Skip to main content

One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:

Most of us in Al-Anon realize the importance of prayer. We may “think” a prayer many times a day: “Thank You, God, for helping me to do this chore;” “Please let me see the beauty in the ordinary and usual: a tree, a child, a sunrise;” “Help me not to brood on this injury but show me where I am at fault,”— and so on. We may pray night and morning, asking for guidance to making changes in our lives, or for light on a troubling situation.

Prayer is simply a reaching out to make contact with a Power greater than ourselves. It is an acknowledgment of our personal helplessness, which has been demonstrated to us so often in our efforts to find peace and security.

Today’s Reminder:

Prayer is the contact I make with God in my thoughts. It is a powerful medicine for the spirit. Prayers for guidance are perhaps the most potent of all, providing I keep myself receptive and am willing to act according to His inspiration.

“All true prayer somehow confesses our absolute dependence on God. It is therefore a deep and vital contact with Him… It is when we pray that we really are.”
— Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

From the book “One Day at a Time in Al-Anon”. © Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. 1973