Do you find prayer repetitive? Do you loose concentration when praying?
Sometimes i rush my prayers without a lot of thought. This is wrong i know. I do try to concentrate but do find it hard.
For those of us who recite the Rosary (Please, no Catholic Bashing on this) i also get lost in the day etc when praying the Rosary.
I know this is all normal but i really do wish i could push aside thoughts of the day, of life and just concentrate on God alone!
Is this the same for you or not. If not, help!
I have found several things to help, and my geronda has suggested others. And I don't know anything about praying the Rosary - my prayers include such things as the formal prayers of the Orthodox Church, the Jesus prayer, extemporaneous prayers for the needs of others/forgiveness/thankfulness, the Psalms, etc. So some of my prayers are read, and some I just pray according to need.
Unless you are just trying to develop a discipline of prayer in the very beginning, reciting prayers without attending to the words is almost useless, and can be more spiritually damaging than edifying. However, yes, we all struggle at some times or others, whether praying personal prayers or formal ones, with distraction, being in a hurry, needs of the day crowding in, or just plain spiritual attack.
One thing that helps is to set aside more time than you will need for your prayers. If you are constantly rushed and can never find the time, and really can't adjust your schedule, then perhaps your prayers are too long? In our Tradition, that would be something to discuss with a spiritual guide/priest/geronda. As a general rule though, it is far more profitable spiritually to pray fewer prayers with full attention than rush through many prayers. It isn't a contest, and we aren't checking off a box of "number of prayers prayed".
At the beginning of a time dedicated to prayer, it is helpful to quiet the mind, direct oneself toward God, meditate on Him for a moment, realize Who we are praying to, etc. Some people find a hymn or praise, etc. to begin to be helpful. And always ask Christ to send the Holy Spirit to put prayer in your heart.
Do concentrate on the words. Savor them. Think about what you are praying. The prayers in my prayer rule change (except the Trisagion, which is a short section), so I am less likely to get stagnant about them. But even so, after having the same rule for many months, I have pretty much memorized all the prayers that go into it. Still, I find that I constantly focus on a different word, a different emphasis, or I find they apply in ways I did not think of before. So it is as if they change and grow with me, even though they are the same prayers.
When your mind wanders (and it almost certainly will, for one reason or another, from time to time) ... don't spend a lot of time beating yourself up about it. That's wasteful of your prayer time and a further distraction. Ask forgiveness quickly, draw your mind back, ask God for help, and either go back to a point where you lost concentration, or pick up concentration from where you are and go on. This part takes practice for nearly all of us. It gets easier the more you do it, though spiritual attacks may intensify over time as you improve. Those are dealt with essentially the same way. (ETA: except I should have mentioned, I always find it good to make the sign of the Cross when spiritual attack is involved - it's not magic of course, but helpful.)
I have noticed that at certain times my mind is much more likely to drift. I like to pray while I am driving, and then my mind is more distractable. But sometimes those drifts actually have something to do with my prayers and my spiritual life. I often turn those thoughts into something to pray about, talk to God about what I am thinking, and then draw myself back if I have a particular purpose to my prayer. It can be profitable both ways. You will probably soon realize which is simple distraction to be ignored, and which is something that can be turned into prayer.
I don't know much at all about Catholic prayers, but I have gotten very good advice from monastics and writings for monastics in the Orthodox Church. I hope some of this may be helpful. Sorry to sound "authoritative" ... I'm really just passing on things others have said that I have benefited from, except the driving in the car part none of it is mine. God be with you.