There’s nothing more simple or profound a prayer than “Help”.
I started to think about the 7th Step today and that thought came right after that. For me, this has been one of the quickest ways to deal with my character defects, which contributes to the unmanageable side of my life.
This kind of prayer started back before I came into AA. Not so much “Help”, as a prayer, but help nevertheless. Asking God, as I understood him then, to stop me from drinking. Beyond my understanding, it worked.
I’ve heard others through my years in here say that’s their basic prayer. That and “Thanks”. That last prayer is one I try to remember each and everyday I have been sober. Thanks for keeping me sober today.
I was thinking about prayer earlier, but the 7th Step thought reminded me of my earlier thoughts. Those were about the 11th Step. Intending and willing to make a conscious contact with God as I understand him. Taking time aside to begin my day. Not always early on, but as early as possible for me.
This practice of prayer and meditation has not always been easy for me. “Formal” prayer, the ones written for us to say, have always come hard. Mainly because I start them and find my mind wandering all over the place. The same with meditation. I’ve had to find other ways and means of talking and trying to sit in God’s presence. It has been a slow process.
However, I know that, if I want to stay sober, these practices must be part of helping me to grow along spiritual lines. The desire to grow spiritually always wants to follow these guidelines I have been given. The decidedly human side of me does not. That must be the alcoholic part. To give into that side could very well take me back to a drink. And I don’t want to go there again.
In the BB Bill W. says that eternal vigilance is the price of sobriety. Part of that for me is to be aware of my failings. To pay attention to where my thoughts are headed. I often catch myself not wanting to do the very things which are essential in this program. That’s why I have tried to keep up with my conversations with other alcoholics and talk about what’s bothering me. And, in turn, listen to what’s bothering them. It’s helped me enormously in maintaining my sobriety and my “prayer life”.
CS Lewis once said that prayer does not change God’s mind, but it certainly changed him. I know that if I want to continue to change I have to remember what he said.
Anyway, I was thinking about this today