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pgnat1
Guest
Would you rather pray a prayer without really even paying attention to it (in lah-lah land or just keep rambling on), or would you rather just not even say a prayer at all? Thoughts?
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Deo_Gratias42
Guest
A pray prayed in vain is no prayer at all. Personally, I keep vocal prayer to a minimum and do what I can with mental prayer, which hasn’t been much lately, mostly just sweet affections and spend time in quietude.
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teachccd
Guest
Would you call a friend to just make gargling noises on the phone? Same kind of question.
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JRKH
Guest
I don’t understand what the point is to the question. I would rather pray attentively to each phrase of a prayer.
That said, when praying something like the Rosary or a DMC where we are to be contemplating on the mysteries or on the passion, one can find their mind wandering. This is not usually a problem because periodically your mind is recollected to what you are doing.
Each time your mind is recollected to the prayer is like beginning to pray again…
But I would never start a prayer with the intention of simply lalala-ing my way through it…
Peace
James
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Deo_Gratias42
Guest
Given some of the messages left on my voicemail, I would say that many people would call a friend and leave gargling noises on the phone.
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Delaine75
Guest
What would be the point in praying a prayer that you aren’t even paying attention to? 
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Deo_Gratias42
Guest
I have never understood how the Rosary can be a form of meditation if you have to recite each prayer at the same time. It seems more conducive to recite the Rosary, and then meditate on the mysteries after on a more in-depth level. I used to have a great meditation on the Sorrowful Mysteries and my sufferings at work, and how I could relate each specific suffering to it’s respective mystery, and how I could unite my sufferings at that moment to the sufferings of Christ.
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TimothyH
Guest
I’m in complete disagreement with most of you. I’m really surpised.
Sometimes our mind wanders. It is impossible to stay perfectly focused one hundred percent of the time.
Persevere in prayer (Colossians 4:2)
God sees the intention of our heart. Rather than abandoning prayer altogether, the fact that we took the time out of our day to stop and say the words of a prayer even though we were not totally recollected, or not recollected at all, is a sweet sacrifice to God who, having become man himself, knows our human frailty.
It is surely better to be lucide and recollected, but why do we tell each other to abandon prayer as soon as we are not 100% focused or as soon as we run into some roadblock. Isn’t the act of taking time out for God a prayer in-and-of itself? The shallow gurgling breath of a Christian on their deathbed is a prayer to God. Why would anyone counsel others to abandon prayer?
I am in 100% disagreement with most of you on this thread. Don’t ever stop praying. Never give up. Never abandon God because you have some roadblock.
That’s what I say.
-Tim-
Sometimes our mind wanders. It is impossible to stay perfectly focused one hundred percent of the time.
Persevere in prayer (Colossians 4:2)
God sees the intention of our heart. Rather than abandoning prayer altogether, the fact that we took the time out of our day to stop and say the words of a prayer even though we were not totally recollected, or not recollected at all, is a sweet sacrifice to God who, having become man himself, knows our human frailty.
It is surely better to be lucide and recollected, but why do we tell each other to abandon prayer as soon as we are not 100% focused or as soon as we run into some roadblock. Isn’t the act of taking time out for God a prayer in-and-of itself? The shallow gurgling breath of a Christian on their deathbed is a prayer to God. Why would anyone counsel others to abandon prayer?
I am in 100% disagreement with most of you on this thread. Don’t ever stop praying. Never give up. Never abandon God because you have some roadblock.
That’s what I say.
-Tim-
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R_C
Guest
To pray is always better than to not pray, because to pray is to talk to God and be at His presence. Praying does not, however, just mean kneeling and uttering words. Many saints used to say that their entire life was prayer simply because everything they did, they did it for God. We should pray at every time, be it by words, by meditation, by contemplation, or by our works.
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Deo_Gratias42
Guest
I never said anything about abandoning prayer if your mind starts to wander. If I did that, I’d never get any praying done. What will usually happen with me is if I don’t close my eyes and cover them, I’ll get distracted by something in the church or chapel (ie: Montrance, crucifix, etc) and find myself gazing upon it for a long time oblivious to whatever I was doing until I remember I was praying. My prayer life is really weird and sporadic. It just sort of happens when it happens.
I only do vocal prayer if I’m doing it for a specific reason, other than that I find my mind constantly talking to and thinking about God and Jesus, and what have you. I don’t get it myself.
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findingmyself08
Guest
Hmm…makes me think of King Claudius in Hamlet: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”
He may have been a murderer (killing Hamlet’s father and plotting to kill Hamlet) and an adulterer (with Hamlet’s mother), but he did understand that prayers need to have some thought behind them. Otherwise they are just words.
He may have been a murderer (killing Hamlet’s father and plotting to kill Hamlet) and an adulterer (with Hamlet’s mother), but he did understand that prayers need to have some thought behind them. Otherwise they are just words.
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roveau
Guest
I believe that to pray imperfectly is better than not praying at all. We are asked to pray always. My mind wanders terribly when I pray but I try each time to improve. God will one day grant me the grace to pray without a wandering mind. I think St Teresa of Avila had this problem and eventually she did receive the gift… so don’t stop praying!
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Cat
Guest
I agree with those who say that we should pray no matter what state our minds are in.
**To pray with no feeling or when distracted or even doubtful means that we are praying strictly by faith, which is pleasing to God and good for our souls. **
I can’t help but make an analogy of the OP’s question. Would I prefer that my dear husband of 33 years talk to me without paying attention, or that he not talk to me at all?
I don’t know about other wives on this forum, but I would rather he talk to me without paying attention rather than not talk to me at all! Silence between a couple is golden if it is mutually agreed upon, but it is not pleasant at all if one of the spouses is longing for acknowledgement and conversation, even small talk, from the beloved spouse!
Both my husband and I usually discover, after a few moments of distracted conversation, that we become more and more interested in what the other is saying, and before we know it, we are fully engaged.
But if we do not talk to each other, we find it easier to move further and further apart until one day, we realize that we are not really a couple anymore. I think this happens to a lot of couples who end up divorcing after many decades.
We HAVE to make an effort to talk with those we love, and if we find ourselves distracted or not paying attention, we should persevere and work through our mental block out of love for the other.
**To pray with no feeling or when distracted or even doubtful means that we are praying strictly by faith, which is pleasing to God and good for our souls. **
I can’t help but make an analogy of the OP’s question. Would I prefer that my dear husband of 33 years talk to me without paying attention, or that he not talk to me at all?
I don’t know about other wives on this forum, but I would rather he talk to me without paying attention rather than not talk to me at all! Silence between a couple is golden if it is mutually agreed upon, but it is not pleasant at all if one of the spouses is longing for acknowledgement and conversation, even small talk, from the beloved spouse!
Both my husband and I usually discover, after a few moments of distracted conversation, that we become more and more interested in what the other is saying, and before we know it, we are fully engaged.
But if we do not talk to each other, we find it easier to move further and further apart until one day, we realize that we are not really a couple anymore. I think this happens to a lot of couples who end up divorcing after many decades.
We HAVE to make an effort to talk with those we love, and if we find ourselves distracted or not paying attention, we should persevere and work through our mental block out of love for the other.
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JRKH
Guest
So many good answers here…
The OP seems to have done a very good job in asking just the right question in just the right way. The many variations in the answers show the many levels to be considered.
Of course the bottom line is to Love God above all else and proper prayer should follow.
If proper prayer does not follow…Then God understands because there is a good reason. Last night, for some reason I was exhausted. As I sat on the edge of the bed, my first prayer was, “Lord I’m so tired, I hope you don’t mind if I don’t kneel but just lay down.”
I then crawled in bed, and basically that was it…I might have gotten half way through an Our Father…Maybe…Did I pray good? Was my prayer heard? Did I offend God whom I love and who loves me?
Prayer serves so many purposes at so many times and in so many ways…
Peace
James
The OP seems to have done a very good job in asking just the right question in just the right way. The many variations in the answers show the many levels to be considered.
Of course the bottom line is to Love God above all else and proper prayer should follow.
If proper prayer does not follow…Then God understands because there is a good reason. Last night, for some reason I was exhausted. As I sat on the edge of the bed, my first prayer was, “Lord I’m so tired, I hope you don’t mind if I don’t kneel but just lay down.”
I then crawled in bed, and basically that was it…I might have gotten half way through an Our Father…Maybe…Did I pray good? Was my prayer heard? Did I offend God whom I love and who loves me?
Prayer serves so many purposes at so many times and in so many ways…
Peace
James
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centurionguard
Guest
Thank You for saying this because it fits my thinking also. When your tired and your health is ailing it takes great effort to pray. Yes most who discipline themselves and pray in earnest set a particular time in the day to pray by themselves or for those married optionally pray together. I always make it an importance to humbly pray with the heart.
Meditation on the separate Mysteries of the Rosary is not always easy especially if there are various distractions. In these cases I’ll concentrate on the words being recited. Many times instead of reciting vocally I say them mentally which further helps with less distractions, reciting from the heart. Of the Three types of prayer; Vocal, Mental and Contemplative the later type takes the greatest discipline and mortification of the senses.
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MarkEzraB
Guest
My prayers are short and to the point most often but I have found great peace when my mind wanders during longer prayers ie the rosary
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pgnat1
Guest
Thank you everyone for responding. I want to pray with all sincerity everytime I pray, but sometimes I let my mind wander. Because of this, something in my head tells me that I should not continue to pray because I am just disrespecting God. On the other hand, the “wandering” that I do usually relates to what I am praying for or about, or has to do with something close to the topic. I am trying to grow more spiritually as I feel I may have a religious vocation in my life, thanks to God.
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pgnat1
Guest
Part of the reason why I asked this was because of prayers like the Rosary. I would find it very difficult to say the Rosary just focusing on each Hail Mary rather than the Mystery we are contemplating on.
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JRKH
Guest
I hope that the responses you have received have largely put your mind at rest on these matters…
Peace
James
Peace
James
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