Catholic.id

Prayer & SpiritualityEssentials

Is the power of prayer lost if your mind wanders?

Prayer & Spirituality

The short answer

No. The more attention we give, the more we pray, but prayer lies in the will: the will to pray is itself a prayer. Deliberately encouraging distractions is wrong, but unwanted distractions don't take away prayer's value.

Prayer lies in the will

The more fully we attend to prayer, the more we are praying. But praying is an act of the will, and the will to pray is a prayer in itself.

Deliberate vs. unwanted

It is wrong to deliberately encourage distractions. Unwanted distractions, though, do not take away the value of prayer.

An example

Mother Teresa's sisters pray the rosary walking down busy streets. They are distracted by navigating, but part of them is still in prayer.