If you’re like me, settling down to pray triggers all kinds of distractions. It’s not so much that other people interrupt me, though that happens occasionally. The problem is usually in my own mind going a dozen different directions.

Here are some practices that have helped me:

Allow for quiet time during the day. I think one reason our thoughts scatter so much is that we don’t often have quiet time to just think any more. If I am cooking or cleaning in the kitchen, I turn the Christian radio station on. If I am driving or getting ready for the day, I listen to music or an audiobook. All of those things can be edifying in themselves. But especially if you are an internal processor like me, your mind needs time to think things through. So allowing for some quiet thinking time during the day helps our thoughts not to go so far afield when we sit down to pray.

Keep a notepad nearby. If I suddenly remember an item I need to add to the grocery list or a blog idea or an appointment I need to make while I am praying, I jot it down to take care of when I am done. That way my mind isn’t struggling to remember those things while also praying. You could also use the notes app on your phone, if the phone itself wouldn’t be a distraction.

Deal with your phone. You may want to silence your phone, depending on whether someone might need to get in touch with you. I have some prayer prompts on my phone, but otherwise I put it in my pocket or turn it face down on my desk. I have most notifications turned off anyway because I don’t like my phone dinging all day. I check my email and social media often enough that I don’t need my phone to tell me every time something comes through for me.

Pray out loud. Depending on whether or not I am alone, praying aloud or in a whisper can keep me focused.

Walk or do something active while praying. Sitting with head bowed and eyes closed makes some of us sleepy. I know many people who like to pray when they take a walk.

Integrate prayer with Bible reading. We often divide prayer and reading into two separate activities. But we can pray as we read. When we come to a passage about praise, we can praise the Lord right then. If something from the Bible convicts us, we can confess that o the Lord immediately and ask for His help.

Use prayer lists. I didn’t always like prayer lists. I felt that if prayer is just talking to my Father, then wouldn’t it seem weird to bring Him a list instead of just talking to Him normally? But then I realized I do use lists when I talk to people. I always jot down things I want to discuss with the doctor before I see him. I might even do the same before calling or FaceTiming my son–even though we can text or email, some things that are better discussed when we’re actually talking. I think God knows our frailties and doesn’t mind if we use aids to prayer.

Pray throughout the day. In my early Christian life, I felt like I hadn’t officially prayed for something unless I prayed about it during my devotional time. But that can result in a ridiculously long prayer list. Plus I might forget a request I heard during the day. Now I try to pray for a request immediately when I hear or see it. With all our other relationships, we have shorter conversations throughout the day and then longer, one-on-one times. It can be that way with the Lord, too: we don’t have to confine all our prayer to our devotional time.

Divide up requests. Some people pray for their country one day, their church another day, their family another day, missionaries one day, and so on. Others pray through their church directory a few people at a time.

Use prayer prompts. I like to use Scriptural prayers to start off my prayer time. Most often I use what we call “the Lord’s prayer.” For instance, I might start, “Our Father . . . Thank you for being My Father. Thanks for making me Your child. Thank you for giving us a picture of a loving Father and child to understand your care of us.” And I go through the rest of that prayer in like manner.

I also like to use prayers like Paul’s in Colossians 1:9-12 or Ephesians 3:14-19 for myself and others. I’ve made a list of them in my notes app as I have found them.

Though I am not quite as fond of prayer acronyms, I did find them helpful in keeping me focused when I first started praying. One is PRAY:

Pray
Repent
Ask
Yield

Another is ACTS:

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Confess and carry on. When I find my thoughts miles away while praying, I just usually say, “I’m sorry, Lord,” and get back to it. Sometimes the thing my mind runs to is something to stop and pray about.

Let distractions remind us of our need. Elisabeth Elliot once wrote in A Lamp For My Feet:

Distractions can be useful. They provide constant reminders of our human weakness. We recognize in them how earthbound we are, and then how completely we must depend on the help of the Holy Spirit to pray in and through us. We are shown, by a thousand trivialities, how trivial are our concerns. The very effort to focus, even for a minute, on higher things, is foiled, and we see that prayer–the prerequisite for doing anything for God–cannot be done without Him. We are not, however, left to fend for ourselves. The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness.

What about when people distract us? Jesus faced that as well. He took care to pray alone at night or early in the morning, but people still found Him and interrupted Him. A Sunday School teacher from years ago once said that when someone called his home during family devotions, he wanted to answer the phone by saying, “Do you realize you’re being used of the devil right now?” But Jesus never responded in such a way when His time with His Father was interrupted. He always responded graciously. It is taking me a long time to learn that God is over even our interruptions.

I think one of the most important things to remember about prayer is that it is not a performance or a ritual. We’re talking to our loving Father when we pray. We can lay our hearts bare in all our humanness and imperfection, knowing He loves us and wants what is best for us.

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