Do you start to pray only to find your mind wandering within a matter of minutes? You are not alone. Many people struggle with staying focused while praying. Technology and cultural changes are shaping our attention spans to be short. Fortunately, you can take steps to control you mind and keep it from wandering while praying.
Let's look at why you loose focus before considering the solutions. Understanding why your mind wanders will help you more effectively resolve the struggle. Distraction, boredom and conditioning are the main causes of poor attention span.
Distraction may be both internal and external. When you are emotionally or mentally overwhelmed, this can cause internal distraction. For example, strong emotions like stress, fear, or anger can be strong internal distractions. Externally, you may be distracted by noises, physical discomforts, or interruptions during your prayer time. Any of these can make staying focused very difficult.
Prayer can become boring and fail to hold your attention if you continuously follow the same patterns repeatedly. When a prayer method or practice becomes so familiar that you start simply going through the motions, checking out mentally can happen very rapidly.
Technology and cultural influences have conditioned people's minds toward shorter and shorter attention spans. Should we really be surprised that we struggle to maintain any meaningful length of conversation with God, if we talk all day in texts, tweets, and one line IMs. Another common practice that conditions your mind away from focus is multi-tasking. Multi-tasking conditions you to believe that scattered attention is a beneficial. So what can you do?
Each of these three primary causes areas addressable. Some internal distractions are unavoidable and the best thing to do in those situations is to make the distraction the focus of you prayer. For example, if you are trying to pray for someone but all you can think about is you troubled marriage, then pull that directly into the center of your prayers.
If interruptions are an issue, create a set time and place that minimizes their likelihood. For example, you may need to get up early, before others are moving, the phone starts ringing, and other distractions surround room. Having a literal prayer closet can also eliminate a huge number of external distractions.
Boredom is most easily addressed by using a devotional guide. A devotional guide will engage your mind with new material for you to consider as you prayer. Similarly, adopting a prayer model can mix up your prayer life and reengage your mind.
Focus isn't just a mental battle. You can also physically engage yourself in prayer by praying out loud, singing or journaling. It's is more difficult for you mind to wander while you are physically praying.
Lastly, reconditioning your mind is difficult, but can be done. Start by limiting multi-tasking or setting yourself up to being constantly interruptible. Turn email alerts, or even you cell phone and strive to focus on one task at a time for longer and longer periods. Over time, a regular habit of "single tasking" for 20 to 30 minutes stretches can dramatically change the control you have over you ability to focus. It will help both your prayer life and productivity.
In short, staying maintaining attention while praying takes a conscious effort of physically and mentally engaging in prayer. If you will consistently work on one or two of the above focus strategies, you increase your attention span and sharpen your focus. You can control a wandering mind.
Let's look at why you loose focus before considering the solutions. Understanding why your mind wanders will help you more effectively resolve the struggle. Distraction, boredom and conditioning are the main causes of poor attention span.
Distraction may be both internal and external. When you are emotionally or mentally overwhelmed, this can cause internal distraction. For example, strong emotions like stress, fear, or anger can be strong internal distractions. Externally, you may be distracted by noises, physical discomforts, or interruptions during your prayer time. Any of these can make staying focused very difficult.
Prayer can become boring and fail to hold your attention if you continuously follow the same patterns repeatedly. When a prayer method or practice becomes so familiar that you start simply going through the motions, checking out mentally can happen very rapidly.
Technology and cultural influences have conditioned people's minds toward shorter and shorter attention spans. Should we really be surprised that we struggle to maintain any meaningful length of conversation with God, if we talk all day in texts, tweets, and one line IMs. Another common practice that conditions your mind away from focus is multi-tasking. Multi-tasking conditions you to believe that scattered attention is a beneficial. So what can you do?
Each of these three primary causes areas addressable. Some internal distractions are unavoidable and the best thing to do in those situations is to make the distraction the focus of you prayer. For example, if you are trying to pray for someone but all you can think about is you troubled marriage, then pull that directly into the center of your prayers.
If interruptions are an issue, create a set time and place that minimizes their likelihood. For example, you may need to get up early, before others are moving, the phone starts ringing, and other distractions surround room. Having a literal prayer closet can also eliminate a huge number of external distractions.
Boredom is most easily addressed by using a devotional guide. A devotional guide will engage your mind with new material for you to consider as you prayer. Similarly, adopting a prayer model can mix up your prayer life and reengage your mind.
Focus isn't just a mental battle. You can also physically engage yourself in prayer by praying out loud, singing or journaling. It's is more difficult for you mind to wander while you are physically praying.
Lastly, reconditioning your mind is difficult, but can be done. Start by limiting multi-tasking or setting yourself up to being constantly interruptible. Turn email alerts, or even you cell phone and strive to focus on one task at a time for longer and longer periods. Over time, a regular habit of "single tasking" for 20 to 30 minutes stretches can dramatically change the control you have over you ability to focus. It will help both your prayer life and productivity.
In short, staying maintaining attention while praying takes a conscious effort of physically and mentally engaging in prayer. If you will consistently work on one or two of the above focus strategies, you increase your attention span and sharpen your focus. You can control a wandering mind.
About the Author:
Looking for a quickstart guide to improve your prayer life? Check this out. Or visit John Arnold's website for more great tips on prayer.