Archive for the ‘AA Prayer’ Category
PRAYER: Pain & Anguish
Posted in 12 Steps, AA, AA Prayer, Abuse, Addiction, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholism on February 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »
MY PRAYER: Father,
In my pain and my anguish—
When my heart was broken
And darkness threatened to overwhelm me—
I felt so lost and abandoned, but I wasn’t.
Despite my anxiety and my trembling heart,
You were there, never leaving my side,
Diligently working within my heart,
Stripping me of all of my pretense,
Scourging me of all of my arrogance,
And revealing each of my self-serving ways,
Which have made my life a wasteland.
For so long, I had no concern or awareness
About anything You desired for my life.
My only purpose was to find relief from my torment,
But Your determined pruning has run far deeper
Than anything I could have imagined or even conceived.
I thought my anguish would never end,
And I would never be able to smile at the future again.
In my distress, I enumerated the desires of my heart,
Repeatedly asking You to grant my wishes,
But You never would, which compounded my sorrow.
What I have gained through my loss, though,
May have been the most valuable lesson of my life.
Out of my pain and ennui, You have raised me up,
Placing my feet on solid, immovable ground,
Strengthening me with power in the inner man,
And made me sound at the core of my being.
No longer fearful or timid, I am peaceful and confident.
Instead of filling my hours with fretful apprehensions,
My state of mind has become peaceful and serene.
None of this would have taken place,
If You had not changed my heart’s desire,
Irreversibly transforming my perspective.
Without Your loving, consistent attentiveness,
I would never have learned my lessons.
Instead, I would have been destined
To repeat my mistakes endlessly,
Like an unreasoning animal
Rather than like a beloved child of the King,
Amen.
PRAYER: Discerning God’s Will
Posted in 12 Steps, AA, AA Prayer, Abuse, Addiction, Amazing Grace, Anger, Behavior on January 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Understanding Your leading is not always difficult.
You are crystal clear about so many things—
About honesty, fidelity, and caring for others.
With these, it is impossible to misunderstand Your will,
But most of life isn’t this simple—
Nor is Your will that easy to discern.
It is not always crystal clear—
Not black and white—which I wish it would be.
Instead, it is varying hues of gray, making choices perplexing.
It seems like I am never clear about Your leading,
And yet You expect me to follow You blindly,
Putting my trust in You without reservation.
As I try to discern Your purpose, I have been forced
To step out in faith and be bold many times,
Without any idea of what the future might hold,
Or of what the results of my actions would be.
Nothing ever seems to end the way I think it should,
Or the way I thought it would, forcing me to wonder
If I have understood You accurately. Instead, I wonder
If have I done nothing more than project my desires,
Calling them Your will, when they really were not.
As I walk by faith, I rarely receive the answers I expect,
Which You could easily disclose but never seem to do.
I look at my situation, demanding to know the outcome,
While You already knowing what that will be.
Your ways are beyond my capacity to discern.
As others view my life, scornfully mocking,
Delighting at what seems like my certain failure,
I can count on the assurance of Your guidance.
You know what You have planned for my life.
No matter how contemptuously others view my plight,
From the depth of my soul, Your voice
Reassures me that You are in charge.
You are God Almighty, and I am not.
As I acquiesce, my soul is quieted, and I become still.
When I obediently release the outcome to You,
I accept that I may look foolish to many,
Especially on the outside; but on the inside—
Where it really counts, I’m becoming incredibly strong
In ways that are destined to have value for me and for others,
Amen.