Round the Sphere Again: Prayer

Am I the only one who finds prayer difficult sometimes? It doesn’t always come naturally to me, especially when life is good. I find instructions like these can help me get back on track.

Ways
A list (with scriptural support) of ways to pray for your own or someone else’s prayer life (Tim Challies). 

Steps
From John MacArthur, a series of posts on learning to pray successfully (Grace to You Blog).

1. Steps to Successful Prayer, Part 1: Start with Praise: “The various elements of Jesus’ prayer are all reminders of what our praying ought to include: praise, petition, penitence, and a plea for grace in our sanctification.”
2. Steps to Successful Prayer, Part 2: Stifle Ungodly Presumptions. “[W]e must come to the Lord humbly as worshipers, seeking His will and not our own. Successful prayer isn’t about getting what you want from God—it’s about cementing His glory and honor into their proper, primary place, and submitting your desires and affections to Him.”
3. Steps to Successful Prayer, Part 3: Submit to God’s Paternity. “[W]hen we pray, we are going to a God who is our loving heavenly Father. We can go with a sense of intimacy. We can go with confidence in the same tender, trusting way a little child would go to an earthly father.”