Managing a Meandering Mind

Turn your prayer distractions into God-directed dialogue.
^{By Brad Preston}

Like the prodigal son, my mind wanders recklessly into a far country when I pray. In moments of solitude when I am just getting close to God, my brain shifts into gear and speeds off for the highway. I tried making a list. I tried walking around with my eyes open. I tried praying out loud; I tried praying real loud. The harder I tried to eliminate the distractions, the more frustrating they became.

Then an idea came to me unexpectedly. What if the interruptions are God's effort to dialogue with me in prayer? Perhaps God has a better handle on prayer requests than I do. What if I allowed him to use the distractions to direct my prayers?
I decided to surrender my prayer agenda and to stop fighting the interruptions. Instead of battling my wandering mind, I lift up each random thought in prayer when it comes: "Lord I'm thinking about doughnuts. You got any idea why?" Sometimes praying on it clears the thought away, but other times God uses the thought to speak to me (like convicting me that there's a hole in our relationship).

Besides opening a new world of interactive dialogue with God, my learning to pray the interruptions instead of fighting them, I discovered, has other benefits.

At times my prayers are interrupted by what appear to be inappropriate subjects—lustful images, anger about the ministry, complaints. My response used to be denial. I didn't want to admit those thoughts could enter the sacred place of prayer. Frustrated, I would push them away. If they came back, I pushed harder. But the pushing became a distraction in itself.
Sometimes God uses praying through the thoughts to cleanse them from my mind. Other times I pour out the struggle in all its strife like one of David's psalms. Either way, it has awakened a new honesty and transparency in my relationship with God.

I like sticking with my prayer list because a list is safe. A list can be used to pray for other people's needs while conveniently overlooking your own shortfalls.

But heeding the interruptions doesn't allow for that careful avoidance. It forces me to address sins, regrets, and shortcomings I normally wouldn't choose to include on my list. Now when my prayers are interrupted with, You need to devote more time to being intimate with God, I don't just push the thought away, I stop to pray about it.

By letting the Lord add his items to the prayer list, and by willingly accepting a distraction as an area to explore with Him, I'm doing a lot more listening. I'm finding relief in an area that used to frustrate me. My prodigal mind is beginning to follow the path home—the path that takes me straight to the Father.

Things You Might Be Interested In . . . . .

For Transformational Church: read the book, watch the leadership DVD, use the church assessment tool - http://www.transformationalchurch.com/

For Discipleship/Small Groups: Platform Series by Erwin McManus
* Life's Toughest Questions - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005286795/
* Stand Against the Wind - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005286793/
* The Controversial Jesus - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005286794/

For Discipleship/Church-wide Study event: Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005189411/

For Church Software Management:
* Membership Data Management: Fellowship One - http://www.fellowshiptech.com/digitalchurch
* Event registration, Online Giving: TransactU - http://www.serviceu.com/digitalchurch/

For Women's Ministry: Jonah by Priscilla Shirer - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005189429/

Keeping the Proper Focus

Several Christmases ago, Karen and I took some skiing lessons at a ski school at Stephens Pass in Washington. At one point the instructor told Karen to go around me as a practice in making a left hand turn. He made the point to say, “Focus on the open patch of snow just downhill from your husband and aim for it. No matter what you do, do not look at your husband because what you focus on is what you’re going to head for." True to his word, Karen locked her eyes on me (boy, what a look of fear!) and flat ran me over!

Recently I read an article that reinforces this principle. Missionary pilot Bernie May writes, "One of the most difficult lessons to teach new pilots about landing on short, hazardous airstrips is to keep their eyes on the good part of the strip rather than on the hazard. The natural tendency is to concentrate on the obstacle, the danger, the thing he is trying to avoid. But experience teaches us that a pilot who keeps his eye on the hazard will sooner or later hit it dead center."

The spiritual principle in all of this is that instead of concentrating on the sins we want to avoid, we are told to focus on the positive actions Christ desires for us. Paul told the Christians at Colosse: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). We are to discard old ways of thinking and acting (vv.5-9) and "put on" new ways of living (vv.10-17).

Bernie May sums it up by saying that experienced pilots focus their attention solidly on the track they want the plane to follow, keeping the hazards in their peripheral vision only.

All to often, we try our best to avoid sins in our life that frequently trip us, but yet we seem to be drawn right back to them. A better point of focus is to simply concentrate on Christ and His will for our lives. When we keep Christ and His interests as the focus, the lure of the old life will remain in the corner of our eye, but our aim will most often land us squarely in the center of God's will.

Things You May Be Interested In .....

FOR CHURCH HEALTH: Transformational Church website launched; check into how this process can help give hope to you, your ministry, your church, and your community - http://www.transformationalchurch.com/

FOR DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING: Georgia DisciplEquip Conference, Pine Forest Baptist Church, Macon, September 24 - 25 - www.gabaptist.org

FOR DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING: Max Lucado's book, Outlive Your Life, has a small group study and/or church wide event - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005189411/?CID=RDR-outlive

FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT: Fireproof Your Marriage conference at FBC/Woodstock, September 10-11 - http://www.lifeway.com/event/355/

FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT: Ridgecrest Festivals of Marriage, October 15 - 17 & October 22-24 - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=166&cid=RDR-FOM

FOR CHURCH ADMINISTRATION: Digital Church: Web based church systems software - http://www.lifeway.com/menu/?id=201392

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: What is your strategy for developing your students? Compare it with LifeWay's plan - http://www.lifeway.com/studentstrategy/

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: Connect with Baptist Collegiate Ministry - http://www.bcmlife.net/

FOR MEN'S MINISTRY: Joe Gibb's Game Plan for Life small group study - http://www.lifeway.com/gameplan

FOR WOMEN'S MINISTRY: Beth Moore's Leadership Forum, Ridgecrest, N.C., November 9-11 - http://www.lifeway.com/event/27/?cid=women-enewsletter-Forum-080110-feature

FOR CHILDREN'S MINISTRY: Discipleship options for kids - http://www.lifeway.com/article/155213/

Give People the Five Star Treatment

By Dale Galloway

Jesus, the wisest, most knowledgeable person on the art of human relationships, gave Christians the Golden Rule principle: “Treat others as you want to be treated” (see Luke 6:31).

If I want to build positive relationships with other people, then I need to put myself in their place and try to understand them. If I want people to like me I need to treat them as I would like to be treated if I were in their place. The following five values prove to be helpful steps toward living out the Golden Rule. They form a foundation for treating everyone as you want to be treated.

1. People Want to Feel They Are of Worth.

As our greatest example of this attitude, Jesus never met an unimportant person. He said, “…Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). The way we treat others is the way we are treating Jesus. We should treat others the same special way we would treat Jesus.

2. People Want to Be Listened To.

If you want people to like you, start practicing the biblical admonition: “Don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry” (James 1:19, TLB). In other words, when in a conversation, stop worrying about what to say next and start listening with an interested ear to what the other person says, and you will gain a friend.

3. People Want to Be Appreciated.

Mark Twain said he could live for three weeks on one compliment. Let’s face it: I like to be valued and so do you. Everyone relishes receiving appreciation. If you want to get along well with people, then give them the words of praise they crave. Do this, and the people will respond positively to you for it.

4. People Want to Be Built Up and Edified.

We live in a world of constant put-downs. If you become known as someone who builds people up and edifies them, you’ll stand head and shoulders above the crowd. Victor Hugo stated, “Man lives more by affirmation than by bread.”

5. People Want to Be Treated with Empathy.

God’s way is for us to weep with those who weep and laugh with those who laugh (Rom. 12:15).

Five More Steps to Help You Relate Well to Others

6. Be willing to change.

7. Think of yourself the way God thinks of you.

8. Treat yourself as a best friend, accepting yourself unconditionally.

9. Find freedom by owning up to your faults, admitting when you’re wrong.

10. Care enough for yourself to share yourself with others.

Things you might be interested in ......

FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TRAINING: 'Great Expectations' live, free training event, July 11, 4:00-6:00pm, for every age group leader; for registration & information: http://www.lifeway.com/greatexpectations/

plus this will be available for viewing & downloading at any time following the event!

FOR STAFF LEADERSHIP: Transformational Church Book (Thom Rainer, Ed Stetzer) Now on Sale! $15.99 at the Lifeway Store - http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?isbn=5285106 or on Lifeway.com http://www.lifeway.com/product/005285106/ PLUS Transformational Church DVD Discussion Guide & CD Helps: $29.95 (Rainer, Stetzer, Raley, and Nation) http://www.lifeway.com/product/005255385/

FOR STAFF LEADERSHIP: Ministry Location Service, for finding new staff members or ministry opportunities - http://www.lifeway.com/jobboard

FOR YOUTH MINISTRY: Registration for 2011 Fuge Camps now open - http://www2.lifeway.com/fuge/

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: Stand Against the Wind by Erwin McManus, a small group study on character building - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005286793/

FOR WOMEN'S MINISTRY: Host a Beth Moore 'Living Proof' simulcast, September 10, 2010 - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=194&CID=women-eupdate-Simulcast-051110-feature

FOR WOMEN'S MINISTRY: "Faithful, Abundant, True" by Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, & Priscilla Shirer - http://www.lifeway.com/product/005189430/