How many times does your mind wander while you are praying. It often gets discouraging. It is easy to start thinking that trying to pray is worthless because our mind is going a mile a minute. I met an expert in contemplative prayer many years ago and I was able to speak with him on this very subject. He taught me that in our daily life we can see or even hear many airplanes fly over our heads throughout the day yet we don’t stop what we are doing. We notice it and then let it fly by. It is the same in prayer, he said. See the distractions as if they were planes flying by, acknowledge them and let them pass by. When the next one comes do the same. In your prayer, let God know you are struggling with distractions but that you are doing your very best. If there is a particular distraction that continues to bother you there might be a very good reason for it. Raise it to God and ask for guidance as to what to do. It might be an opportunity to find some healing in your life. But as for the little distractions that come and go just acknowledge them and let them go. The whole idea of prayer is to commune with God. Hope this helps a little for your prayer time.
Blessings to you,
Bro.Mark
Hermits of St. Giles