The battle for sobriety requires you to amass different resources and tools to help you through the situation. You need psychological, physical, and even spiritual support to get the truth. This is mainly due to the challenges you must conquer and the urges you must resist.
One of the most essential elements people hardly talk about is the seventh step, prayer. Normally, AA challenges are a 12-step mission, with the seventh step being one of the most critical parts of it. It is basically a prayer to strengthen one’s spiritual powers and the intervention of God as a guide.
Anyone may think of it as a mere prayer that one recites, but it is more than that. If you want to know more about this prayer, dig right in.
What is the 7th Step Prayer?
As you embark on your mission, you need all the help you can get, including spiritual help. One of them is God, who can intervene and help you deal with emotions, cravings, and other challenges that would be otherwise challenging to handle alone.
That is where the seventh prayer comes in. Basically, it is your surrender and admission that you need help and cannot make it alone unless some spiritual intervention is part of your mission. It is a call for powers beyond your capabilities and that of humanity to intervene on your behalf and guide you all through.
On most occasions, you can follow the standard prayer, which you can recite in the form of a prayer. You also have the option of offering other prayers or modifying the existing version to suit your AA needs. However, the one thing you must maintain is consistency.
Recite the 7th Step Prayer as much as you can to help you bolster the spiritual commitment and support to handle everything. You can buy written and printed prayers and hang them or put them somewhere visible as a reminder to integrate spirituality into the recovery process.
Embracing the Benefits of the Prayer
The seventh step has a lot of significance as you go through the sobriety milestones.
1. Adopting The Best Recovery Trait
Dealing with addiction requires certain traits beyond commitment, dedication, and consistency. Sometimes, you need to let go of your pride, ego, and machoism. Only then can you be humble enough to seek all the help you need and admit your situation.
Otherwise, ego can always hinder the process. A proud person can never admit to addiction but suffers in silence. Battling addiction in silence compromises your ability to be accountable and transparent about your milestones and accomplishments. This is why you need the humility to join the AA community, talk to people for help, and let them be your anchor system throughout.
Therefore, by reciting the prayer, you admit to your flaws and shortcomings and surrender to higher powers to help. You also admit and open your heart to welcome all forms of help, including a friend to help you get through. Those who recite it faithfully are likely to have smoother transitions and experiences.
2. Summoning All the Support
Whether you are religious or not, you must understand that all humans are weak. People are weak to temptation, cravings, and sometimes admission of addiction. That is why sometimes people turn to higher authorities and support for help. This support is in the form of spiritual nourishment and manifestation.
Going through addiction recovery and feeling spiritually powerful can be an amazing journey. Somehow, you have a stronger will and power to rest temptation and to overcome it. Without spiritual strength, even the emotional aspects can be compromised.
If you enjoy spirituality, your emotions stabilize, decision-making improves, and your journey becomes smoother with more inner resources to win. Therefore, as you focus on getting all the support you need, don’t shy away from saying a prayer daily or as many times as possible.
3. A Solace in Times of Need
Sometimes, recovery can be a lonesome process with you dealing with everything. Along the way, people may never care about your mission and purpose. Besides that, sometimes you may decide to embark on the challenge alone without telling anyone.
Regardless of the circumstance, there are moments you will likely feel alone, isolated, and in emotional turmoil. During such moments, the prayer can be a solemn and critical reminder that you are not alone. Somewhere or next to you is a spiritual and powerful being guiding your ways and thoughts.
That being gives you all the power and will never let you go through all the struggles by yourself. This is reassuring and can easily boost the emotional support to keep moving.
4. A Reminder of The Big Promise
Whenever you embark on a recovery journey, you make a promise to yourself to get better, sober, and clean. Along the way, you also make a promise to a higher power to help you get sober. So, you have promises to keep, and you can only get sober when you keep them.
Reciting the prayer reminds you of the promises, the benefits awaiting, and perhaps the consequences of relapse. That is why most people tend to recite the words whenever they feel temptation rising. You can also do the same to remind yourself of the greater promise.
Conclusion
For a better effect, you can master the prayer and recite it whenever you feel the urge rising. You can also recite it whenever you overcome a challenge or pass a milestone. Consistency builds your physical and emotional power to get through.
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