why does this happen.. is it only me?

sometimes and by sometimes i mean almost everytime i pray i lose foccus, and just start thinking about something else.. it will be like Dear God thank you so much for giving me this amazing day i really needed it.. oh yeah i have a chemistry test tomorrow crap!.. oh yeah i was praying.. So God please keep an eye on my dad while he is in Iraq... i wonder if my mom remembered to wash my pants for tomorrow.. oh crap i was praying.. sorry God where was I??? and then i just like fall asleep and i feel like i got nothing acomplished in my prayer and i feel sorta bad and guily. I wonder if that hurts Gods feelings or makes him angry like hey i died for you and you cant even spend 10 min praying with out thinking about other things come on kid. So yeah is this only me this happens to? and why do you think this happens?

I go thru that too. it is especially hard on days that are more stressful. sometimes I fall asleep while praying but on those nights I sleep better. you are not alone in this one hon.

God wants us to bring everything to Him, ALL of our concerns. Why not consider those extra thoughts as things He wants you to talk to Him about? So when you think, oh I have a test tomorrow... talk to God about it.

I don't see these as interruptions, but concerns.........and that IS one of the reasons we pray, right?

Try to think of it as a conversation with Him rather than something to be "accomplished"? Your mind doesn't drift that badly when you're talking to a friend does it?

he is our friend, our father,our Lord! the most important thing is simply talking to him!

It happens to everybody, Court. Like Perna and Sky said, talk to Him about everything that concerns or bothers you. He knows that your mind races ahead sometimes but He's listening.

wow you guys that actually makes a lot of sense... i never really thought that the things that interupted my prayer were things i should talk to God about and that makes me feel a little less bad about it now, thanks!

Court, that exact thing happens to me all the time too. I wish I could focus better. In any conversation that happens in my head and I drift off and lose track of the conversation. But if you pray silently, it's harder to tell what you're saying in your prayer and distinguish the jumble going on in your head. I think that is great advice to include those things in your prayer. They obviously are concerns. Maybe God has some part in those things coming up at that time. Praying out loud is another thing to try. Also, keep a prayer in your heart all the time. Just keep that channel open. Those thoughts can be part of a continuous running conversation, and if you listen for answers, maybe God will be able to help you with your concerns.

hehe. funny, most of the time i pray, i end up falling asleep! even if i do it out loud. lol. i think god understands, since i tend to fall asleep too easily, especially in meditation.

I tend to pray thru out the day and not at a schedule time of the day .... God wants us to sing praises at all times ...
i tend to say thanks as I need to

and i converse to god as he is my best friend

Dave

I could not have said it better

I do that too, court and one thing I do (because I know He understands me) is I keep an open line of prayer going all day long.

He knows the difficulties with my focus and He knows I have to do things a bit differently and loves me and my prayers just the same.

He does yours as well, hon.

KD

court i do that all the time its not just u!!!!
i really try to focus but idk it just happens.
lol
nita

Court,

I have the same problem.....all the time....If I wait until I go to bed to talk to God (say my prayers) I fall asleep within a few minutes & don't have enough time to get the words out before I am sound asleep. I have realized that prayers are talking to God, so anytime I feel the need to talk to him throughout the day, that is when I pray. I ask him for help or guidance in making the right decision when something comes up. When I used to wait until night, I would forget what I was wanting to say in the first place.

I realized when I started reading about prayer in the bible, that I was actually praying when I was thinking about what I was going to pray about when I went to bed.

Another point that I found really awsome when I started studying about prayer in the bible study that I'm going to is that when I don't know how to pray about something or dont know how to ask for something.....the Holy Spirit intercedes for us......he knows what we need & how to ask god for everything we don't know how to.....what a comforting feeling that has left me with.

I struggle with prayer many times in that I feel that God is going to answer my prayers the way he knows is right which is not necessarily the answer that I am asking for. I have started just asking him to answer my prayers in his own way.....& yet he tells us to ask for what we feel we are needing or wanting.....sometimes I wonder if he doesn't answer my prayer the way I would really like it to be answered because I'm not confident to ask for exactly what I feel need......sometimes I think that I definitely over think prayer.

Debbie

God is definitly my best friend and i pray throughout the whole day like at school or just when i'm bored i talk to him or in class when i dont feel like paying attention or in the car while my moms on her cell phone but no matter when it is i am praying i lose my train of thought

various meditation techniques teach us how to train the mind to focus....

prayer and meditation, some say are the same, provides us the opportunity to train ourselves in ways that benefit all areas of life... try the simple breathing technique of closing your eyes, breathing in rythem, and focus on one thought or idea only... start with small increments of time, this is not a test... just do the best you are able..

with practice over time, focusing will be much easier

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Court_Knee said:
or just when i'm bored i talk to him or in class when i dont feel like paying attention or in the car while my moms on her cell phone but no matter when it is i am praying i lose my train of thought

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That sounds a little like priorities? He's not someone to talk to when there's nothing "better" to do. It's fine to talk to Him then but making a decision rather than just doing a default, "Ho hum, guess I'll talk to God" might make it easier to keep your train of thought? You've had friends, I'm sure (we all have) who were talking to you but scanning the room to see what else was happening, looking for something else more interesting than talking about themselves to you? Part of talking to God, for me, is listening to his part of the conversation. If I am interested in something enough to talk to God about it, I'm gonna want to know what He has to say in return and since it's "my" topic/interest, I'm less likely to lose my train of thought.