Just Teach Sheet Adults August Week 1

�� Adult Just Teach Sheet – Catholic Faith Formation

August – Week 1: Prayer Is a Relationship, Not a Task

Theme: Prayer & Personal Relationship with God
Audience: Adults (individuals, small groups, RCIA, parents, returning Catholics, etc.)
Purpose: Rediscover prayer as a living relationship with God—not a box to tick, but a response to love.

��️ Opening Prayer (use at the start of each session/day)

Lord, You created me for Yourself, and my heart is restless until it rests in You.
Teach me to pray—not just with my words, but with my life.
Open my heart this week to recognise Your voice. Amen.

�� Weekly Structure

Use this guide across the week as five short personal prayer times or discussions.
Each section includes:

A short Scripture passage

A simple teaching point

Reflection or discussion questions

A small action step to try

��️ Day 1 – Desire for God

�� Psalm 63:1

“O God, You are my God, I seek You.
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh faints for You,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

�� Teaching Point:
Prayer doesn’t begin with us—it begins with God’s desire for us.
Our longing to pray is a response to His love.

�� Reflect or Discuss:

Have I ever felt a kind of inner thirst—something no entertainment, success, or relationship could fill?

What do I honestly desire most in my life right now?

✍️ Try This:
Spend 3 minutes in silence today with just this line:

“O God, You are my God. I seek You.”
Repeat it slowly. Let the words reach your heart.

��️ Day 2 – Prayer Is Personal

�� CCC 2565

“In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father…”

�� Teaching Point:
Prayer is not a technique. It’s not a duty.
It’s the relationship between you and God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We don’t need to perform; we just need to show up.

�� Reflect or Discuss:

Is my prayer life more about routine or relationship?

Do I speak to God as someone I know—or someone I vaguely believe in?

✍️ Try This:
Speak to God today in your own words. No script, no formality.
Begin simply:

“God, I haven’t spoken to You like this in a while…”
or
“Lord, this is where I’m really at…”

��️ Day 3 – Listening Is Part of Prayer

�� 1 Kings 19:11–12

“The Lord was not in the wind… nor the earthquake… nor the fire…
but in a still, small voice.”

�� Teaching Point:
Prayer is not just talking. It’s also listening.
God often speaks in quiet, subtle ways—through Scripture, the heart, silence, or daily life.

�� Reflect or Discuss:

Am I open to listening—or do I fill every silence?

Have I experienced moments when something “quiet” stirred deeply in me?

✍️ Try This:
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Sit in silence before God.
Begin by saying:

“Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.”
Then… just wait.

��️ Day 4 – What If I Don’t Feel Anything?

�� CCC 2731

“Dryness belongs to contemplative prayer… the heart is separated from God… if this dryness is due to the lack of roots, the word will wither.”

�� Teaching Point:
Not all prayer feels fruitful. That doesn’t mean God is absent.
Prayer is like love—it grows deeper with time, even in silence and struggle.

�� Reflect or Discuss:

Have I given up on prayer in the past because I didn’t “feel” anything?

Can I trust that God is at work in me even when I don’t see results?

✍️ Try This:
Today, pray without expecting anything back. Just show up in love.
You might simply say:

“Lord, I’m here. I trust You.”

��️ Day 5 – Build a Prayer Habit, Not a Performance

�� Luke 11:1

“Lord, teach us to pray…”

�� Teaching Point:
Prayer isn’t about being good at it. It’s about becoming more open.
Even the apostles had to learn how. It’s okay to be a beginner every day.

�� Reflect or Discuss:

What small habit could I start now that helps me show up daily to God?

Do I need a prayer space, a reminder, or a short written prayer?

✍️ Try This:
Choose a single short prayer to repeat each day for a week—perhaps:

“Jesus, I trust in You.”
“Be near me, Lord.”
“Speak, Lord. I’m listening.”

�� End of Week Reflection

Choose any of these to write or discuss:

What surprised me most about prayer this week?

Where did I struggle or resist?

Where did I feel peace, presence, or clarity?

What one habit could I carry forward into next week?

�� Real Talk: “I’m Too Busy to Pray”

You don’t need an hour. You need a heart turned toward God.
You can pray at the sink, in traffic, on a walk, in a quiet sigh, or with a Scripture line in your pocket.
God’s always listening. Are we showing up?