There are so many things trying to get our attention that God just gets put on the back burner. Here are some tips for you to do to help keep your mind from wandering.
- Praying out loud can really be effective when trying to stay focused.
- Don’t pick up your phone until you have had your quiet time with the Lord. No excuses! Set a time on the calendar and make sure you stick with it. Treat it as an appointment so that you won’t miss it.
- Tidy up the house before you go to bed. So that when you wake up in the morning that activity will not be on your to-do list and you can then spend more time with the Lord.
- Playing worship music can help you to be still. I am a music lover and whenever I have music on it gets me in a worshiping mood.
CONCLUSION
So in conclusion getting distracted is a natural thing. And you shouldn’t beat yourself up when you get distracted. Just remember the tools that I mentioned you can use to help you when you are feeling tempted to put your mind on something other than the Lord in your prayer time.
I pray that this post has helped you. And if it has can you do me a favor? Please share this post with your friends! Thank you for helping me to share the gospel with the world! If you were blessed by this article please subscribe to my email list in the box that says “join the rest” and you will receive my blog posts in your inbox once a week!
