An experiment: Taking notes while praying

I love little random experiments. Sometimes they don't work out but occasionally they reveal something fantastic. I suspect this prayer experiment will be somewhere in between.  

It's classic, isn't it. As soon as I sit down to focus on God in prayer, all these other thoughts surface. Some of which include thoughts that just wouldn't come earlier in the day.

For the longest time I had found this a frustrating experience, especially as I am the kind of person who will remember something one moment and in the blink of an eye have complete lost the thought. It's the reason I rely on a notebook and task management system so heavily.

As I was rereading Celebration of Discipline, I came across an idea that I realised might help. Instead of seeking to banish these reminders and thoughts, or try and hold on to them until finishing praying (all without being distracted), to keep a notebook beside me and write the thought down. That way it's easy to move on, it's been recorded, I don't need to think about it now.

My early experiments have been interesting.

It certainly has been easier to leave thoughts behind and not get hung up on them, I've also noticed that my notes are a lot more God focused than I would have predicted. I was expecting everything to be "take the leftovers out of the freezer" and while there is plenty of things like that, there are also comments like "He is king and deserves to be first".

Perhaps I should have expected this to happen, but I didn't and I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome.