Step 11

Step 11 is not the personal property of the 12 Steps, rather it is implementing something that humanity has always done, Prayer. This action, done in any language as long as it is with the proper motivation and intent can yield amazing results. Prayer is humanity’s medium in communication to the divine and ultimately the addict who wants to free himself or herself from the shackles of addiction has no better tool than the power of prayer.

Just as prayer offers connection to the infinite, it is this infinite higher source, which ultimately lifts the addict and truthfully all else out of the darkness of addiction and depression.

“Step 11 suggests prayer and meditation. We shouldn’t be shy in this matter of prayer. Better men than we are using it constantly. It works, if we have the proper attitude and work at it,”A.A. Big Book.

Step 11 continues that spiritual bent by adding two important tools: prayer and meditation. The recovering addict is to use them to “tap into the daily direction of our Higher Power, however we choose to define that term. Through prayer and meditation we are simply asking and listening — asking for that Power’s guidance and listening for a response.”