How To Properly Utilize Prayer And Meditation
From one who had a long way to go to become even nearly comfortable with either.
Image by Author James Boylan and Copilot
How’s this for a start toward recovery? My prayers had usually been “God, get me out of this…..(fill in the blanks)… and I will never do it again.” My Higher Power would get me out of the mess and I would chump It or It wouldn’t get me out and I believe that God had chumped me.
When I first came to Alcoholics Anonymous, I was quite lost when it came to prayer and or meditation. Maybe I was even a little intimidated by hearing about prayer and meditation.
The main point was that my prayer was a selfish begging, pleading, self-centered plea to make me feel better about myself. This was after whatever I had just done that was probably horribly wrong in the first place.
It was always about poor, little, self-centered me. The Spiritual program of AA of course had an answer in Step 11. There it said “Praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.”
We have talked here before about “Fake it ‘till you make it” and so fake it is just what I did! Long, drawn-out prayers asking for mercy or help for a long list of transgressions and or people were instantly shrunk into the few words of the 11th step.
“God thank you for today’s sobriety and thank you for the knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry it out.”
Thanking in advance is Affirmative Prayer, which we learn about in our Spiritual studies. Bingo, my life immediately started to get much better. I had not known how to pray without it sounding stilted and fake and begging until I read Emmet Fox.
I learned about Mr. Fox because he was the Spiritual Advisor for Bill W., who was a co-founder of AA. He said, “Every thought is a prayer!” Now, that can be both energizing and fear-inducing. “Now I’ve gotta even clean up my thoughts?”
Mr. Fox became my spiritual advisor through his essays and writings. For many years, I would pore through his writings seeking answers to my conflicting thoughts.
His book Sermon On The Mount was used as AA’s first Big Book until Bill W. wrote the one that is used today. The 12 Steps are steeped in New Thought Spirituality which Mr. Fox was an early leader in.
The AA Program is a simple program for complicated folks. So, let’s simplify the difference between prayer and meditation. Simply put — prayer is talking to God and meditation is God is talking to you.
So, to properly utilize prayer and meditation, just stick to the simplicity of the AA Program. Pray for only the knowledge of His will for you and the power to carry it out.
You might also add the shortened version of the 3rd Step, saying simply, “God, help me,” then getting out of Its way and letting It. When you do this, the next thing you do will be right. Right as in do the next right thing.
After you pray, God communicates with you by guiding you to the next right thing. He uses your feelings and emotions as your guide. After prayer, you will know if it is right because you FEEL it and KNOW it. And, if there is any apprehension at all, it is time to reconsider.
This, folks, is how I became happy, joyous, and free today. If I can do it, you can too. It is NEVER too late to start!
Thank you, God!