Keeping Alert in Prayer

Do you ever find it difficult to stay focused when you are praying? Does your mind wonder and easily get distracted? Perhaps this is most noticeable when you are engaged in public or group prayer, particularly when someone else is leading the prayer. Perhaps you experience this more when you are tired and mentally exhausted. Maintaining focus during prayer can be a struggle. Interestingly enough the disciples of Jesus had this same problem. On the night He was betrayed Jesus took His disciples with Him to the garden of Gethsemane to pray (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus made a simple request of Peter, James and John. “He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’” (Matthew 26:38). Jesus then goes a short distance away and begins to pray. Upon returning to these disciples, Jesus finds them sleeping! And waking them, He says, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41). You would think after this warning that they would have remained alert and continued in prayer. But this was not the case. After a while Jesus again checks on them, only to find that they were overcome by sleep once again! Indeed, even when the spirit is willing, the flesh can be weak. And we too, like the apostles, can find ourselves at times struggling to remain alert, especially in our prayers. It is interesting to me that what Jesus here told His disciples three times to do (“keep watch” – Matthew 26:38, 40, 41), is exactly what Paul instructed the Colossians to do, when he said, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it…” (Colossians 4:2). But what exactly does Paul mean when he tells them to be “keeping alert in prayer”?

The word translated by the English phrase “keeping alert” describes an activity that involves being cautiously watchful and attentive to our surroundings, in an effort to avoid being caught off guard. Paul uses this same word in a context that, along with three other imperatives, suggests a military connotation. He tells the Corinthians to “be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). The picture in this passage is that of a soldier being vigilant and watchful (as some of the older translations render this phrase) for an approaching enemy, so that you will not be taken by surprise (cf. Matthew 24:43). This word is often times coupled with the concept of “sobriety” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 & 1 Peter 5:8), because it requires the ability to be clear-headed and amply aware of our surroundings. In fact, sometimes this word will be translated with the imperative: Wake up! (cf. Revelation 3:2-3), because we are to be awake to what is happening around us.

So, when we put this word in the context of prayer—“keeping alert in prayer” (Colossians 4:2)—we are talking about the idea of: 1) giving our attention to prayer; 2) being conscious and aware of what we are praying; 3) focused on the content of our prayers, not allowing our minds to wander or dose off; and 4) being actively engaged in prayer. Again, these are things that we tend to struggle with more in public or group prayer. When sitting in an auditorium or at a table with others, being led in prayer by someone else, it is easy to just passively sit back and not really focus on what is being communicated to God. But make no mistake, even if you are not the one formulating the prayer, or leading it, you are still actively praying, along with everyone else in the group. And this is something that deserves and demands our alertness.

And yet, even though we might know this intellectually, it is something with which we still struggle. So, how can we be more focused and remain more alert in our prayers? What can we do to help us “keep alert” when we pray? Let me suggest just a couple of ideas that will hopefully help along these lines:

1) Don’t use meaningless repetition. “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8). When Jesus gave this instruction, He was warning against much more than just saying the same thing over and over again without thinking about what you are saying. Really the idea here is that the Gentiles thought that if they said the “magic words,” then their gods would be bound to grant their request. Of course, these words were meaningless—they could never make a mute god speak or answer—yet the Gentiles continued to pour out this kind of abundance of words to their gods. We can be just as guilty as the Gentiles, in thinking that if we say the “magic words” God is required to answer us and grant our petition. Not only is this a false concept, but it turns God into a vending machine who must dispense to us what we demand, if we say the right thing. But additionally, when we fall into the trap of reciting the “magic words” in our prayers, it can quickly devolve into just another way of “going through the motions” in our worship. We may be speaking (and saying the “right” words) but we no longer mean them. We’re just saying what we think we have to in order to get what we want. We need to avoid this type of meaningless repetition. Our prayers should be meaningful, genuine and from the heart.

2) We must actively engage our minds and understanding in our prayers. Paul taught that it’s not enough to simply be emotionally engaged in the activity of prayer; our minds must also be actively engaged (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:14-17). We need to not only hear, but actually listen to and strive to understand what we are praying. This instruction bears some implication, especially in the context of public prayer. If you are the one leading a public prayer, it is necessary to speak in a way that is clearly understandable by those whom you are leading. This includes both proper volume and vocabulary. It does no good to speak at a volume that cannot be heard, in a tone that cannot be understood, or to use words that are incomprehensible to those whom you are leading in prayer! You may be praying well enough, but the other person is not edified (1 Corinthians 14:17). Additionally, as active participants in public prayer, we need to each make sure that we are understanding what we are praying, and to do that we are going to have to stayed focused. This means limiting distractions as much as possible. If that means you need to “Fold your hands, bow your head, and close your eyes” (something that seems to work well for kids), then do it, so that you can focus on the prayer and actively engage your mind.  

3) Pray with specificity. It is hard to get distracted when you are being very specific in your prayers. There’s nothing wrong with speaking to God in generalities: “Please be with all those who are sick.” But, being specific will help to sharpen your focus: “God please be with _________ (insert specific name) who is struggling with ______________ (insert specific issue).” I know for me, having a specific person in mind, seeing their face in my mind’s eye, while offering up a specific petition for their specific need, helps me to stay focused in my prayers. Try it and see if a little more specificity doesn’t help you to remain more focused in your prayers.  

These are just a few ideas that may help you. I’m sure there are many more things we could do that would aid us in “keeping alert in our prayers.” I would encourage you to come up with some of your own, but whatever you do, do your best to “keep alert in your prayers.”