I have oftentimes struggled with working Step 11, “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”, thinking that I wasn’t quite doing either part, prayer or meditation, correctly.

When I acted upon a suggestion from a faithful friend last year and came across a little cheat sheet more recently, my prayer life changed. The friend shared that while talking with God in gratitude I could also share my struggles, even though I believed that God already knew of them. What that did for me was remind me to share with God that I knew I could not walk through my life, work my program, stay abstinent, without His help.

Ways to practice prayer (Prayer suggestions from the cheat sheet):
1. Journal your prayers, but not just requests. Write out questions, heartaches and struggles. Journal your list of gratitude’s too. Write a letter to God. Then go back and read your journal entries in a week or a month. You may just be reminded of how God has answered your prayers. And when you’re feeling down, reading your past gratitude lists might remind you of God’s goodness and love for you.

2. Take a prayer walk. Take a walk and thank God for the beautiful creations you see. Walk around your neighborhood and pray for the family in each home you pass.
3. Pray over your Action Plan. Got something stressful coming up? Pray for peace of mind. Pray for God to enter into your busy schedule and to keep you open to what He would have you do that day.

4. Pray about the news. When you read or hear about a troubling issue, pray for the people involved.
5. Partner up. Find someone to pray with regularly. Whether in person or on the phone or via Zoom, pray together silently, pray aloud, and pray for God to enter into your relationship. Praying with a life partner or friend is great for personal accountability.

6. Be quiet. If prayer is a conversation, then you also need to listen in silence. And silence means finding a quiet place to get away from distractions. As you listen, don’t expect to hear a voice, but do expect God to tug at your heart, move your conscience, or help you realize something you need to do or change.

7. Keep a prayer on your lips. Dozens of thoughts pass through your mind daily. You daydream. You may think negative or gossipy thoughts. Turn those daydreams and not-so-great thoughts into prayers. Ask God to bless the person you are thinking about negatively. Ask God to forgive you for thoughts that take your mind places it shouldn’t go. Turn daydreams and other passing thoughts into moments to recognize God’s presence in your life.

The meditation piece of Step 11 was aided a few years ago by my trying various meditation apps that taught me, in part, that the goal of meditation was not to stop stray thoughts from interrupting my focus but to learn how to let them go and bring my attention back to my breath. My thoughts still wander while I meditate but they no longer keep me from hearing God’s voice, from feeling centered, at least on a good day.
I still struggle at times with whether or not I’m praying and meditating correctly, but I’ve learned that the only way to do Step 11 wrong is to not do it at all.
Linda H., Danvers

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Disclosure: Personal stories express the experience, strength, and hope of the individual member and not of OA as a who