Al-Anon daily reflection ·

However I Choose to Ask

As we learned in Step Three, there is no set way to communicate with our Higher Power.

Paths to Recovery, p. 73

I've been stuck on how to pray Step Seven correctly. Should I use the exact wording from the Big Book? Write my own prayer? Pray on my knees or sitting? Morning or evening? I keep waiting to figure out the right method before I actually ask God for help. My sponsor finally said: There's no right way. Just ask.

As we learned in Step Three, there is no set way to communicate with our Higher Power. No set way. Not one correct prayer. Not specific words I must use. Not a particular posture or time of day. However I choose to communicate with God is the right way for me. Some people kneel. Some walk outside and talk to God in nature. Some write prayers in journals. Some speak spontaneously from the heart.

What matters isn't the method. What matters is that I actually ask. I've been using the question of how as a way to avoid the vulnerability of asking. Because once I ask—however I do it—I've admitted I need help I cannot provide myself. I've made my powerlessness real. I've entered into relationship with God as someone who needs divine intervention. The how doesn't matter. The asking does.

Practice

Right now—in the car, at my desk, wherever I am—I can speak to God in my own words without a script: God, please remove my [specific defect]. Just ask, however it comes out.

Today’s Reminder

The asking matters more than the method.

More on prayer and meditation

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Written by people with lived experience of someone else’s drinking who practice the Twelve Step program of recovery. Published by Daily Growth, LLC.

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