Dear Lord- I'm Distracted!

I really need to have prayer time. Talking with God always gives me strength and a sense of peace. Even during part of my "dark years" I prayed fervently. (Although not always for the best intentions.) You know the good feeling you get after having a really good conversation with a good friend? Well it's an even better feeling when you have a good conversation with the Creator of the Universe!


As much as I love praying I get so incredibly frustrated when I get distracted. I'll be praying about my day or my petitions when all of a sudden images of a TV show I watched earlier that evening will pop into my head. For example, last night How the Grinch Stole Christmas was on TV. So while praying here were the thoughts that popped in my head: the Grinch's dog reminds me of my dog. He was such a good little doggie, how did he ever end up with the mean old Grinch? Dr. Suess is a strange name. I don't know much about him...was that a pen name or his real name? I remember hating The Cat in the Hat story when I was little. I did love reading Charlotte's Web. I loved the cartoon too. I wish I lived on a farm. I miss my hometown sometimes. I wonder where Ryan and I will be living in a couple of years. Did I lock the front door?


Then I realize that I'm still supposed to be praying to God. I'm sure our Father in Heaven is chuckling to Himself while listening to my sporadic prayers.


A lot of times an idea for a blog posting pops into my head while I'm praying. Sometimes I have a hard time discerning if it's the Holy Spirit guiding me or just my plain ol' crazy thoughts.


I also almost always have a song stuck in my head while praying. It might be a TV theme song or lately Christmas carols have been playing over and over and over as background music to my prayers. (Especially this catchy jingle.)


One of the best places I have found for praying is while driving alone. I actually talk out loud, which helps. Even my dear hometown priest mentioned this in his last homily. "God is right there with you. Talk with Him. Just make sure you check your rear-view mirror to make sure the cops aren't chasing you!"


What has really been helping me lately is praying the rosary. I'm in the middle of praying a 54 day novena. I used to pray the rosary a couple times a year half heartedly. But now meditating on the mysteries of Jesus and focusing on my intentions uniting with the will of God has really been spiritually uplifting. Hopefully I can keep that up.

Does anyone have any good tips to combat distraction during prayer?