50 Questions for Reflecting on Improving Mental Focus and Attention

“Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 On Good Friday, we are particularly reminded of how Jesus serves as the ultimate example of intensity of His mental focus, His steadfast attention to His mission and not getting sidetracked with adoration of crowds or the advice from disciples. Christ also suffered hardship and persecution at other times (Philippians 2:8-11); He came to earth in human form as a servant. Jesus both was born and died in humility. His humbleness was not for show, but was part of being an example of obedience. We are to be humble in obedience to Christ, following both the example of Jesus … and the apostles. Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 4:15), but Christ, in enduring our temptations without failure, experienced their weight far beyond the point where we would have failed and given in. Finally, in going through with the crucifixion and descent into Hell, Jesus never wavered in His resolve to do the will of God the Father (Hebrews 5:8) even as he could see the future before it unfolded. Christ’s entire ministry and the superiority of the new covenant (Hebrews 10:12–14)[https://www.bibleref.com/Hebrews/10/Hebrews-10-14.html] are grounded in His example, which we should strive to follow (Hebrews 2:10–11). His willingness to endure those trials came from an understanding that God could, and would, “work together for good” all of those things (Romans 8:28). The end goal of Jesus’ obedience was to establish the purpose we should be striving for: the “city with foundations” (Hebrews 11:10), our ultimate victory and reward in God (Hebrews 11:13–16; Revelation 21:1–14) as for Abraham and Sarah or John in the NEW heaven and NEW earth. Our focus and attention have to be a matter of J O Y … Jesus, Others, You – in that precedence … because as Christians, God’s ultimate purpose for us has to be forward-looking, not longing for the past … not toward an old earth, but a NEW heaven.

  1. How does Paul’s instruction to “set your minds on things above” in Colossians 3:2 relate to developing better mental focus?

  2. What can Peter’s experience of walking on water in Matthew 14:28-31 teach us about maintaining focus amid distractions?

  3. How might the practice of meditation described in Joshua 1:8 strengthen our ability to focus on God’s word?

  4. What connection do you see between Jesus’s teaching on “the eye is the lamp of the body” in Matthew 6:22-23 and mental attention?

  5. How does Paul’s instruction to take thoughts captive in 2 Corinthians 10:5 provide a strategy for improving focus?

  6. What can we learn about single-minded focus from Jesus’s statement in Matthew 6:24 about serving two masters?

  7. How might the Psalmist’s practice in Psalm 119:15 of meditating on God’s precepts help develop intellectual attention?

  8. What lessons about maintaining focus can we learn from Jesus in Luke 5:16 when he withdrew to lonely places to pray?

  9. How does Paul’s admonition in Philippians 4:8 to think about specific things relate to mental discipline?

  10. What insights about focused attention can we gain from Mary’s choice in Luke 10:38-42 to sit at Jesus’s feet?

  11. How might Solomon’s counsel in Proverbs 4:25-27 to keep your eyes straight ahead inform our understanding of focus?

  12. What can Nehemiah’s response to distraction in Nehemiah 6:1-9 teach us about maintaining concentration on important work?

  13. How does David’s declaration in Psalm 16:8 about setting the Lord always before him relate to spiritual focus?

  14. What connections do you see between mental focus and Paul’s instruction to “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17?

  15. How might the concept of “the renewing of your mind” in Romans 12:2 relate to developing better intellectual habits?

  16. What can we learn about attention from Jesus’s response to Satan’s temptations in Matthew 4:1-11?

  17. How does the invitation to “be still and know” in Psalm 46:10 challenge our modern approaches to attention?

  18. What insights about focus can we gain from Paul’s “one thing I do” declaration in Philippians 3:13-14?

  19. How might Jesus’s teaching about the narrow gate in Matthew 7:13-14 relate to focused attention?

  20. What can we learn about undivided attention from the Greatest Commandment in Mark 12:30 to love God with all your mind?

  21. How does Jesus’s example of rising early to pray in Mark 1:35 inform our understanding of creating space for focus?

  22. What connections do you see between mental attention and David’s prayer in Psalm 86:11 for an undivided heart?

  23. How might Solomon’s teaching about the ant in Proverbs 6:6-8 apply to developing focused work habits?

  24. What can Daniel’s prayer habits in Daniel 6:10 teach us about maintaining focus amid external pressures?

  25. How does Paul’s counsel in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 about disciplined training relate to mental focus?

  26. What insights about attention can we gain from David’s longing for God in Psalm 63:1-8?

  27. How might the practice of remembering described in Deuteronomy 8:2 strengthen our mental discipline?

  28. What can we learn about focused attention from Jesus’s teaching on worry in Matthew 6:25-34?

  29. How does James’s warning about double-mindedness in James 1:5-8 highlight the importance of focused attention?

  30. What connections do you see between intellectual focus and Paul’s instruction to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” in Romans 12:2?

  31. How might Asaph’s sanctuary revelation in Psalm 73:16-17 teach us about gaining perspective through focused attention?

  32. What can we learn about mental discipline from the warnings against distraction in Proverbs 17:24?

  33. How does Paul’s challenge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to “be diligent” relate to focused study?

  34. What insights about sustained attention can we gain from the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who examined the Scriptures daily?

  35. How might Jesus’s frequent withdrawal for prayer as in Luke 6:12 inform our own practices of mental focus?

  36. What can Solomon’s teaching about the sluggard in Proverbs 26:13-16 teach us about overcoming mental resistance?

  37. How does the concept of “mindfulness” relate to Paul’s instruction to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” in Romans 12:2?

  38. What connections do you see between mental focus and the instruction to “consider it pure joy” in James 1:2-4?

  39. How might David’s practice of meditation in Psalm 1:2 strengthen our own mental discipline?

  40. What can we learn about attention from Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush in Exodus 3:1-6?

  41. How does Ecclesiastes’ warning against divided efforts in Ecclesiastes 11:6 relate to focused work?

  42. What insights about mental focus can we gain from Jesus’s practice of solitude in Matthew 14:23?

  43. How might Paul’s practice of “forgetting what is behind” in Philippians 3:13-14 help us maintain forward-focused attention?

  44. What can we learn about mental clarity from the wisdom of James 3:17?

  45. How does Jesus’s teaching on the heart’s treasure in Matthew 6:21 relate to what we focus our minds on?

  46. What connections do you see between intellectual attention and the “renewal of knowledge” in Colossians 3:10?

  47. How might the practice of Sabbath rest described in Exodus 20:8-11 contribute to mental clarity and focus?

  48. What can we learn about sustaining attention from Paul’s example of mission focus in 1 Corinthians 2:2?

  49. How does the concept of “abiding” in Christ from John 15:4-5 inform our understanding of sustained spiritual attention?

  50. What insights about improving focus can we gain from Solomon’s advice to “keep my commands and live” in Proverbs 7:1-4?