Avoid Distractions in Prayer

Transcript

Here’s what it’s often like when I pray:  “Our Father…” did I respond to that email? “Who art in…” I’m hungry, what should I have for lunch?

People like me need to remember what St. Theophan the Recluse says:

If the practice of prayer is to proceed successfully, it is always essential at the outset to lay everything else aside, so that the heart is completely free of distraction. Nothing should obtrude on the mind: neither face, nor activity, nor object. At such a time all is to be driven out.