Obstacles to Prayer, Part 2
I’m currently participating in an online reading group that is
reading Yancey’s new book on prayer. I, like many people, would have
to confess that I do not have the prayer life that I should. I’ve
evaluated the difficulty I’ve had with prayer over the years, with much
guilt in the process, and have found several characteristics that I
think contribute to the challenge prayer presents to me. In the next few days, I’d like to process through some of them here. You can see part one by clicking here.
- I have the attention span of a hyperactive squirrel.
I’ve always loved the cartoon movies with squirrels in them. This is mostly because I can identify so closely with their characters. If you haven’t, go ahead and rent/buy the DVD for Over the Hedge and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I have been told that no matter how cute this may appear on the big screen, it isn’t nearly as much fun to deal with on a daily basis. I used to tell myself that the reason it happens is because I’m so super intelligent that my brain has completely digested the material it’s working on and is searching for something else to process.
My father was the same way, always flitting about from one activity or idea to another. He drove my mother crazy in the same way that I drive my wife crazy. His turned into a moderate success story, though. After getting his masters degree in marriage and family therapy one of his associates suggested trying ritalin or some related drug. After he started he was able to pass his state licensing test with no trouble and even learned to play guitar. He always wanted to play but could never pay attention long enough to learn. Occasionally he would not take his medicine for the day and would be a real hoot to be around for a few hours. But I digress (see, no attention span)…
I spent many, many years feeling guilty for the fact that I would start to spend some time in prayer and within a few minutes would notice I was no longer praying but was thinking about something else. Sometimes it is important things, sometimes it is silly things. No matter what, I can’t seem to keep my mind on my prayer long enough to get through it.
As with anything, when we have an unpleasant experience and/or come away feeling inferior or that we did a poor job there is the tendency to try to avoid that activity. It’s one thing to bungle a prayer in front of the congregation and have trouble getting back up to lead again. It’s another thing entirely to repeated bungle your prayers when the God of the Universe is the only audience member. That is why I call this one of my obstacles to prayer. Not only does it interrupt my current prayer, but there have been times when I’ve found myself not wanting to pray because I know I’m just going to mess it up again.
One bit of piece came from a small group meeting I had a couple years ago where I voiced my concern and my problem was echoed by someone who’d been dealing with it for several years longer than I had. Her response was pretty simple. She felt extremely bad about not being able to keep her mind on her prayers until she figured that God made her that way and that he would completely understand. I liked that. Made me feel normal for a little while.
So, what’s the deal? Does the reasoning behind "God made me this way" work in this case or is it just a cop-out?
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Brad Palmore
I think God is far more interested in our hearts than in our frustrating habits. “God made me this way” is a cop-out only when used to cover up sinful behavior.
I identify with the short attention span and the problems it causes in prayer. I share the same problem. Especially at night……I’ve often fallen asleep in the middle of a prayer, and my mind also wanders away, particularly if I am deeply troubled about something. Someone has said, though, “what better way to fall asleep than in conversation with the One who loves you beyond measure?” He DOES know us……….
uuhh, if it doesn’t count for homosexuals or alcoholics, why would it be okay for ADHD?? Did God really make us this way, or did we watch too much TV growing up (that’s my excuse, anyway)
closing my eyes is often counterproductive
praying silently in my brain is sometimes not even worth trying
I think praying aloud while walking or driving is one way to help.
Do you notice you concentrate better when there is something in the background to block out besides what you are doing? as opposed to complete silence…
Two thoughts. First, I wonder as to the link between media exposure, multi-media, video, and video-games, and our short attention spans. Second, I’ve heard that the reason you should take notes during a lecture is because our marvelous brain works faster than our ability to speak or hear. Seems to me that God is big enough to respond through our distractions.
Thanks for bringing this up, Brad. This is a problem I face and don’t have a solution except to try harder and get rid of the distractions.
BTW, would you like to take next week’s chapter? I’m going to put something up tomorrow…
Can poor discipline be sinful?
I’ve often felt bad about putting myself in a position in which I can fall asleep. I’ll do it every time if given the chance.
uuhh…
I’ve been interested in the increase in the number of kids that seem to have ADHD. I’m also interested in the fact that there seems to be a hereditary link. I’m also interested in how many fewer “dumb kids” there are than there were when my dad was in school. Seems that treatment has an effect, so what is it effecting?
I’ve noticed some of the same attention span problems in regards to my own prayer life. In recent discussions that I’ve been having with others, the question of ADD in adults has come up. I would probably fit into that category if I looked into it. One thing that I’ve been doing lately is praying out loud even if it is just under my breath.