Prayer is such a personal thing, because it's us being open and honest with God about what's on our heart and mind. So we need to find a way of praying that suits us. Jesus said: 'When you pray, go into your room, and... pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly' (Matthew 6:6 NKJV). Meaning - where's the place we go, what's the thing we do to spend time with God? For some people it's a morning walk with him. For others, it's sitting by themselves and talking to him in the quietness of their heart. Whatever our go-to is, the only 'right' way, is to be able to talk to and be honest with God in a way we're comfortable with.

One of the many great things about God is that we can talk with him anywhere at any time. Jesus dying on the cross didn't trade our massive spiritual debts for some exclusively heavenly reward: God's love is wall-less, so we can get more of him here, now. The curtain in the temple tore in two. Before, only the high priests were able to talk to God on behalf of everyone. Now, we can personally approach his throne of grace (see Hebrews 4:16).

So what now? Where's your secret place? Where can you be available and vulnerable with God, and where might you find it easier to pray? Find that place, and set it apart for prayer time.

One of the Kings of Israel, Hezekiah, was being intimidated by Sennacherib, King of Assyria. And Hezekiah's first response? 'After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the Lord to see' (Isaiah 37:14 CEV). In his letter, Sennacherib was playing the intimidation game. He was trying to throw his weight around, talking up how big his army was, about all the nations he had conquered and how Hezekiah's God couldn't save him.

Any guesses what happened next? He was made to eat his words. Hezekiah didn't try and oppose the Assyrian army in his own power; he turned to God and laid the bullying letter out to him. How did it turn out: 'The Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed 185,000 of them all in one night' (Isaiah 37:36 CEV).

So, what's our 'intimidating letter'? What's our distressing news, work deadline, failing relationship? No matter what it is, know this: our God is greater than what we face, and he doesn't want us to carry our fear alone.

So what now? If you're feeling intimidated, at work, college or, yes, even at church - chat to someone godly who has people experience under their belt. Ask God to provide you with good advice

Those times when we're in a prayer meeting and absolutely everything's going through our mind - except what's being prayed for. Everything seems to be a distraction, from the rumble informing us we haven't eaten to organising our schedule.

Here's something that should be a relief: we have someone praying for us 24/7. A wise, patient, kind person who just enjoys spending time with people and with God. We find the identity of this person in Romans 8:27 GWT: 'The Spirit intercedes for God's people the way God wants him to.' Let's take a moment to let that sink in. The Holy Spirit is constantly praying for us, for our family, for our anxieties, for our future. That's a sweet deal. The work of the Holy Spirit is to join our spirit with God's, making us more like him.

To maximise this godly connection, let's work towards a more focussed prayer time. Here are two tips: (a) Phone on silent (or off completely!). It's very possible to survive 15 minutes without our phone! (b) Do our best to fight through any tiredness or distractedness - if we can fight past tiredness to watch an extra episode, we can do it for God.

So what now? Make a dedicated effort to spend quality time with God today. Firstly, thank the Holy Spirit that he has brought you before your heavenly Father already.

CS Lewis said, 'Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.' When we refuse to forgive a person who has hurt us, we may feel like we're powerful. But it's a false power. Unforgiveness is like sipping poison and expecting someone else to die. Jesus puts the focus squarely on us: how we're going to deal with the hurt. In Matthew 5:39 NLT, he says 'If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.' That's massively challenging. And the attitude Jesus is talking about here is extremely counter-cultural.

When we have negative words spoken to us, let's test them. If there is any truth in them, our job is to take that truth on board and allow what's been said to change us for better. If there is no truth in them, let's not hold to the words, but brush them off and show grace to whoever hurt us (that's where turning the other cheek comes in).

It's not our job to control other people and their responses - it's our job to control and manage our own emotional health. When we're next wronged by someone, let's not retaliate or hold onto anger or resentfulness, but show the other cheek by offering forgiveness and letting go of the offence.

So what now? Is there someone you're finding hard to forgive? Slowly, carefully, bring them before God. Slowly: obviously, it can't be rushed. Carefully: forgiveness means asking God to allow his forgiveness to flow through you to them bit by bit.

Ever made a mistake, then another, then another, and eventually we're in a tougher-than-tough spot? We wonder how we got there in the first place. Probably we missed (or ignored) several warnings cautioning us to take care. Those bad choices we've made...we're not alone - the Bible's filled with examples of people making really bad decisions. Like when King David slept with another man's wife and then had the husband killed. In the end, David repented and asked for forgiveness - but that didn't mean he avoided the consequences.

We live in this wonderful age where our phones highlight words we've misspelt. What if God had given us something similar, but for moral choices? He has! Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit, to help us discern what's good and what to avoid: 'When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgement' (John 16:8 NCV).

It's not unusual for us to make bad decisions (realistically, in life they're unavoidable), so the important thing to keep in mind is that God has given us the Holy Spirit so we have clarity about what's sin and what's not. One of the Holy Spirit's jobs is to lead us back to God when we mess things up.

So what now? What tempts you to move away or become distracted in your walk with Jesus? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you in these areas. God's heart is always to restore us back to him.

The Bible is full of moments of mankind utterly failing to remember God's character and provision. The people of Israel watched a miracle in the wilderness, then almost overnight forgot that God wanted to be the centre of their nation. The disciples were terrified of a storm that Jesus could calm just by speaking to it. They just didn't trust him to come through. And what about when Jesus tells the disciples to beware the 'yeast' of the Pharisees ('yeast' is a metaphor for their teaching) and they don't get it. Not only do they not get it, they start panicking about whose fault it is that no-one brought bread with them. Jesus talked them through the two miracles they'd just seen where thousands of people were fed (read Matthew 16:5-12)!

Our memory for God doing amazing things isn't great. And it seems our memory get worse the more comfortable we get. God says through Moses: 'When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you' (Deuteronomy 8:10 NIV). And if we forget? The same passage warns that our forgetfulness and pride invite potential downfalls.

So what to do? What if we make regular plans to thank him for what he gives us? And for his grace?

So what now? Whenever you're about to eat today, say grace intentionally, not just blindly. Thank God for your food, and for his goodness to you. Watch how it changes your attitude.