According to Ed, Dr. Bob would explain prayer
by telling how the camels in a caravan would kneel down in the evening, and the
men would unload their burdens. In the morning, they would kneel down again, and
the men would put the burdens back on. It's the same with prayer, Dr. Bob said.
We get on our knees to unload at night. And in the morning when we get on our
knees again, God gives us just the load we are able to carry for that day.
1980 AAWS
Inc.
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 229
*^Daily Reflections^*
LOVED BACK TO RECOVERY
Our whole treasured philosophy of
self-sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been done with old-fashioned
willpower; it was instead a matter of developing the willingness to accept these
new facts of living. We neither ran nor fought. But accept we
did. And then we were
free.
BEST OF THE GRAPEVINE, Vol. 1, p. 198
I can be free of my old
enslaving self. After a while I recognize, and believe in, the good within
myself. I see that I have been loved back to recovery by my Higher Power,
who envelops me. My Higher Power becomes that source of love and strength
that is performing a continuing miracle in me. I am sober . . . and I am
grateful.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES,
INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
"Fearless and Searching"
My
self-analysis has frequently been faulty. Sometimes I've failed to share my
defects with the right people; at other times, I've confessed their defects,
rather than my own; and at still other times, my confession of defects has been
more in the nature of loud complaints about my circumstances and my problems.
<<< >>>
When A.A. suggests a fearless moral
inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than
he can do. Every time he tries to look within himself, Pride says, "You need not
pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!" But pride and fear of
this sort turn out to be bogeymen, nothing else. Once we have a complete
willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a
wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of
confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is
indescribable.
1. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1958
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp.
49-50
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"Life will take on new meaning.
To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish,
to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of
friends - this is an experience you
must not
miss."
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th
Edition
Working With Others, pg. 89
*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*
A.A. Thought for the
Day
Step Two
is, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity." Step Three is, "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to
the care of God as we understood Him." Step Eleven is, "Sought through prayer
and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
The fundamental basis of A.A. is a belief in some Power greater than ourselves.
Let us not take this lightly. We cannot fully get the program without this
venture of belief. Have I made the venture of belief in a Power greater than my
own?
Meditation for the
Day
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Dwell for a moment
each day in a secret place, the place of communion with God, apart from the
world, and thence receive strength to face the world. Material things cannot
intrude upon this secret place, they cannot ever find it, because it is outside
the realm of material things. When you abide in this secret place, you are under
the shadow of the Almighty. God is close to you in this quiet place of
communion. Each day, dwell for a while in this secret
place.
Prayer for the
Day
I pray that I may renew my strength in
quietness. I pray that I may find rest in quiet communion with
God.
From Twenty-Four Hours a Day 1975 by Hazelden Foundation.