Daydreaming During Prayer

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How do I stop?

Explain the difference between daydreaming and prayer.

*Oh great invisible man I'd like to have a magical intervention to make things better. Meanwhile I'll just dream about being king.*

^

Why stop? It is part of your prayer.

really? A religious person trying to figure out how to stop thinking. I'd say your on the correct path. That appears to be the ultimate goal of religion.

Seriously- even if you're not hostile to religion- that IS kind of an odd question. Sorta like "how do I keep from getting wet while bathing?".

I suspect that the OP is a teenage male. And that what he is REALLY asking is "how can I keep from thinking about sex while praying?".

^ Either that or his brain decides to go into idle mode while he tries to pray. Kinda hard to pray when a part of you is all like, 'should I have pizza or chicken tonight? Also, I think imagining me dancing to 'Taking Care of Business' while in my underwear sounds like fun, should I do that?'

It means you don't really want to pray, you're just doing what you think you must do. Just stop praying.

If you are serious about it, I'd recommond meditation to get more control of your mental processes. To be honest, I have known a few people who use prayer as a sort of meditation and nothing more, as well as a few who meditate as a substitute for prayer.

Then again, I also know a couple of people who think that just setting aside time to allow your mind to wander and letting God sort it out is a good way to pray.

I know this is a super late response... I was searching for what fellow Aspies said on prayer and came across this.

The reality is that even the most holy Christians often struggle with this. The best way can be summarized as focus back on Jesus as soon as you realize you are distracted, and don't feel like you are failure because you got distracted.

I don't know how to stop. I do it myself. Not just in prayer. In life. I am a dreamer!

How long does it take to "pray" anyway?


I can imagine daydreaming during an hour long sermon in church. But not while saying grace before dinner. The later just take seconds.

As short as saying/ thinking a single word!

Often serious Christians will spend more time reflecting on a certain passage of the bible or similar for a moderately extended time beyond something like grace before meals. How long varies a lot from 5 minutes a day to 60 minutes day. Most who write about these types of prayer, admit distractions are a huge obstacle.

When Hicksite Quakers pray, they predominantly listen for God's message. In meetings for worship, it takes about 15 minutes for everyone to settle in. Sometimes my mind wanders, but after a while, by virtue of having others also moving into the silence, I can slip into the silence.

Sounds like more the realm of meditation than the realm of prayer. Anyway you could try Buddhist techniques, like "counting your breaths" while praying to keep focused.