I was sitting at my desk trying to pray, and I was not doing very well at it. My concentration was in disarray. Somehow I seemed to be more aware of extraneous sounds than I was of any presence with God. I kept hearing through the walls of my office the noise of a road crew, the distant notes of music from someone’s radio, the growling of low gears on a semi-truck, the siren sound of an emergency vehicle, and a myriad of other un-discernable sounds. Infiltrating all of them were the remembered voice of a heartbroken minister with whom I had spent some time. It just seemed all this chatter kept drowning out my prayer to God.
In my frustration I found myself apologizing to God for allowing the sounds to be noticed and become a distraction while I talked with Him. Then something happened. I think it was God responding to my confusion. Suddenly I was aware that praying does not always mean shutting out the world. Indeed it must certainly mean that the "all else" can be brought to God. I don’t have to rid myself of all my problems, all the sounds clamoring for attention or all the distractions of the world. These are the things I can bring to God!
Yes, I know that I can allow sounds and distractions to thwart my prayer life, but I have been reminded of at least one beautiful thing about prayer: I can come to God right in the midst of these sounds and distractions. What consumes so much of my attention is also what I can pray to God about — and in! God cares about everything, big or small, and that should influence how I pray.
I was still at my desk. None of the sounds went away, but now I could hear God in the midst of all of them, and I knew that He heard me. So I prayed for the safety of the road crew, the serenity of the one lost in the music of his/her radio, the long grueling hours the driver of the semi-truck would endure, the medical skill of the first responders and for the health of the one suffering a medical emergency. Was that the prayer I intended to lift to my God? No, but through the chatter, my prayer became whole and centered more on the people around me and less on self. Thanks be to God!
