PRAYER OF DISTRACTIONS

Incorporate mental distractions into this prayer practice

Adapted from page 251 of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. First edition copyright (c) 2005 by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

• With your journal handy, take some deep breaths, relaxing your body and quieting your mind. Offer yourself to God. Ask him to gather up the fragments of your scattered life and re-collect your soul. 

• Rest with God. Think of his presence and peace around you and within you.

• When distracting thoughts come up, write down a word or phrase that expresses your distraction. Let the thought go and return to your rest in God. Sit with this process for five to ten minutes (or longer if you like).

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After your time of resting in God and writing down your distractions, look at the words you have jotted down. Open your thoughts to any motivations, beliefs, or forces within you that may lie below the surface of these distractions. Pray and journal through these questions.

• What stands out to you?

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• What anxieties do you see?

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• Where is your identity centered?

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Return these concerns to the Lord. Let him hold the concerns of your heart as you rest in him. Allow yourself to become aware of his overflowing love for you and acceptance of you.