Prayers

Orthodox prayers for focus and concentration

These prayers ask God to gather a scattered mind and call it back to the work, the book or the prayer in front of you.

Picture: Henryk Siemiradzki, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, 1886

4 prayers

For a scattered mind

Gather my scattered mind

Plain English only: no traditional English wording is given for this prayer

Gather my scattered mind, O Lord,and clear my heart,which has gone to waste like an untended field.

Give me repentance, as You gave it to Peter,sighs, as You gave them to the tax collector,and tears, as You gave them to the sinful woman,

so that I may cry out to You with a loud voice:O God, save me,for You alone are compassionate and love mankind.

Its first line asks for exactly this. The Church sings it at Matins in the weeks after Easter, and the Russian prayer book gives it to anyone whose mind wanders at prayer.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek of the Pentecostarion, with the Church Slavonic beside it. How the wording is made.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

When your mind has wandered

St John of Gaza against distraction

Plain English only: no traditional English wording is given for this prayer

Lord, forgive mefor the sake of Your holy name.Through my own carelessnessmy mind has been carried off.

Deliver me from distractionand from every snare of the enemy,for Yours is the glory for ever.Amen.

St John of Gaza gave these words for the moment you notice you have drifted, in a conversation or halfway through a task. You call yourself back and ask to be delivered from distraction.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Russian translation made at Optina from the Greek (the Greek of this letter is not online). How the wording is made.

Where it comes from, and the Russian

The one verse to come back to

O God, come to my assistance

O God, come to my assistance;O Lord, make haste to help me.Said again and again

Traditional wording, 1894

O God, make speed to save me:O Lord, make haste to help me.

St John Cassian learned this verse from an old monk in Egypt, who cried it out in every struggle, a scattered mind among them. It is short enough to say each time your attention slips.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Latin of Cassian’s Conferences, with Gibson’s 1894 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Edgar C. S. Gibson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 11, 1894.

Where it comes from, and the Latin

For an undivided heart

Give me an undivided heart (Psalm 86)

Turn Your ear to me, O LORD, and answer me,for I am poor and in need.

Bring joy to the soul of Your servant,for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.For You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive,rich in faithful love to all who call on You.

Teach me Your way, O LORD,and I will walk in Your truth.Give me an undivided heartto fear Your name.

I will thank You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,and I will glorify Your name for ever.

Traditional wording, 1611

Bow down Thine ear, O LORD, hear me:for I am poor and needy.

Rejoice the soul of Thy servant:for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive;and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.

Teach me Thy way, O LORD;I will walk in Thy truth:unite my heart to fear Thy name.

I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart:and I will glorify Thy name for evermore.

David asks for an undivided heart and promises to praise God with all of it. The five verses are short enough to pray between one task and the next.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (verses 1, 4, 5, 11 and 12), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where it comes from, and the original

Scripture for this

⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. ⁴²But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:40-42 Martha was distracted by all her preparations. Jesus told her that only one thing was needed, and that Mary had chosen it.

²⁵Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. ²⁶Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27 Keep your eyes on what is in front of you, and do not turn aside to the right or the left.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

Psalm 119:37 A prayer for when a screen keeps pulling at your eyes, asking God to turn them away from worthless things.

I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:35 Paul wants his readers to serve the Lord with undivided devotion, free of distraction.

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14 Paul does one thing. He forgets what lies behind, strains toward what is ahead and presses toward the goal.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Throw off whatever holds you back and run the race set before you, with your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

Article · 6 min read Why do I get distracted while praying? The Church Fathers' answer Why your mind wanders when you pray, whether it's a sin, and how to keep your attention, from the Bible and the Church Fathers, phones included. Read

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