Prayer and Meditation

Prayer is an opportunity to bring our will into line with God’s plan – Our prayers won’t change God’s mind, but they may change ours. Prayer helps us to understand the mind of God.

Prayer is speaking with God – We can be confident that God hears our prayers and answers when we call on Him. When we feel our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling God loves you. He hears and answers when we speak to Him but the answers may not always be what we expect.

Prayer reflects dependence on God- In recovery we are asked to turn our wills and lives over to Gods care. To do that we must depend on God to answer when He feels it is appropriate – with what He feels we need – knowing that He only has our best interests at heart,

Prayer is better than complaining to each other – We should make a conscious effort to pray when we feel like complaining. Complaining leads to stinking thinking, which leads us back on a downward spiral. Prayer quiets our thoughts and emotions and prepares us to listen.

Meditation is obedient reflection on God’s Word - To be successful in recovery, follow God’s Word. You may not succeed by the World’s standards, but you will be a success in God’s eyes – and His opinion last forever.

Meditation is consistent reflection on God’s Word – Meditation means spending time reading God’s Word and thinking about what you have read. It means asking ourselves how we need to change our attitudes and actions so we are living the way God wants.

Meditation is careful reflection on God’s Word – As we read God’s Word we need to be open and receptive to Him. The mind is like a parachute – it works better when it is open. We need in our personal prayer time ask God to reveal the His truths to us and how He wants us to apply them to our lives.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Mark 14:38 (NIV)

If we are to achieve real sobriety in our lives we must continue to grow. A person who does not continue to grow will slip back.

Spiritual Growth results from listening to God and obeying His Word: Hearing includes absorbing and accepting information from God through daily prayer, reading and meditation of His Word.

Spiritual Growth results from learning more about God: Learning includes understanding God's purpose for our lives and the implications of failing to apply the 12 Step principles in our lives daily.

Spiritual Growth results from following God's leading in our lives: Following is putting into action the things we learn and understand through daily relationship with God, attendance at meetings and sharing with others in recovery.

Hearing, Learning and Following are essential to Spiritual Growth if we fail to apply any of them in our recovery then we are in danger of relapse.

Forgiving Others

Proverbs:24:29 And don’t say” Now I can pay them back for all their meanness to me! I’ll get even”!

Forgiveness is a mark of a changed life: If we have really changed and experienced true recovery (a gift from God) we will want to share it with others. By forgiving those who have harmed us we are not excusing their misdeeds. But we are recognizing that they are human, in spite of their failings they are created in God’s image and we need to love them as God loves us.

Forgiveness is not the pattern of the world: In these times of constant lawsuits and demand for legal rights. When someone hurts us the Bible tells us we must forgive them. Forgiving them may:

• Break the cycle of retaliation and lead to mutual reconciliation
• Cause the other person to feel ashamed and change their ways
• Hurt us just as much, maybe more than it does them

Forgiveness is an act of willingness: It involves both our attitudes and actions. How we feel and act towards someone who has hurt us. By telling the person how you feel and that you wish to heal the relationship can lead to the right attitudes and actions being followed by both parties.

Matthew 6:14-15 “if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you, But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

If we want to be forgiven by God and by others we must begin by forgiving others. It’s what the Bible commands us to

Complacency

James 4:13-14 NIV
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

Complacency grows out of a false security in our new found lives:
When are on the road to recovery we can get into a false sense of security, Where we feel we have got it beat and life is going to be great from here on in. We can take God for granted and forget it is Him who has blessed us with the gift of recovery and transformed lives.

Complacency is evidence of failing to apply the principles of the Twelve Steps to our lives:
We must never believe that knowledge of the principles of recovery is enough to keep us clean. Recovery is daily reliance on God - daily commitment to live by His principles - daily application of what we have learned through prayer and meditation.

Complacency often degenerates into relapse:
When we first get recovery we are excited and keen to grow but as we grow it is easy for us to become lazy and cease practicing the things that keep us on the recovery road. Attendance at meetings - daily devotions and prayer - listening to and following the directions of God - seeking counsel from our sponsor.

Complacency brings God's loving discipline:
God doesn't forget us - though He doesn't always rescue us at the time we want. He does act in His time and sometimes that action is discipline. Discipline not to punish us but to bring us back to Him. The Holy Spirit can reignite the excitement and desire to grow in all areas of our lives if we allow Him to work in our hearts.

Have a God Consciuous Day!

Proverbs 27:1
Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.

Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

It has become the norm in customer service for shop keepers to close a sale with the comment "Have a nice day" But wishing it won't make it happen. In the Twelve Steps we are taught to live 'One day at a Time' None of us can know what another day is going to bring us, but within the principles of faith, love and hope we have a strong foundation when surprises or crisis arise. Strong people of God experience a child-like trust in Him which no or mishap can destroy.

God consciousness at the beginning of each day will start us off well each day. Practicing the presence of God in everything that occurs in our day helps us to grow in our Spiritual walk and demonstrate that we are truly changed through His Saving Grace.

Next time someone suggests you "Have a nice day" try replying with "You have a God conscious one too!"