Have you ever found your mind wandering during prayer?

Experiencing Cognitive Clutter

It has been all too common recently that I have had a distracted and racing mind while I pray. It only takes 10 seconds before my mind starts thinking of all the other things I could be thinking about. Some of the things that come to mind are tasks for my ministry, others are tasks around the house. It seems that it is during prayer that my mind reminds me of all the things I might forget about later on.

Working Through Cognitive Clutter Towards God

What can be done about this? How can we be present while we pray? How can we tell our brain it is safe to forget about those other things right now?

Brain Dumps

First, I like to do a brain dump before praying. I am a brainstormer. It is easy for me to generate ideas, thoughts, and rabbit trails. But that is not always helpful.

I have noticed my mind feels anxious that some of the things I think about during prayer will be forgotten later on. My pre-prayer brain dump helps alleviate that anxiety. Before I pray, I allow my mind to wander so that it recalls everything I might not realize is important. Brain dumps will also tell me the silly / ridiculous things on my mind, but I don’t have much interest in retaining those for later. As it comes to mind, I write it down. The important things can be added to a task list after I’m done praying. Now my mind knows the things it was subconsciously holding onto are captured and safe.

Re-Centering

Next, I integrate centering prayer and contemplation into my routine– perhaps even more frequently than normal. Centering prayer is when you empty your mind of cognitive clutter so you can be fully present with God. When your mind wanders and reminds you of something, you remind yourself of an anchor word / phrase. The purpose behind the anchor word / phrase is to release what is on you mind and draw your attention back to God. My wife’s anchor phrase has always been “my Father is always working,” and I have adopted that for myself.

Contemplation is when you fix your mental gaze towards Christ. It is difficult for me to focus on emptying my mind, but I find it much easier to do so when I direct my mental gaze at Christ. The idea behind gazing at Christ is that Christ, who has a physical human body now, is always gazing at us. Returning His gaze helps my mind release other invasive thoughts.

Focusing on Joy

Finally, I focus on the joy of prayer more than the stress of having a wandering mind. Prayer is an expression of communion with God. Acting on this communion is a joy, and I tell myself that invasive thoughts & cognitive clutter aren’t going to ruin my time with God.

A Final Word

I prefer it when I am fully present in my prayers, but I am learning to release the stress and anxiety of “failing” at prayer. I pray because I want to be with God, and rejoicing in that process squashes the fear of “failing.”

Happy Bibleing!