Mind-wandering occurs in different instances, but today, we are dealing with mind-wandering in prayer. If you are experiencing mind-wandering while praying, I want to emphasize that nothing is wrong with you. It’s a common distraction that most believers face while praying. The good news is that it should not stop or limit your prayers. You can deal with it and overcome it by God’s grace.
Wandering mind or mind-wandering is the occurrence of thoughts unrelated to the task being performed. Therefore, they are termed task-unrelated thoughts. Mind-wandering has several names, including intrusive thoughts, daydreaming, fantasy, zoning out, mind racing, etc. Generally, mind-wandering is not entirely wrong. The problem with mind-wandering is the ability to control it, and not let it control you and distract or disrupt you from your activities. Mind-wandering can be spontaneous (unintentional) or deliberate (intentional). This means you can initiate mind wandering, or it can occur spontaneously. That tells me that if you can initiate it, you can control it, and this leads us to the first step to dealing with a wandering mind in prayer:
Gain dominion over your thoughts:
The first step to dealing with a mind-wandering in prayer is gaining control. Scripture says Guard your heart with all diligence (Prov 4:23), which means be in charge of your thoughts, control your thoughts, and don’t let your thoughts rule you. This involves training and discipline; It won’t happen overnight. It’s a daily practice. Personally, I have a recycle bin or trash can in my mind where I trash thoughts I don’t want to think about or dwell on.
Also, practice mastering your thoughts through the presence of the mind; that is, you are present in the moment. You do this by redirecting your mind and thoughts to where you are and what you are doing physically and presently. I will give you an example: just like while reading an exciting book, you are highly engrossed in it. You are not thinking about what to eat next; you are entirely in another world. So also, When you begin to practice the presence of mind, you are training your mind to focus on one activity at a time. In the world of sports, it is called playing or performing in the zone. You are not worried or distracted but focused on the activity of the moment.
One thing is sure: If you are yet to master your thoughts, controlling mind-wandering in prayer will be hard. You must understand that not all thoughts are your thoughts, so you must filter out unauthorized thoughts consistently. You must be aware of what you are thinking about and consciously think about what you are thinking about (Phil 4:8).
Have a compelling and specific intention in prayer:
Your mind will naturally wander if the task being performed is not engaging or rewarding enough. Your mind will always wander when what you are doing is boring to you. You must connect your emotions to your prayer. Make sure you know what you are praying for and have a burning desire for what you are praying for. Your prayer must be heartfelt.
The scripture even makes it clear that it is the earnest and heartfelt prayer of the righteous that is effective (James 5:16b, AMPC). It will be impossible for Hannah’s mind to wander when she prayed in Shiloh (1 Sam 1:9-14). Her prayer for a baby was heartfelt, intense, and specific. If you don’t know what you are praying for, your mind will quickly wander to something more exciting. This will lead us to the next point:
Envision your answer in your Mind:
To overcome mind-wandering, pray with a clear picture of your expectations or answer. Your mind works with images. You must fill your mind with the right image so it does not focus on any random image. Something I also do is to imagine that Jesus is right where I am praying. I concentrate my mind on scriptural scenarios of what I am praying about. You can picture Elijah bowing himself to the earth and praying seven times (1 Kings 18:42-44). Imagine Jesus praying with his disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration and being transformed as He prayed (Luke 9:28-32). I literally insert myself into scriptures and create mental images in my mind that will keep me focused.
Pray with a Scripture:
Pray with a scripture to help focus your mind and build your faith while you pray. Praying with a scripture gives your faith something to rest on. The most powerful prayers are scripture-based prayers. Praying with scripture increases your faith and gives your faith a foundation. Your faith is not a blind faith but a bible faith bound to produce results. When you pray with a scripture, you are keeping your mind engaged in what you are doing.
Pray with an expectation to hear God:
Prayer is a two-way conversation. You must intentionally seek to listen and hear what God is saying to you while praying. If you deliberately listen to someone in a conversation, it will be hard to drift off thinking about something else. After every prayer, ask yourself, what did I receive from God? What did God say to me?
Have a consistent Prayer Routine:
Set a daily prayer schedule and train yourself to be consistent with it. A consistent routine helps you focus and concentrate more on what you are doing. When you are consistent with the same prayer schedule, you train your body and your system to get used to doing the same thing at the same time every day. Your body begins to shut down once it’s time for prayer. I have also discovered that the secret of consistency in prayer is to be consistent. The more consistent you are in prayer, the easier it becomes, the sweeter it becomes, the less burdensome it feels, and the more momentum you build. The momentum you build through consistency increases your focus and concentration in prayer. With consistency, you overcome the force of inertia in prayer. Prayer becomes a lifestyle.
Your Environment Matters:
I have learned that timing and location matters. Choose a place where you are not easily distracted, usually your room or a secluded spot where no one will find you easily. Also, choose the time that works for you. Be intentional about having a specific location and time for your prayers. Early mornings and late evenings are highly recommended.
Switch off your phone and all devices:
Switch off all your devices or put them on DND to avoid the temptation of picking up calls, responding to messages, or checking notifications. One of the greatest distractions of our time is our phones and devices. You will be surprised what a difference it makes to switch off your phone and put it away.
Prime Your Heart:
Avoid rushing into prayer. I have discovered that rushing into prayers is one of the biggest causes of mind-wandering during prayer. When you rush into prayers, your mind is still trying to process thoughts and prior events, and so for the first 30 minutes, you are struggling with thoughts of what happened earlier. 10-15 minutes before prayer, start shutting down every other activity and focus your mind on the Lord. That is what it means to prime your heart. It’s like a spiritual warm-up. Just like you wouldn’t get right into a workout with an excellent warm-up to stretch your muscles, so also learn to stretch your prayer muscles by priming your heart before you start praying. To prime your heart, you must learn to gather your spirit and focus your thoughts on the Lord. You can put on a background worship instrumental and start soaking in God’s presence right before you start praying.
Control what you feed on:
If your eyes be single, your whole body will be full of light (Matthew 6:22-23). Guard your eyes and your ears. Your mind will always think about the things you have heard and watched. Watch and hear only things that will inspire and edify you.
Don’t give up:
Never let a wandering mind stop you from praying. Continually refocus your mind whenever you notice your mind is drifting, and don’t ever feel guilty about it. The enemy knows how powerful your prayer is and will do anything to stop you. Please don’t stop!
Trust The Holy Spirit to help you:
No matter the strategy I share, without the help of the Holy Spirit, it will amount to nothing. Open up to the Lord to help you in this area. He will help you!
I hope you were blessed!
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