I’m sure this never happens to you when you’re studying God’s Word during your quiet time. It must only happen to me – from time-to-time, I’ll get distracted. I’m not talking about being distracted by something life-threatening with the kids or a personal medical emergency or something of that nature. I’m just talking about my mind traveling to the things that I’ve got to do later in the day or something going on in the world that I’m concerned about or something that I forgot to talk to my wife about. The trouble with distractions is that they’ll take up all of the time you’ve set aside to meet with God and when that time is gone it’s impossible to get it back. I got distracted this morning as I was reading and praying through James 1:1-4. By God’s grace, I was largely able to stay focused on James and I thought that I’d offer a few suggestions about how you might be helped to fight distractions during your quiet times.

First, if possible, find a quiet place. I really do think this is best as noise tends to distract. Turn off your computer or phone. I need to do this because I’m easily tempted to look at the email that just came in or Google some matter in the world that I’ve been thinking and praying about. Begin with prayer, and in the mist of that prayer remind yourself that you really do need to hear from God. You would also be wise to pray and ask God to guard you from distractions. Throughout your quiet time, ask the Lord to help you stay focused on and understand his Word. Ask questions of the passage you’re reading. That will help your mind to stay engaged with the text. Ask what the text says, what it means, and how you need to apply it to your life. But don’t just ask questions, answer them. Finally, make your way to the cross and tomb. There’s nothing more important and weighty than the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Worldly distractions tend to fade away in the shadow of the cross and God’s grace in redemption. More importantly, reflecting on the cross will get to the heart of our issue with distractions – as it will help to turn our hearts away from other things we’re tempted to love and encourage us to love the one who first loved us.

I pray that this only happens to me, but I suspect that I’m not alone in wrestling with distractions. If this kind of thing does happen to you, then it is my hope and prayer that the Lord would be pleased to use these practical suggestions to aid you in your walk and time with the Lord.