Twelve Step Prayers
Serenity Prayer
“God grant me the serenity to
Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr
Accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And the Wisdom to know the difference.”
The OA Promise
“I put my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone.
also known as Rozanne’s Prayer
No longer is there a sense of hopelessness,
no longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower.
We are all together now, reaching out our hands for power and strength greater than ours,
and as we join hands, we find love and understanding
beyond our wildest dreams.”
Prayers from the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)
3rd Step Prayer
“God, I offer myself to thee-to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Big Book page 63
Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties, that victory over them
may bear witness to those I would help
of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always.”
4th Step Prayer
“God, help me to show tolerance, pity and patience. This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.”
(Resentments)— Big Book page 67
Fear Prayer
“God, I ask that you remove my fear and direct my attention to what you would have me be.”
Big Book page 68
Sex Prayer
“God, I ask that you would mold my ideals, and help me to live up to them. Where I have done harm, God show me what I should do about each specific matter.”
Big Book page 69
Forgiveness
“God, I am sorry for what I have done, and have an honest desire to let You take me to better things.”
Big Book page 70
Sanity and Strength Prayer
“God, I earnestly pray for the right ideal, for guidance in each questionable situation, for sanity, and for the strength to do the right thing.”
Big Book page 70
5th Step Prayer
“God, I thank You from the bottom of my heart that I may know you better.”
Big Book page 75
6th Step Prayer
“God, I still cling to some things that I have admitted are objectionable. Help me to be willing to let them go.”
Big Book page 76
7th Step Prayer
“My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of Me, good and bad.
Big Book page 76
I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character
which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows.
Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do Your bidding.”
8th Step Prayer
“God, I ask for the willingness to make amends for the damage I have done in the past.”
Big Book page 76
9th Step Prayer
“I pray that I may be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be.”
Big Book page 79
Change Prayer
“I am sorry for what I have done. God willing, it shall not be repeated.”
Big Book page 81
Morning Prayer
“My creator, show me the way of patience, tolerance, kindness and love.”
Big Book page 83
10th Step Prayer
“I pray, God, that You remove my selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear.”
Big Book page 84
Daily Prayer
“How can I best serve Thee—Thy will (not mine) be done.”
Big Book page 85
11th Step Prayer
“God, I pray for forgiveness for the wrongs I have done today. I ask that I be shown what corrective measures should be taken.
Big Book page 86
11th Step Prayer
“Lord, make me a channel of thy peace
AA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions Book, page 99
that where there is hatred, I may bring love
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony
that where there is error, I may bring truth
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith
that where there is despair, I may bring hope
that where there are shadows, I may bring light
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted
to understand, than to be understood
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.
Amen.”
(Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)
Decision Prayer
“God, I am faced with indecision and I am unable to determine which course to take. I ask You for inspiration, an intuitive thought, or a decision. God, I pray to be shown what my next step should be. Give me whatever I need to take care of my problems. Especially free me from self-will so that I may be of help to others. What can I do today to help others?”
Big Book page 86
During the Day Prayer
“I am agitated (doubtful) God. Please give me the right thought or action. I am no longer running the show. Thy will be done.”
Big Book page 87
Morning Prayer
“God, please direct my thinking; especially, that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonesty or self-seeking motives. What can I do for the man that is still sick?”
Big Book pages 86 and 164
A Blessing
“May God bless You and keep You.”
Big Book page 164
Acceptance Prayer
“And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my compulsive overeating, I could not stay abstinent; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitude.
Big Book page 417
Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, all the men and women merely players.” He forgot to mention that I was the chief critic. I was always able to see the flaw in every person, every situation. And I was always glad to point it out, because I knew you wanted perfection, just as I did. O.A. and acceptance have taught me that there is a bit of good in the worst of us and a bit of bad in the best of us; that we are all children of God and we each have a right to be here. When I complain about me or about you, I am complaining about God’s handiwork, I am saying that I know better than God.”
Set Aside Prayer
(or lay aside prayer)
God, today help me set aside everything I think I know about You, everything I think I know about myself, everything I think I know about others, and everything I think I know about my own recovery so I may have an open mind and a new experience with all these things. Please help me see the truth.
This prayer comes from the Chapter to the Agnostic, primarily pages 47 and 48
From I Put My Hand in Yours©1968…1995Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition c.2001, pages; 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 76, 79, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 164, 417 ;reprinted with permission of AA World Services, Inc.
AA 12 & 12 3rd Edition c.1981, pg 99 Reprinted with permission of AA World Services, Inc.