Prone to Wander

As I was praying this morning I found my mind, like it often does, drifting to what tasks I need to accomplish, what groceries I need to buy, pretty much anything but praying. I noticed I was off track, redirected my mind back to prayer, and realized I was praying about something to write…

There’s an old hymn titled “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” with the line, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” it was written back in the 1700s. Which goes to show that it’s not just the advent of the smart phone that is to blame for our wandering thoughts, it’s us. We are prone to wander, technology just gives us an avenue to do so.

God knows our minds, our thoughts, our tendency to drift and He loves us compassionately. He’s not in heaven just tolerating us, He longs to have a relationship with us. Don’t let your inability to focus be a reason to not seek God in prayer. Focusing in prayer is a practice. It takes time, redirection, and intent. Be gentle with yourself.

If your toddler is taking their first steps and falls, you don’t throw up your hands angrily, scold them, and just give up on them ever learning to walk. You encourage them for the steps they took and help them up, hold their hands and help them continue. Our Father in Heaven is the same, He’s not angry that our minds wander. He is delighted when we seek Him, when you find yourself drifting, acknowledge it and redirect. Our minds don’t naturally think of God or things of God, we have to set our minds on things above. The more we do this, the more we learn and become more proficient at it. Keep seeking, keep redirecting, and remember we are learning and being transformed daily, the important thing is not to give up.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2