‘Seek first the kingdom of God.’ Matthew 6:33
It can seem like sometimes everything works against us when we’ve got something that we want to be getting on with, especially when it’s prayer. You’re not the only one. Legends of the faith like St Ignatius and Martin Luther even had prayer-intrusion-thoughts that seriously got in the way. So what to do.
2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT says, ‘We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.’ What does that look like in practice? If you’re praying, and find a thought sneaking into centre stage (whether it’s evil, something tempting, or just plain-old distracting), mentally point at it, and say, ‘No, thought, in Jesus’ name, I’m taking you captive! I’m talking to God here!’. If it helps you imagine it getting caught in a bubble, and put to one side, go for it. You don’t have to fight your thoughts, you can just tell them that Jesus is Lord, and move on with your conversation with Jesus.
And know that God doesn’t mind. He’s not sat across from you tapping His watch, frowning, when you’re dealing with a distraction. ‘Capture’ it, and turn back to His face. What Now? When you finish reading, spend time in prayer ‘seeking God’s face’. See if you can just sit with Him, knowing He’s with you, and just, kinda, hanging out together.
When distractions pop up, ‘take them captive’. (If it’s an important thing for later, jot a one word note about it and you can go back to it later.)
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