Is Your Prayer Distracted and Interrupted?

If you feel like your prayer life is failing, Maria Riley has exactly what you need.

Prayer Before Kids  

If your life as a Catholic parent is anything like mine, then you know that making time for prayer is easier said than done. Before having kids, we enjoyed uninterrupted prayer time, maybe even at the Adoration chapel. Being able to pray an entire Rosary was taken for granted. Back then, all we had to do was silence our phones to prepare for prayer. These days, prayer looks a little different. 

A New Prayer Life  

Since the blessing of children, our prayer lives have morphed. Sure, every once in a while we are gifted precious moments of peace, but they are few and far between and irregular enough that we can’t count on them. Instead, we creatively find time to pray in between playdates and taxiing.  

As busy Catholic parents, we can’t simply refuse to grow spiritually while the kids are still home, yet we don’t have the flexibility for 30-day Ignatian retreats either. For the longest time, I used to feel frustrated with what felt like a failing prayer life. I would start prayers like the Rosary and rarely finish, either because of the needs of my family or the distractions within my mind. Distracted prayer equaled failed prayer in my mind. 

What I had forgotten is that the Lord knows all things. He knows about the demands of our families. He knows how many things clutter our minds. He knows that our vocation as spouse and parent means we won’t be able to pray exactly like those who are called to religious life. 

The Decision to Pray  

The book In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart, is the diary of a priest who heard Jesus speak to him during prayer. Over the course of nine years, the priest heard the voice of Jesus at various times during prayer. In the book, Jesus says,

Pray using My Mother’s Rosary, even when you feel that your prayer is empty or mechanical, or when you are beset by distractions. The decision to pray pleases My Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. (In Sinu Jesu, 16) 

These simple words unlock the beauty of our imperfect prayer life. What makes our prayer fruitful and meaningful is not its perfection nor completion, but rather that our hearts desire to pray. If we are interrupted or the demands of our family prevent us from praying the way we used to, we can still turn our hearts with confidence to our Lord.  

We may be tempted to go through our day feeling like we’ve failed because we didn’t get through a whole Rosary or have even five minutes of silence with our Lord. Instead, Jesus invites us to pray, no matter what the circumstances. 

Even if we start and stop many times. Even if we’re distracted. Even if we’re interrupted. Even if we don’t feel like we’re doing it “right,” our decision to pray pleases our Lord. 

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Copyright 2026 Maria Riley
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