Dealing with ‘Distractions’
Trying to pray, it may well happen that the mind begins to fill with questions and apparent distractions.
- How do I know that I am not deceiving myself?
- How do I know these words are true, that God really does communicate himself through them?
- Do I really have faith in God?
These are valid questions, but for now let them wait.
When a child is frightened in the night, the mother goes and lifts the child and says, “It’s all right” and the child gradually becomes quiet. But if she has a prodigy on her hands who replies, “But mother, what epistemological and metaphysical assumptions are you making in that statement, and what empirical evidence can you adduce in support of your contention?” then the mother really has a problem in her arms! In prayer, we are like that impossible child if we refuse to listen to God until He has measured up to whatever criteria we may care to lay down. We communicate with Him first with our hearts. The heart is not mindless; it has reasons, deeper than we can see at first with our conscious minds.
Having left the questions aside for now, what do I do with all the other distractions which flood my mind? I may begin to wonder if I left the gas on, or remember an email I forgot to send. If it is urgent, like the gas, the safest thing is to go and check. With matters that can wait, perhaps jot them down for later, or simply place them in a mental box. The will still be there waiting for you when your time with God in prayer is over.
Anything else which comes to mind, far from being distraction, can become the substance of my prayer. I may need to turn my attention to the very thing that is making itself so present to me. I do this aware of God’s presence and surrendering myself to God’s wisdom for my life. I allow God to minister to me in my need.
A prayer is not lost even if, most of the time, I find myself turning over distractions of God. Journaling about such a prayer time maybe a way to see the fruitfulness of my efforts to come to an awareness of God in all the ordinary events and concerns of my life.
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