Day 2: Prayer Lesson 2: IN MOMENTS OF GREAT STRESS, CHOOSE YOUR PRAYER COMPANIONS. IT IS A VALID AND A HELPFUL OPTION.
Matt 26:36-39: “36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray ." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." NIV
The Lord Jesus is our model of what a prayerful person should be. From Him we learn that prayer is really conversing with the Father (Matthew 6:9). From Him also we learn that in moments of great stress, we must be very choosy about who our prayer companions should be. He had many other disciples but the closest to Him were the eleven (11 only because Judas had already disqualified Himself). And yet, on that terribly difficult Thursday evening, the Lord brought with Him only three (3) persons: Peter and the siblings James and John. Obviously the clear lesson is this: You can pray for everyone but you cannot pray WITH EVERYONE. Next time you pray, remember: choose carefully your prayer companions.
One important reason for choosing carefully your prayer companions is that you should be free to express your emotions when you pray. This is hardly possible when you are surrounded by people who are not very close to you and who may not understand what you are going through. SUGGESTION: Pray for wisdom so you can identify the people you may want to consider as your prayer companions. It is important to have some.

Day 3: Prayer Lesson 3: THERE IS GREAT VALUE IN RESTRICTED INTERCESSION SO GET INTO IT.
John 17:9: I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
John 17 is often called the High Priestly Prayer. That simply means that He was bringing the concerns of His people to the Father. That is correct of course but there is another concept in this chapter that is so important and one that we should not miss: RESTRICTED INTERCESSION. In contrast with general intercession which is a prayer for everyone, RESTRICTED INTERCESSION is to intentionally not pray for some at a certain time in order to focus our prayers in favor of a specific number of people.
In John 17, the Lord states so clearly that He is not praying for the world (which is general intercession) but only for the disciples or those whom the Father has given to the Lord. This is restricted intercession and it is a valid and a valuable concept. We need to learn to pray for specific people; these are the people who are known to us and more likely are close to our hearts. This is what the Lord did. Pray for your family members by name. Pray for others who are close to you. Pray for their specific needs and specific issues in their lives. SUGGESTION: Begin to compile a list of people you will include in your RESTRICTED INTERCESSION and get into the habit of praying for these people regularly.

Day 4: Prayer Lesson 4: YOU CANNOT BE A GOOD INTERCESSOR FOR YOUR LOVED ONES UNLESS YOU DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO REMEMBER THEM.
Eph 1:16. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Phil 1:3: I thank my God every time I remember you. NIV
Paul, it seems, had a very special relationship with two groups of Christians: The Ephesians and the Philippians. He tells the Ephesians that he remembers them in his prayer. He says the same thing to the Philippians (1:3). You too can think of special relationships with special people in your life; your spouse, your children, your parents, you siblings, your close friends and the like. Some of those you love may just be by your side everyday. Some may be away. But whether they are there or are away, it is important to intentionally remember them in your prayers.
This is a troubled world and troubles often make us busy; too busy to intentionally pray for our loved ones. Here is a simple test: When was the last time that you took the time to really spend time to pray for the welfare of the person or persons you really love? I am not talking about the mention-in-passing type of prayer but the kind where you intentionally pause, stop and spend time discussing with God the welfare of the person or persons you love. Think again, you may have missed this. Don’t. SUGGESTION: No matter how busy your day is, find the time to stop and say well-meant and not-hurried prayer for the person or persons you love.

Day 5: Prayer Lesson 5: DISCIPLINED PRAYER LIFE IS DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE WHEN WE LEARN TO BE GRATEFUL IN EVERYTHING.
1 Thess 5:15-18. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Mincing no words, Paul told the Thessalonians that giving thanks in everything IS GOD’S WILL FOR THEM! He discusses this in the context of prayer. I suppose the lesson that comes out clearly is that to maintain a disciplined prayer life, we must learn how to be grateful in everything; In EVERYTHING? Yes in everything and this is in the context of praying without ceasing (verse 17).
Is it hard to be grateful in everything? Not if we have already disciplined ourselves to do this. You see, most people say HI or GOOD MORNING when they see others. They have trained themselves to do that and so it comes naturally. Saying thank you is something like that. In everything, we find a reason to be grateful to God. Whether it is a good or a difficult experience we will learn to say THANK YOU LORD. If it is a good experience, we say Thank You because it is good and beneficial to us. If it is difficult, we will still say Thank You for the training and lessons we learn and for the blessing that will surely come after a bad experience. SUGGESTION: Try this: Literally say thank you for everything that happens to you and explain why you must say thank you to God.

Day 6: Prayer Lesson 6: MEEKNESS, PATIENCE AND KINDNESS ARE VIRTUES THAT WILL HELP US MAINTAIN A PRAYERFUL, GRATEFUL AND JOYFUL LIFE.
1 Thess 5:15-18. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Meekness is self-control that demonstrates itself as the ability not to be controlled by provocations. Patience is self-control that tolerates delay in what was expected. Kindness is the discipline of extending something that is good to someone who has a need. Grace describes the fact that the recipient is undeserving but kindness describes the nature and intent of the giver. Where do you find these words in the passage?
Not repaying evil for evil is MEEKNESS. When we learn to tolerate and wait until what we have expected comes to pass, that is called PATIENCE. When you have been praying for someone to be changed in his attitude and the change has not happened yet, be patient, keep on praying and wait until it comes to pass. KINDNESS is when we seek that which is good for others. Kindness is the antidote to the poison called selfishness. Without these three: MEEKNESS, PATIENCE AND KINDNESS, it is almost impossible to maintain a joyful, grateful and prayerful life. SUGGESTION: You will always see something you will not like. Ask God to help you not to be provoked and not to react but to wait. Ask God to help you to do something good to others even when you do not seem to be willing to do it.

Day 7: Prayer Lesson 7: TWO PRAYER ACTIVITIES CHARACTERIZE THE TRULY PRAYERFUL PERSON: THE MORNING PRAYER AND THE OVERNIGHT PRAYER.
Mark 1:35: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Luke 6:12: One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (NIV)
People were looking for the Lord (Mark 1) but He was not there. He disappeared early in the morning when it was still dark. He went away to an isolated place where He prayed to the Father. This was the prayer time that would begin His day and would usher in all the activities for the day. This is the prayer form that the Koreans, so we heard, have practiced for sometime now resulting to a life of prayer that still continues to amaze other Christians all over the world. Do you have this early morning prayer?
Just before the Lord called twelve (12) persons to become the 12 disciples, He spent the night praying to the Father. Something so important (choosing the 12) must be an item for and overnight discussion with the Father. We do not read of this as a very frequent event in the life of the Lord (unlike the morning prayer) and we can think of it as something that we must also resort to from time to time especially when we are confronted with life-changing issues or life-draining problems. It is not too late to start. Let’s go back to the old-fashioned Morning Quiet Time and occasionally, the Overnight Prayer Meeting. SUGGESTION: Pray first for the courage and discipline to begin your morning prayer regularly. Then discuss with others the possibility of an overnight prayer. Begin with 4 hours; increase it to 5 then to 6 hours and finally 7 hours. A prayer that starts at 10 PM and ends at 5 AM (7 hours) is considered a full overnight prayer.

Let Us Pray :As the Breath Is To The Body So Prayer Is To The soul

Let Us Pray
As the Breath Is To The Body So Prayer Is To The soul
(1 Thessalonians 5:17:) Pray without ceasing. (Luke 11:1:) Lord, Teach Us To Pray.

PRAYER INSIGHTS:
The Greek noun for Prayer is PROSEUCHE (Pros:yoo:khay) and it can simply be understood as CONVERSING WITH GOD. The conversational nature of prayer is clearly evident in that when we pray, we actually SPEAK TO SOMEONE and that SOMEONE is OUR FATHER in heaven.

As breath is important to the body, so is prayer so important to the soul. Just as we breathe without ceasing, so we are also told to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. The truth however is that many Christians have either stopped praying altogether or have resorted to a ritualistic prayer with nothing of the fervor that we see when we converse with someone we love. Let’s talk about prayer and then let’s pray correctly and meaningfully.

Day 1: Prayer Lesson 1: SPEAK FREELY TO GOD IN PRAYER. DON’T EDIT OR PROOFREAD YOUR PRAYER.
Luke 22:42-44: 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. NIV
It was Thursday evening in Gethsemane. In a few hours, the Lord Jesus would be arrested, tortured throughout the night and crucified the next day. Crucifixion in itself was a painful and cruel punishment but in the case of Jesus, it would be a terribly difficult experience as it would require paying for the sins of the people. Not mincing words, the Lord spoke to the Father and said: Father, If You are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but Thine be done.”
What exactly was being discussed in this prayer? Here it is: the possibility of being spared from the pain of the impending torture and crucifixion. But the Lord surrendered to the will of the Father knowing fully well that it is the only right response to the threat of pain and torture. The prayer was intellectually honest. It did not attempt to sugarcoat the words to make these more pleasant to the ears of the Father. The prayer was emotionally honest; it stated clearly the issue at hand. It was also spiritually honest. It presented a possibility but it also affirms complete surrender to the Father. That is the way to pray. Speak from you heart but speak with honesty. If you are hurting, say so to God. If you believe you have been cheated, say so to God. Speak from your heart. God will understand. SUGGESTION: Try praying a very honest and unedited prayer. Remember you are conversing with God and not submitting an article to a Newspaper.