Prayer and distractions… anyone else know an undeniable tie between those two words?

I’ve listened to friends and read the words of strangers, together trying to find some resolution for my ADHD prayer life.  Some practical little tidbits have been found to be helpful; much of it though makes no difference.

Today, I read the most significant thing about distractions that plague prayer.  Tell me if this doesn’t speak to you.

From a Brit named Herbert McCabe…

“People often complain of ‘distractions’ during prayer.  Their mind goes wandering off on to other things.  This is nearly always due to praying for something that you do not really much want; you just think it would be proper and respectable and ‘religious’ to want it.  So you pray high-mindedly for big but distant things like peace in Northern Ireland or you pray that your aunt will get better from the flu–when in fact you do not much care about these things; perhaps you ought to, but you don’t.  And so your prayer is rapidly invaded by distractions arising from what you really do want–promotion at work, let us say.  Distractions are nearly always your real wants breaking in on your prayer for edifying but bogus wants.  If you are distracted, trace your distraction back to the real desires it comes from and pray about these.  When you are praying for what you really want, you will not be distracted.  People on sinking ships do not complain of distractions during their prayer.”

Boom!  Herbert, you are on to something, my friend.

Now go and pray with your heart.  That kind of praying may prove dangerous enough to see your life transformed and your prayers shaking things!