Prayers

All of these prayers refer to God/Higher Power of your own understanding.

As explained in our FAQ and in Step 2 of Life With Hope, "Higher Power means different things to different people. To some of us, it is a God of an organized religion; to others, it is a state of being commonly called Spirituality. Some of us believe in no deity; a Higher Power may be the strength gained from being a part of, and caring for, a community of others. There is room in MA for all beliefs."

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Second Step Prayer

God,
I know in my heart that only You can restore me to sanity.

I humbly ask that You remove all twisted thoughts and addictive behavior from me this day.

Heal my spirit and restore in me a clear mind.

Third Step Prayer

Higher Power,
I have tried to control the uncontrollable for far too long.

I ask that You take this burden from me.
I acknowledge that my life is unmanageable.
I ask for your care and guidance.

Grant me honesty, courage, humility, and serenity, to face that which keeps me from You and others.

I give this life to You, to do with as You will.

Eleventh Step Prayer

God, Please Help Me.

Help me learn what I’m supposed to learn. Help me do what I’m supposed to do.

Help me be who I’m supposed to be.

Stay with me always.

In my hour of deepest despair, and my hour of greatest joy.

Acceptance Prayer

Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake.

Until I could accept my addiction, I could not stay clean. Unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.

Set Aside Prayer

Higher Power,
Please help me set aside everything I think I know about myself, my disease, these steps, and especially You, for an open mind and a new experience with myself, my disease, these steps, and especially You.

Unity Prayer

I put my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone.

No longer is there a sense of hopelessness.

No longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower.

We are all together now, reaching out our hands, for a power and strength, greater than ours.

And, as we join hands, we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams!

Thank you to flickr user Rick from Alabama for the header photo. CC license.