My Problem With Prayerಮಾದರಿ

My Problem with Prayer: I Get Distracted

Let’s be real. Prayer is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

You sit down to pray… and suddenly your brain decides it’s the perfect time to remember everything: the oil change you need, that one awkward thing you said three years ago, what’s for dinner, and oh yeah…did you feed the dog?

Sound familiar? Me too.

You’re not the only one with Prayer ADHD. I have it. The disciples had it too. Jesus invited His closest friends to pray with Him in His darkest hour… and they fell asleep. In Matthew 26:41 NIV, Jesus says, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” That wasn’t a rebuke. That was compassion. He understood the battle. He was in the flesh, too.

Distraction is normal, so don’t be embarrassed by it. Embrace it.

Distractions are like weeds. They grow back. But every time you stop and refocus, you’re doing something that matters to God. He’s not counting how many times your mind wandered. He’s celebrating how many times you chose Him again. That’s why it’s called paying attention. Focus costs something. Focus is worship.

Now you have to ask yourself... how do you focus?

Maybe you don’t have a prayer problem, maybe you have an attention problem. We multitask everything: dishes + podcasts, work + email, scrolling + eating. Dr. Caroline Leaf calls it “Milkshake Multitasking”. Our brains are in a blender, so when you sit down to pray, your mind is like, “Cool. What else should we do?” Psalm 86:11 NIV says, “Give me an undivided heart.”

Also… practice being bored.
The world has trained you to crave stimulation. Short-form videos, endless scroll, instant dopamine. But prayer takes stillness, space, and thought. That’s why it feels hard at first; it’s retraining your soul.

So, practice by doing one thing at a time. You can retrain your focus.

• When you sit down to eat, just eat.
• At a stoplight, don't pick up your phone. Practice sitting there, stopped.
• Pray, just pray.

Let’s talk about scroll addiction.
Digital content is getting shorter and shorter, and you don’t even realize time is passing because you weren’t thinking that whole time. The average TikTok video is 30–40 seconds. One survey even found that users felt videos over one minute were “stressful.” It’s literally designed to help you not think, which is exactly why we like it.

Just like painkillers. Just like alcohol. Just like one-night stands. It numbs you. It gives you relief, fast. But the very thing you’re using to escape becomes the thing keeping you stuck.

You can’t use social media as a distraction, and then complain later that it’s a distraction.

The truth is: the way we use our devices is forming us. And if it’s forming our attention, it’s also forming our prayers. So if you want to grow in prayer, start by confronting your habits.

Practice getting away by shutting off your phone. Get alone and set aside time.
Bonus tips: Change your posture (praying in bed, eyes closed = not ideal), walk around, don’t go to your phone until you’ve prayed (it invites worry and tasks in first), pray out loud, keep your eyes open, write your prayers down.

Whatever helps you stay engaged… Do that. You’re not trying to “feel” spiritual. You’re training your soul.

And let’s not forget: we have an Enemy.
In 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan was against Israel, and he planted the thought. That’s how he fights: through thoughts. The moment you sit down to pray, he goes to war. He doesn’t mind if you work. He just can’t let you pray.

So what do you do? Take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). Call out the lies.

Thought: “You’re not good enough to be praying.”
Truth: “I might not be perfect, but Christ is.”

Thought: “You’re worried about your kids.”
Truth: “So I’m going to pray for my kids.”

We also get distracted by what we need to do after prayer.

Luke 10:38–42 NIV
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary,who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha" the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one."

Martha was doing good things. She is serving guests, loving people, and cleaning. But she missed the better thing: being with Jesus.

And sometimes that’s us. We want to pray, but our minds are already back at work, on that project, that deadline, the mess at home, the people we love.

Even good things can become distractions… when they take the place of Jesus.

Distractions reveal what we love, trust, and fear. There’s something we trust more than God. Something we fear more than Him. Something we love more than Him.

But today is your moment to take it back. To name it. To repent.
To say with your attention: “There’s nothing I love, trust, or fear more than God.”

Reflection Prompt:
What’s distracting you most when you try to pray? Instead of hiding from it, name it and bring it into your conversation with God. He sees your effort, and it matters.