Attention

Our attention is a hot commodity in the world today. Everyone wants it. From media companies, to politicians, to sports — everyone wants to hold and keep our attention. 

And, it’s a lot more than people just saying “hey, listen to me.” Attention-snatching ploys are built into our culture.  

Social media platforms are designed to keep us scrolling, movies are made to keep us occupied for almost three hours, and Netflix works to keep us watching. 

For these types of businesses, keeping our attention equals making money. That’s a bit scary when you think about it. 

We can also see how our culture has trained us into an attention-deficit. We can’t give two things our undivided attention at once, so with endless options of entertainment, we end up bouncing from one thing to the next. 

The result (among many) is that prayer often goes by the wayside. And, while we can mindlessly watch a movie or scroll through Facebook, we can’t mindlessly pray. 

God deserves our full attention. And, in many ways, that’s all prayer is — giving our undivided attention to God. We don’t need to complicate it. 

But, to turn our attention to God, we must first be aware of what is hijacking our attention away from God. From there, we can learn to turn our undivided gaze toward our Creator. 

Our attention is a hot commodity. Others want it, but God deserves it.