How To Refocus On God When You’re Distracted

 

Introduction

     We will continue our current series on "abiding in Jesus Christ" in the next post. Today I wanted to take time out to address how Christian people can refocus on God when they are distracted. I remember hearing a statistic forty years ago that noted that Americans watched between 3-7 hours of television per day. All of that has changed with the dominance of social media. The organization “addictionhelp.com” conducted a poll on social media use and what it identified as “social media addiction (the entire study is found here Social Media Addiction Statistics 2026 - Usage and Effects. Here is what it noted, 

“Many mental health professionals worry that children and teens are particularly at risk for social media addiction. Such concern is due to the way social media platforms encourage endless scrolling, impulsive behaviors, and the need for instant gratification.” 

It then noted these statistics,

“Young social media users aged 18 to 22 account for a shocking 40% of all Americans addicted to social media. According to research from Common Sense, teens average 7 hours and 22 minutes of screen time per day, and kids 8–12 years old get an average of 4 hours and 44 minutes of screen time per day.”

     I’m not advocating that social media is evil that we must avoid it. Like all previous forms of technology, social media and A.I. are tools. How we wield them and for what end we use them is where prudence is needed. Yet, when it becomes an addiction (i.e. “something I cannot live without or defines how I conduct daily life) or a distraction (i.e. where I lose perspective and neglect what is important), such things can lead to serious emotional and mental issues. That same website noted the following negative effects of such a distraction,

“Out of the 1,141 respondents aged 13 to 17, teens reported that: 70% felt left out or excluded when using social media; 43% have deleted social media posts due to receiving too few likes; 43% felt bad about themselves if no one liked or commented on their posts; 35% reported experiencing cyberbullying. One of the most serious risks social media addiction poses for young people is increased thoughts of self-harm and suicide.”

     We need Psalm 135 as an antidote for our distracted minds and prayer-life. How can we get refocused on God when we’re distracted?

1. Remember the names of God. Psalm 135:1-4, 13-14

      We do not know the author of this Psalm nor the occasion. Nevertheless, its timeliness and timelessness is perfect for our distracted lives. Sometimes what I’ll do is take a sheet of paper or reflect upon the names of God as I begin my prayer time to reel in my scattered thoughts. Notice Psalm 135:1-4,

“Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

Then notice Psalm 135:13-14, “Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.” 

One resource I have in my library lists over a thousand names of God in the Bible. Our Lord Jesus Christ alone has over two-hundred names ascribed to Him. Sometimes I like to say some of those names in alphabetical order to get myself refocused. The point is God’s names represent who He is or what He has done. We remember then the names of God. How else can we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and in our thought-life?

2. Review the perfections of God. Psalm 135:5-6

     We begin by focusing on God's names, not let's put before us God's perfections. Notice with me Psalm 135:5-6 “For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” 

    When I say “perfections”, I’m speaking about what are called His “attributes”. An attribute is a perfection of God that reveals the kind of God He is. God doesn’t merely “have” certain characteristics. Rather, He is whatever that attribute reveals Him to be. Notice firstly, God’s greatness, especially in how He is above all other “gods”. The Psalmist here is not granting existence or reality to other deities, since God and God alone is God (Isaiah 43:10-11). The Psalmist labors to show that the idols people worship are breathless, sightless, deaf creations of men. 

      Secondly, notice God’s Sovereignty in verse 6. These two headline perfections of His greatness and sovereignty contain other perfections which are just as wonderful as they. 

     To illustrate, sometimes Debi will ask, "are you here?" because my mind is thinking in different directions. We all have “divided attention”. We all, like every other created thing, can never be all nor give all of ourselves to everything. 

      This is why praying to God, who alone is undivided (what theologians call “Divine Simplicity”) is so crucial to “pulling together” our prayer life and thoughts. Just like the names of God, it is helpful to have God’s perfections written down as you pray. Perhaps pray for a little bit and then praise God for one of His perfections. I promise you God’s perfections and names will help bust the distraction. Notice a third way to defeat distraction here in Psalm 135.

3. Recall the works of God. Psalm 135:7-14

     This is the longest section in the Psalm, and rightly so, since God does so much! Psalm 135:7-14 records for us God’s works or providence. The Heidelberg Catechism, question 27, raises this question, 

“What do you understand about the providence of God?”

It gives this answer: “The almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures, and so governs them, that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yes, all things, come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.”

    We definitely see God’s providence here in Psalm 135:7-14, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings for the rain, who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. 8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He smote many nations and slew mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan; 12 And He gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people. 13 Your name, O Lord, is everlasting, your remembrance, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants.”

     We see God’s providence at work in His creation, redemption, and our future. God knows what is best. These truths are what we glean from focusing upon the works of God.  

      Sometimes when I cannot readily see His work in my life at present, I’ll focus on His works over the past course of my life. God never changes (Malachi 3:6), which means He will always be at work in my present life and in whatever He has ordained for my future. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 31:15 “My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.” How do we defeat distraction in our prayer-life and thought-life? By remembering His names, reviewing His perfections, and recalling His works. One more method from Psalm 135.

4. Repeat the praises of God. Psalm 135:19-21

     Psalm 135:19-21 “O house of Israel, bless the Lord; O house of Aaron, bless the Lord; 20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord; you who revere the Lord, bless the Lord. 21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!” 

       That word translated “bless” speaks of “bending the knee in thanksgiving to God”. The force of the Hebrew verbs translated “bless” gives the idea of continuing a process. We could even say there is a certain what we call “antiphonal” quality to this final set of commands.

     Have you ever heard a choir sing a line of a song, with one part repeating the line and the other perhaps joining in with a chorus or some other line that adds and builds momentum? That’s what we mean by “antiphonal”. To make it clearer, Isaiah 6:3 records a worship scene in Heaven involving the Seraphim, a special class of angels, “And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” The whole of Israel is told to begin, followed by the priestly leadership of the Aaronic priesthood, then the servants of the temple – the Levites, and then each personal member of the nation. Praise is made personal. 

Closing thoughts:

We focus on God by His name, perfections, works, and repetition of His praises. Let’s use this antidote of Psalm 135 to refocus on God and defeat distraction.