the acceptance thread made me curious about prayer. i liked what citychick said. that reminded me of. "thats y the windshield is so big and the rear view mirror is so small, u r suppose to b looking forward." the past is the past.

bob said, There was a chapter I read in the EHA 12 steps book which said to think of prayer as the uplink in God's internet and meditation as the download or, waiting for an answer. That out Higher Power is is talking to us 24/7 but most of the time we don't hear because negative emotions like anger, hate, envy, jealousy etc, are all blocks in that communication link we all have with our Higher Power and we need to let go of those emotions and give them to God.

Prayer and meditation, Is something that like anything in life, takes practice. We are spoken to in signs and symbols and we just need to be aware and learn to interpret them.

i prayed a ton when i first sobered up. or when im sick. i use to know the 3rd step prayer. its a good prayer. i figure God is always there. i hope God has a good sense of humor. he has to. he made me.

I love the Serenity prayer, Step 3 prayer, Step 7 prayer and the St Francis prayer. Those and the Lord's Prayer were the only prayers I used at first. As time goes by I have become accustomed to praying that others may be helped in a more specific way.

I was chatting with a friend last night after the meeting. He recently had a cancer scare and had to go through uncomfortable procedures to get to the specific diagnosis. He said he was scared and prayed to his idea of a Higher Power not for a negative result or to be cured but only for courage and acceptance for whatever lay ahead. He said it took the inner turmoil away and he felt much calmer.

It reinforced the message for me to be mindful always of what I pray for.

I love the Serenity Prayer and often repeat it when feeling down (which happens pretty often).
I cannot start my day without wishing "Good Morning" to Him (an AA friend of mine who is not with us anymore used to do that) usually sitting outside (usually is dark, I wake up well before the sun comes up). Like He was outside, and I was going out to Him. (I know that He is everywhere, He is in me as well.)
I thank Him for being alive, waking up sober. I talk to Him, till I feel calmer, ask Him to keep me sober for the day. To direct my thinking...(it's all over the place). Praying for other people, praying for myself. Talking and listening. (Talking is easier.) Evening, I thank Him and then thinking over my day, I discuss it with Him, asking for His forgiveness (He does forgive me for everything, anyway), what I did or rather what I didn't. That's the basics of my relationship with my God.

I like what Antonia said.....praying for courage and acceptance of gods plan instead of praying for specific outcomes in your own agenda. I pray for guidance now.

Serenity prayer has helped me in the darkest times.

The serenity prayer has definetly been and continues to be greatly comforting.
I also love this version:

"God grant me the serenity to love their best; and never fear their worst."

The following prayer is the third step prayer found in the Big Book and used by Bill W.:


God, I offer myself to Thee To build with me & to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy love & Thy way of life.
May I do Thy will always.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kafVkPxjLYg

u dont have to say u love me, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kafVkPxjLYg

The only person that you can change is yourself. Don't dell on or regret the past. There is a Buddhist concept of non-self. Are you the same person as you were at age 12? are you the same as you were when you were drinking? Are you the same person as you were last week? Each day you are not the same as the day before. The old self doesn't exist. You are what you are today. Stay in the now.

I sometimes allow myself to get wrapped up in the emotions of others but saying the serenity prayer over and over and just asking God for help and guidance, has helped me tremendously.

Placing control of my life in His Hands has never let me down!

Example: Business has been slow. I went to a meeting tonight, it was a good meeting, came home and checked my sales and had one big one and tentatively two more! I have more then enough to pay my electric bill this month and a few more besides.
The help seems to come when I need it the most!

Early in sobriety, I would hear alot about this from others and I always wanted what they had and came to realize that all I have to do is ask and stay sober and be honest to myself and to others.



God Bless!

Practice what you preach is not necessarily AA but...sometimes many of us don't realize that when we "preach" to others...we are the worst offenders....I know for myself, when I am in judgement, I'm probably judging.....

Thank you for the reminder about this beautiful prayer. and about looking ahead. Prepare. Don't look back and regret. I was standing in my kitchen feeling a little down and I thought of this prayer. I started cleaning the kitchen.