Are you fighting a battle in your mind between your desire to pray and the various thoughts that have infiltrated your mind? Are you finding yourself in a place where you want to pray but you’re not in the frame of mind? Are you having a heart to pray but your mind is preoccupied with something else – maybe with something good, like a celebration or some achievements or with something bad, like a loss, hurt, fear or frustration?
Well, even though there’s an element of exercising self-control, changing our mind (Repent – The Greek word for Repentance (μετάνοια) is ‘Change of Mind’) and subjecting our thoughts to the obedience of CHRIST (2 Cor 10:5), we must never forget that we live in a fallen world. Just because you have given your life to CHRIST, you are not exempted from experiencing the reality of your situation. Even though you are a person of faith, you are still an emotional being who can be swayed when the reality of your situation hits you hard. So, don’t beat yourself when you battle preoccupying thoughts while trying to pray.
Acts 10 talks about a time when Apostle Peter went to the rooftop to pray. But, because he was very hungry, he began thinking about ‘food’ and fell into a trance where he saw different kinds of food. But eventually, GOD used that very vision to prepare and teach him concerning his next assignment.
Think about this: The renowned Apostle who is often accredited as one of the pillars of the Christendom faced a situation where even though he wanted to pray (he went to do the right thing), the reality of his situation (hunger) caught up with him and he began seeing food (When we are preoccupied with our situation, our mind starts playing up such that we only visualize or think about things related to the reality of our situation). But, because his heart was in the right position, GOD used that very aspect to speak to him and give him the message that he needed to hear!
That’s what I want to encourage you with! Even if life throws you a curve and the reality of your situation is weighing in on your thoughts, just remember that when your heart is in the position to receive from GOD and you continue to do the right thing and pray, He will definitely speak to you.
You can watch the full message by Evangelist John Giftah on how to pray when you are not in frame of mind here or listen to how to pray when your mind is preoccupied here.