1. Have your most important prayer when your mind is fresh and ready.
I am guilty as charged. Often I try to pray when I first wake up or right when I am about to sleep. These are the worst moments because it’s the time when I am the least alert. Therefore, as I pray, I find myself drifting into sleep. To counteract this, I decided that praying after I washed my face and brushed my teeth would be more effective than trying to pray the second I woke up. This improved my focus.
2. Talk to God with a list in front of you
This is my favorite way to remain focused during prayer and to ensure that my distractions don’t lead to disengagement – prayer points. I first tried this in 2021 when I was doing a 21-day fasting and prayer challenge. Not sure what to pray about during the day, I decided to write prayer points about what to discuss with God. This tremendously helped me stay focused whenever my mind felt like drifting off. It also brought new life to my prayer time.
3. Write or draw out your prayers
There is nothing wrong with writing out your prayers to God. Some people focus better when they write than when they speak because they express themselves better in writing. Furthermore, it’s easy to forget that you are speaking but harder to forget that you are writing. If this works for you, go for it.
4. Talk fresh. Repetition can lead to distractions.
Switching up your prayer verbiage is an incredible way to maintain your concentration. Instead of starting with the same appellations towards God, you can switch it up by calling him Abba, Daddy, Prince of Peace, My Lover, My King, and more. You can switch around the order of your prayer or even use some informal (yet respectful) language, such as “Good morning Jesus,” and even conversational language, “Hi Lord, how are you today?” These are simple ways to talk fresh and maintain concentration.
5. Never stop returning
St. Frances said it best, “If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in the Master’s presence. And even if you did nothing during your hour [of prayer], bring your heart back and replace it again in our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.”
Are You Focused When You Pray?
