Welcome to this week’s Living Word. Our theme is Discipleship. In the ancient world, a disciple wasn’t just a student sitting in a classroom; they were a follower who walked alongside their teacher to learn a whole way of life. We are invited to do the same with Jesus. It isn’t just about knowing facts; it is about staying connected. This week, we explore prayer not as a religious duty to be ticked off, but as the essential lifeline between a disciple and their Master.

The Request

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

A reading from the Gospel of Luke

“He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'”

The Gospel of the Lord

R./ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

The disciples watched Jesus do amazing things. They saw Him walk on water, feed thousands, and heal the sick. But they never asked, “Lord, teach us to walk on water.” They never asked, “Teach us to do miracles.” The only thing they ever specifically asked Him to teach them was how to pray. They realised that Jesus’ power came from his quiet time with the Father. They saw that prayer wasn’t just a religious duty for Him; it was his lifeline. Discipleship begins when we stop trying to do everything on our own strength and ask: “Lord, teach me how to connect with You.”

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think prayer is often the first thing we drop when we get busy?
  
• If you wanted to learn a new skill (like driving or an instrument), you would practice. Is faith like a skill that needs practice?
  

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The Mindset

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross. Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Becoming a disciple requires a shift in mindset. We are used to being the centre of our own universe—my phone, my feed, my grades. In the Marvel movie Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange is a brilliant but arrogant surgeon. He has to travel to Nepal to learn that the world is much bigger than he thinks. He has to stop being a “master” and become a “disciple.”

“You’re a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You’ve spent your life trying to widen it. Your work saved the lives of thousands. What if I told you that reality is one of many?” Dr Strange had to be humbled before he could learn. He had to accept that he didn’t know everything. Prayer is like “opening your eye.” It is stepping out of your small world (the keyhole) and realising that God is vast, mysterious, and real. A disciple is someone who admits: “I don’t have all the answers. I need to learn.”

• Is your world “small” at the moment? (Focused only on your own problems?)
• What would it be like to “open your eye” and see God in your daily life?

The Tools

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

A mechanic has tools. An artist has brushes. A disciple has tools for prayer. Sometimes we find prayer hard simply because we don’t know how to start. We sit in silence and our brains just wonder what’s for lunch. This week, we want to give you a specific tool to help you tune in.

This week take some time to look at this “Prayer Model” it will be on you classroom walls soon and is a reminder of how we can all begin to be disciples.