Prayers are an important part of Christian faith and belief, and beginners often wonder how to focus during prayer without getting distracted or interrupted, in the middle of their prayers. These days, distractions are all around us. It often seems difficult to find the time, or the place for quiet reflection and communion with our Heavenly Father. Take steps to ensure that you have the quiet you need to focus during your prayers.
How to Focus During Prayer Throughout Your Day
It’s often difficult to find peace or solitude throughout our busy days. We’re constantly distracted, pulled from one task to another at work, at home, and sometimes when we’re trying to relax. Those new to praying often believe that doing so may be difficult because of their busy lives and the constant noise seems to be around us so often. So how to focus during prayer is a question asked of many new as well as longtime believers in God.
Many of us don’t realize how easily we can be pulled from one thing to another throughout the day. At the same time, your relationship with God and His son Jesus Christ is a very important part of your spiritual growth, belief, and the competence and trust that you gain from such a relationship.
What are some steps to take that will teach you how to focus during prayer? Some of them are easy, some take some planning, while others are often catered to the individual believer, their habits, and their ability to focus no matter what’s going on around them.
For starters, and before you even start to pray, calm your mind and your heart. You can do this by finding a place where you can be alone for even a few moments. Reading a Bible verse before you pray might also help to narrow your vision and your thoughts. Jesus Christ himself offered some guidance about that in the book of Matthew (Chapter 6: 6) by saying, “…but you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
If you don’t have a private place you can go, do try to quiet your mind and tune out the distractions around you, if only for a few moments. Your prayers don’t have to be something that you’re asking for, but can also be a blessing offered. The book of Psalms are filled with wonderful passages that magnify the glory of God, His wisdom, His protection, and His guidance. Reading one or two of these passages can also serve as your prayer.
Learn How to Focus During Prayer With Practice and Patience
When you pray, pray with earnestness and with an open, truthful purpose. A prayer can be a sentence long or it can be much longer. This is your time to have your dialogue with God or His son Jesus Christ, and you can say, out loud or in silence, whatever is in your heart.
One way to help focus your thoughts is to use the authority of God and His son Jesus Christ when you first start to pray. Salutations such as, my Heavenly Father, please hear my prayer. Or, My Lord Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray… The power of Christ and the authority that His name brings will not only help you focus, but will also keep distractions at bay.
Praying out loud may also teach you how to focus during prayer. Whether you have a specific topic in mind or not, speaking out loud can also help center your thoughts on the words you choose and how you say them. A morning prayer or a night time prayer may be a good time, as most will usually have at least a few moments alone then.
When first starting to pray, don’t put pressure on yourself to speak with eloquence or to make your prayer overly long. Your intent should be on making your prayer honest, from your heart, and with complete faith that your message or prayer will reach God.
Your personal devotions can be said in the morning, several times a day, or throughout your day. Regardless, make sure that every prayer you say is said with devotion to God, in the moment. Remember to speak to God with respect for His supreme power, no matter how short or long your prayer. Whether you’re praying for protection, for some kind of support or help, or simply letting God know how grateful you are for the beauty in the world around you, just make sure that it’s coming from the depths of your soul.
Ask for Divine Help to Pray
Patience is often required with earning any new skill or lesson, but patience is often one of the hardest skills for humans to acquire. However, when learning how to focus during prayer, or finding a quiet place to pray, be patient. Don’t be frustrated. Don’t think you’re not a good Christian or a good believer if you find yourself lacking in focus on occasion. The Bible tells us in many places that the benefits and practice of patience can be found in the Scriptures, and is often a test of one’s faith. Don’t give up. God and His son Jesus Christ want to hear from you.
Find Focus Before Your Morning Prayer or Night Time Prayer
Many new believers to Christianity, faith, and prayer, often find that evening before bed is the best time and the quietest time to focus one’s thoughts. Before you go to sleep at night, it might be easier and more natural for you to focus during a night time prayer. Others may find that a morning prayer is their best time to have this private communication with God. God doesn’t care where you are when you pray. You could be in the shower, driving to work, going for a walk outside, or sitting inside a church; the important thing is that you are praying. Praying is how we communicate with God Our Heavenly Father.
Regardless of when you pray, or where you are when you pray, learning how to focus during prayer will come easier with time and with patience. Rest assured that God will hear you as long as you are making an effort.
