As I read your post, I see that you are coming from non-Catholic background. If I understand you correctly, I hear you saying that you need a specific prayer intention at the start every prayer session.
That is not how I see prayer. I use the simplistic definition of prayer of lifting up my heart and mind to God. My only interest is to give worship, to place myself in His loving arms.
As a child, I would not think about what I want from my mother or father just to crawl into his or arm arm, to sit on his or her lap in an armchair or rocker.
God loves us more than anything. What He wants more than anything is for us to spend time with Him. If I am scared, I run to Him and tell Him my fears and concerns. If I am angry about something, l let Him know what I am angry about, why I am frustrated and don’t know how to handle the situations or storms that battering my life. This should fit very well within the boundaries of the non-Catholic background from which you come.
God wants intimacy with each one of his children. You may have heard Denzel Washington talk about he was taught to put his shoes way under his bed so that first thing in the morning, he would find himself on his knees. My first grade nun taught me the same thing. My shoes don’t fit under my current bed. That doesn’t change things.
My day begins with prayer. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours. You may just want to pray the Morning Offering. I used to pray the Guardian Angel Prayer with my grandson while waiting for the school bus, another prayer I learned as a child.
My family prayed the rosary every evening.
Start slowly, like any fitness program, until you find a prayer regime that works for you.
As for distractions. Those are “buzzing flies to be swatted away” as the saints have said. They will come. Most of the time they are to be ignored, unless it is a pressing matter that becomes your prayer intention. “Lord, help me with _________, I trust you.”
