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I understand we should persevere and always pray. But what do I do when prayer has just become words again? A monologue I'm reciting to relieve my conscience. I call "Our Father" and almost instantly my thoughts go somewhere else.

Your struggle is a common one. St. Isaac the Syrian said that we should convert the distracting thoughts into a prayer. By that He means you should pray for any thought that distracts you during prayers. Prepare yourself for prayer by spiritual readings or hymns. Also reading the biography of the saints can be very helpful. Another help may be to pray with other family members and with friends from the church as the Holy Scripture says "two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor… And if one (the devil) prevails against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:9,12).