Prayer & Meditation

OA's Eleventh Step states: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improver 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."

Recovery gives us the freedom to define our higher power and to pray and meditate in any way that is helpful and meaningful to us. Many use traditional religious concepts and many don't. For instance, one person might define their higher power as their OA group. They may define prayer and meditation as reaching out to group members to get or give support, thus increasing their conscious contact. Another member may have a more religious view and find traditional prayer and meditation as the most helpful means to them of improving their conscious contact with their higher power. Another may consider spending time out in the woods in quiet reflection, communing with nature, as their form of prayer and meditation. In all cases we find a direct way to stay in contact with and listen to our source of help.

We are actively seeking ways to keep our lives in balance. By staying in touch with our source of help (helping or higher power) and following the guidance we are given, we make wise choices to enhance recovery and increase our serenity. We find the practice of regular prayer and meditation helps us become more attuned with our inner self, our program of recovery, the people in our lives, and the resources we have available.