▵ How to Pray When You Can't Concentrate ▵

Everyone should know how to pray, right? Talking to God is just like talking to a person after all, it should come easily ⎯ especially if you're a Christian. But you know; friends, I am not everybody and long story short ⎯ I suck at praying. I'm saying this a bit cautiously because I try my hardest, I really do. But I can't focus. I get distracted. One minute I'll be praying, next minute I'll be wondering if brother's going to need leaves for his next science project. My mind just wanders off and when I force it to focus I can't even remember what I was talking to Jesus about. Praying just doesn't come naturally to me and that's okay. Growing up, I heard a twenty to thirty minute prayer every Sunday. I remember sitting in my family's pew, wearing a fancy dress, and just thinking ⎯ "that is the way to pray." ⎯ My pastor was a tall, skinny man that was just filled with the Holy Spirit and I was in total awe of him. His prayers were always so elegant, with big words that my six-year-old self didn't know the meaning of. I once asked my Dad, "Why does pastor Ken pray with such big and fancy words?" and he replied, "Because that's his way of talking to God." After accepting Jesus into my heart, I tried to have long fancy prayers too. I would lay in bed with my stuffed lamb and try praying to this wonderful God that loved me for me. I would wake up minutes later feeling sleepy, groggy and a tad guilty at my lack of dedication to my new savior friend. I'd apologize to Him, start again, and be fast asleep five minutes later. I felt bad but didn't know what to do. Even now my silent prayers in the morning go something like this ⎯ "Dear Jesus, Thank you for watching over me last night. You are so good and I love you. Thank you for this new day and help me............oh darn, I forgot to tell Momma about that event Melanie needs help with. I hope it doesn't rain because then her booth will be ruined. Oh I'm praying......Lord, please keep the rain back until after the event. Help Melanie get everything done that needs to be done.......what should I wear? Maybe those shorts and that grey tee that Esther says looks good on me. I think I'll wear my hair in that cute messy bun I saw on Pinterest. I hope I saved the tutorial. Maybe I should check? Praying, Anna, you're praying.....Dear Jesus, thank you for watching over me last night. You are so good and I love you.....wait, didn't I just say that?" I could say that I was tired & I needed coffee, but truth be told, I have always struggled with praying. While some people can pray easily without giving a thought to anything else ⎯ others, like myself, have to force themselves to focus and praying over simple things take a lot of effort. I use to think that this struggle made me a bad Christian, that maybe I didn't love the Lord as much as I thought I did. But you know, just as every Christian has flaws and struggles with some area of weakness in their life; mine is merely of a different platform. I have learned that there are so many ways to pray, to connect spiritually with Jesus, and to express yourself even though your mind might wander and thoughts jumble. The most important thing I realized is; God is always listening to our prayers. There are no mess ups in praying. He loves to hear our voices and our prayers, no matter how small or simple. Don't ever feel that you can't ever pray because you can't focus, that's not true. You can learn to, just like I am. I'm so excited to share these 5 tips & tricks for praying when you can't focus. If you can relate to all the above, this was written just for you: • How to Pray When You Can't Concentrate •

(1) Start With The Lord's Prayer ⎯ It's perfectly fine if you don't know what to say. Sometimes I'm at a loss for words and the Lord's Prayer is the perfect go to.

"Pray then like this: 'Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thine name. Your kingdom come Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' "

⎯ Matthew 6:9-14 (2) Write Your Prayers ⎯ The first day I decided to write my prayers down, I filled eight pages in less than thirty minutes. Once I was done, I read it out loud and friends, friends, friends ⎯ that was the answer! That's one of the things that worked. It works for me BIG time! I now write down ALL my prayers, short or long. God sees them and I know He understands my way of speaking to Him. Even David, the man after God's own heart, appeared to struggle with staying focused when praying. The book of psalms is filled with David's prayers he wrote. The first time I really read the book of Psalm, I thought ⎯ "David is the guy." ⎯ Write your prayers down, everyday write a prayer. It doesn't have to be profound, just a lil something you want to say to God. (3) Pray Out Loud ⎯ Praying out loud leaves little room for distraction. I've found that praying out loud helps me focus on the Lord & what I'm doing at the time. Laying in bed, quietly praying out loud is one of the things I do to keep my mind from wandering off. (4) Pray Continually - I like saying little prayers throughout the day as I go about my business. Praying does not have to be formal, even busy people can pray. As you're running to the car digging your keys out, thank God for something. As you're driving to wherever you need to be, tell Jesus what's been weighing on your heart. As you're working around the yard, talk to Jesus like you would a friend. While doing laundry or cleaning up dinner, praise Jesus and know that He is listening to you. " Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ⎯ 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 (5) Go On Prayer Walks ⎯ There is something about being outside surrounded by nature that just clears the mind. I remember going on my first prayer walk and feeling just so peaceful + filled with Christ's love. There's less distractions outside and you are surrounded by nature that screams God. Yes friends, love me a prayer walk every now and then. "For the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands."

⎯ Psalm 19:1

Every person is different, every person has different ways of praying to God. There is no better way. God bends down to listen or to read every type of prayer to Him. He's flexible, He knows if we have a hard time talking or thinking of what to say. He understands and wants us to keep trying, even if we have a unique way of doing it. Never give up on praying just because you feel bad about not being able to focus. Know that God still wants to hear from you ⎯ whether through words spoken out loud, silently, or on paper. "For because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath." - Psalm 116:2