Just for Today: By praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Step Eleven

How do we pray? With little experience, many of us don’t even know how to begin. The process, however, is neither difficult nor complicated. We came to Narcotics Anonymous because of our drug addiction. But underlying that, many of us felt a deep sense of bewilderment with life itself. We seemed to be lost, wandering a trackless waste with no one to guide us. Prayer is a way to gain direction in life and the power to follow that direction. Because prayer plays such a central part in NA recovery, many of us set aside a particular time each day to pray, establishing a pattern. In this quiet time, we “talk” to our Higher Power, either silently or aloud. We share our thoughts, our feelings, our day. We ask, “What would you have me do?” At the same time we ask, “Please give me the power to carry out your will.”Learning to pray is simple. We ask for “knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” By doing that, we find the direction we lacked and the strength we need to fulfill our God’s will.

Just for today: I will set aside some quiet time to “talk” with my Higher Power. I will ask for that Power’s direction and the ability to act on it.

Daily Reflection: This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

During my early years in A.A. I saw Step Ten as a suggestion that I periodically look at my behavior and reactions. If there was something wrong, I should admit it; if an apology was necessary, I should give one. After a few years of sobriety I felt I should undertake a self-examination more frequently. Not until several more years of sobriety had elapsed did I realize the full meaning of Step Ten, and the word “continued.” “Continued” does not mean occasionally, or frequently. It means throughout each day.

MY INSIGHT:

Each of these relates to me today so much it is kind of scary. Just today I was talking about how thinking of this process as a lifelong commitment is terrifying and relaxing at the same time. Of course my desire to use comes and goes in fleeting thoughts at any moment but I know that as long as I continue to pray and continue to seek guidance in my Higher Power I know that this will only get easier. Sometimes in the midst of the chaos of life I forget to just take time to talk to my Higher Power and, when I actually do take the time, this overwhelming feeling of peacefulness comes over me and I am again reminded that I am exactly where I need to be.