What If I Let My Mind Wander During Prayer?

I just can’t focus when I read. Never could. I remember being at university, studying for tests, and my mind couldn’t stay focused on the words. Instead, I would get five paragraphs in, look back at everything I'd just read, and realize all I had accomplished was thinking of 12 other things.

I’m still that way. For instance, when I sit down to read Scripture, I can be in pure silence and still have the same problem. Before I know it, Moses is leading the Israelites across the Red Sea and I’ve been thinking about my grocery list. My brain went through the motions but I didn’t “hear” a word of it.

I fought it for years. As I explored why it was so hard to focus when I prayed, I realized I didn't necessarily need to stop my mind from wandering. I needed to give it somewhere productive to wander.

I often start with one Bible verse and a prompt that gives me direction. As I color, draw, paint, or doodle, I let my thoughts go where they want to go. When I return to the prompt, I can often see how the path my mind took relates back to the verse.

How Do I Give My Brain the Right Space to Wander?

The harder I fought my wandering mind, the worse it got for me. I had to give my brain space to do what it naturally does while keeping it from spending the entire ten minutes on my grocery list.

For me, a prompt was the best way to get my brain to wander on the right things. I knew trying to read a whole chapter of Scripture, assess its meaning, and retain the information wasn’t working for me. But I can read one verse, have a related prompt, and let my brain go down a rabbit hole around that one question. It was a game changer for my clarity.

Let me show you what I mean. Today’s Bible passage was Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV).

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The prompt or question was: “What did I see this week that showed me God's mercy?”

Here is the unedited path my brain took.

This week I was at a manager retreat in Pigeon Forge, TN. I got to meet people I had only interacted with via Teams and others who I never interact with in my day-to-day work.

I really enjoyed seeing the two other managers I have grown close with, and now we have added a fourth. I like her!

The last two there didn’t really fit with us. This one fits well with us. I can see my boss has a lot on her shoulders. She needs people who can hold their own.

Looking back, the first manager was too go-with-the-flow and let her people do what they wanted. She wasn’t very organized but she was sweet. I wonder how her family business worked out. I need to peek at her again on Facebook.

The one after her was only here a short time. She was able to get the team organized, but I wish she hadn’t been so rigid.

It would have been easier on my boss if she had learned our software. Not sure why she didn’t like Adam. He’s hilarious.

When I look back at my prompt: “What did I see this week that showed me God's mercy?” I realized I could see mercy in where our team had ended up.

When each of the managers left, it seemed daunting for the team. But I now see the mercy in the path we took. She’s kind like the first one, firm when she needs to be, and she’s organized. She is a good balance between the other two, and she wants to adjust her processes to align with the other managers’ processes so my boss doesn’t have to deal with four different systems.

Did you notice something in my time with God? I wasn't thinking about mercy when my mind started down that rabbit hole. But when I returned to the prompt, I could suddenly see something in those experiences I hadn't seen before. What had felt daunting while we were going through it looked different when I looked back. I could see mercy in the path that got us here.

Why Does Coloring Help Me Focus on Prayer?

I’m not a neuroscientist. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert on why coloring helps me focus. I’ve read a lot about it, but all I can say is that, from my experience, it relaxes me. There is actually research to support this. In 2016, Girija Kaimal, Kendra Ray, and Juan Muniz published a study in the journal Art Therapy, “Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants' Responses Following Art Making”. The researchers found lower cortisol levels in approximately 75% of the participating adults after working for 45 minutes on visual art making with materials such as markers, clay, and collage materials.

Now, they were studying visual art making, not coloring specifically. So, I'm not saying this study proves why coloring works for me. What I am saying is it calms my thoughts. I find that I’m less anxious about where my mind is going. My thoughts are still wandering around like a bunny in a garden, but they seem more logical.

When I sit and try just to make sense of my wandering thoughts, I don’t have the same moments of clarity. Instead, I tend to dwell on thoughts like “I wish I had…” or “Why can’t I?” or “I’m not capable.”

Admittedly, there are many times I say my thoughts out loud. To me, it’s like talking openly to God. Not in a formal prayer, but more as I would unpack my day to a friend.

I find that when I stop coloring and am ready to write down my thoughts, I am a calmer person. I may not have solved any problems, but I have more clarity, which makes the trials of daily life easier to tackle.

How Can I Try This When My Mind Won't Focus on Prayer?

You can do this!

1. Ask your family for ten minutes of uninterrupted time.

2. Find a quiet corner.

3. Choose one verse. Just one. Maybe it's a verse you've been thinking about, one from a devotional, or one related to something you're struggling with.

4. Ask yourself a question about that verse (or ask ChatGPT to write one for you).

5. Color, paint, doodle, draw squiggly lines on a piece of paper. Basically, I’m saying do something creative. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece.

6. Ask yourself the prompt again and start saying what comes to mind.

7. Keep coloring.

8. Let your mind wander down the path the prompt starts you down.

9. Read the prompt again.

10. Look back at the rabbit hole.

11. Ask whether any of those thoughts connect differently now.

12. Ask yourself what became clearer.

13. Write it down.

There will be times when nothing becomes clearer. That’s okay. Take note of how you feel after spending these ten minutes with God.

This process is exactly why I created my adult coloring journal, Rooted & Blooming. It gives me a clear path from a verse, to a prompt, to coloring, and finally to reflection.

Final Thoughts

I don't need to force my brain to work differently before I can spend meaningful time with God. My brain is not broken. The way my brain works actually makes me good at my day-to-day job. I have learned to embrace who I am instead of conforming to what I’ve been told my brain should do.

So I might remember twenty things to put on my grocery list while talking with God or I might see a moment of mercy in a manager retreat. Either way, my soul feels better because I spent ten minutes talking to God … my friend.

Keep Exploring

If your mind tends to wander when you spend time with God, you may also want to explore Awareness of God for more ways to notice His presence in ordinary moments, or begin with Spiritual Meditation Through Creativity to learn how Scripture, reflection, and creativity can work together as a spiritual practice.