Archive for the ‘Intrinsic Benefits’ tag
The Power and Progression of Prayer in Recovery
To qualify all of this, I am not subscribed to any organized religion. Although I believe there is much value in the teachings of all religions, I don't like God as I understand him to have rules imposed by others. That is one of the beautiful things about 12 step programs to me, I can relate to a God of my understanding.
With that said, prayer has become a very important part of my recovery. It didn't happen overnight, and I still have a long way to go. Going from cursing God every morning for waking me up another day, to thanking him for the same reason is a humbling thing. What's interesting to me, is how my prayer life has progressed throughout my recovery. That includes my previous unsuccessful attempts.
I started out like most probably do, praying in disbelief. Was there really a God? If there was why did he care about me after all the terrible things I had done? Most of all, why would he want to help me? Those feelings slowly passed, as I saw the intrinsic benefits of prayer. I didn't want to believe, I really didn't. It all started with those foxhole prayers during my addiction, "God please help me", "Get me out of this, I swear I'll never do it again" and so forth. One day that please help me prayer was answered, and my life was never the same.
As things have progressed my prayers have become more complex. More thought goes into them. First I thank God for keeping me clean and sober that day, then I continue into other prayers. Prayers for my own well being, for those I love and care about, and strangely enough for those I hold resentments against. That was a tough one.
I thought this would be a good place to share thoughts and opinions on prayer. For or against, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and experience. What I am really interested in is the prayers that my fellow addicts use for the problems that may arise. I have many of them, but this post is long enough so I'll share them as we go. The serenity prayer and the other step prayers are of course classic and integral, but that's not really what I am getting at. Everyone seems to have their own conception of prayer and God, and that's the main thing I'd love to hear about. This could be a good resource for newcomers to recovery, as well as something valuable for people with tons of time. We all can learn from each other. If you're not interested just move on no problem, but I am very interested and it would be great to hear other's opinions, and questions, about prayer and recovery. Sorry to ramble and thanks in advance for your thoughts.
With that said, prayer has become a very important part of my recovery. It didn't happen overnight, and I still have a long way to go. Going from cursing God every morning for waking me up another day, to thanking him for the same reason is a humbling thing. What's interesting to me, is how my prayer life has progressed throughout my recovery. That includes my previous unsuccessful attempts.
I started out like most probably do, praying in disbelief. Was there really a God? If there was why did he care about me after all the terrible things I had done? Most of all, why would he want to help me? Those feelings slowly passed, as I saw the intrinsic benefits of prayer. I didn't want to believe, I really didn't. It all started with those foxhole prayers during my addiction, "God please help me", "Get me out of this, I swear I'll never do it again" and so forth. One day that please help me prayer was answered, and my life was never the same.
As things have progressed my prayers have become more complex. More thought goes into them. First I thank God for keeping me clean and sober that day, then I continue into other prayers. Prayers for my own well being, for those I love and care about, and strangely enough for those I hold resentments against. That was a tough one.
I thought this would be a good place to share thoughts and opinions on prayer. For or against, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and experience. What I am really interested in is the prayers that my fellow addicts use for the problems that may arise. I have many of them, but this post is long enough so I'll share them as we go. The serenity prayer and the other step prayers are of course classic and integral, but that's not really what I am getting at. Everyone seems to have their own conception of prayer and God, and that's the main thing I'd love to hear about. This could be a good resource for newcomers to recovery, as well as something valuable for people with tons of time. We all can learn from each other. If you're not interested just move on no problem, but I am very interested and it would be great to hear other's opinions, and questions, about prayer and recovery. Sorry to ramble and thanks in advance for your thoughts.
