Concentration Now Begins

 Setting the scene: A housewife enters and wanders to centre stage, looking very busy and slightly distracted. She then begins to pray...

Father God I thank you, I can come into your presence,

And be still before you every single day,

But I’m just thinking ‘bout those dirty dishes piled up in the sink,

I should have tackled them before I knelt to pray

Lord help me to forget myself, and make me wholly yours,

To be filled with the compassion of your Son...

Now what was that important thing to add onto my list

Of jobs to do before the day is done?

Lord keep me from unselfish ways, and let me do your will

And save me from my selfishness and pride,

But I just have to ask myself where did I put my keys,

I don’t know these days,   I’m so... preoccupied...

O Lord please take away my unforgiving spirit,

Take away my strife and all my trouble,

But it seems I am distracted no matter how I try,

The more I pray, the more I burst the bubble!

I know that life is fragile Lord,

I try to handle it with prayer

But this lack of concentration Lord,

My failure to communicate,

My not even ‘scratching the surface’ prayers...

are more than I can bear.

Comment: The solution may lie in writing our personal prayers down, or speaking them out aloud if no-one is around. We could even try some kind of visual aid to help us focus on God, say a lighted candle or icon or specially set out prayer corner.

The best way to learn how to pray is simply to do it…and keep practising.