Focused Attentiveness
If this idea that prayer consists of attention to God seems strange to us, perhaps it is because we have given up the discipline and no longer really know how to pray. In most of our praying, our attention is neither focused nor on God.
What we attend to is largely our own selves, and this in a rather generalized and ambiguous way. Prayer, both public and private, and particularly among Protestants, tends to be almost totally prayer of petition. We have some need, and we pray that it will be met.
We are in some trouble, and we pray that God will take it away. Even when we do pray prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and confession, we do so with our attention turned to what we are pleased with, thankful for, and guilty of.
We find it extremely difficult to allow our praise, thanks, confession, petition, and intercession to be formed by attention to God, and awfully easy to allow the God to whom we pray to become a mere reflection of our own concerns. At least this is what I experience myself as a prayer and what I perceive in most public worship.
“Simple attentiveness” is most difficult. It is also very important.
—Craig R. Dykstra,
Vision and Character
Many times, we lose sight of the practice of dedicated prayer, leading to a lack of focus and a drifting mind during our prayer time where our thoughts are not fully centered on the divine presence. Prayer is not just a casual act, but requires a conscious effort on our part to maintain focus and attention on God—this is why prayer is rightly considered a spiritual discipline. But prayer will quickly become a hollow practice of religious rote and routine when we fail to recognize it as an intimate means of communing with God and allowing Him to reveal His kingdom purposes in and through us. This sort of mindfulness and awareness in prayer takes practice; we grow into it. If you have tried before, perhaps multiple times, to develop a consistent prayer time that brings deep fulfillment and joy, but without success, why not begin anew today? Let us pray for focused attention, that each passing day our desire for more of God will lead to not only more discipline in our prayer life, but also more delight as we enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. . —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics