Morning Payers

Opening Prayer
Our Father, we come to you as a friend. You have said where two or more are gathered, there You will be in the midst. We believe You are here with us now and this is something You would have us do, and that it has Your blessing.  We pledge with You to be honest and to search our hearts for weaknesses and errors, that we may deserve Your help. We believe that you want us to be real partners with You in the business of living, accepting our full responsibilities, and certain that the rewards will be freedom, growth and happiness. For this we are grateful. We ask You at all times to guide us. Help us daily to come closer to You. Grant us new ways of living and of gratitude. 

Third Step Prayer 
God, I offer myself to Thee – to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. 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 & Thy way of life, May I do Thy will always!            

Seventh Step Prayer 
My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. 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.
   
Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace! 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

Serenity Prayer                       
God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things, I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can, And Wisdom to know the difference.  (extended version) 
Living one day at a time,  Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. AMEN. 

Morning Prayer 
God direct my thinking today so that it be divorced of self-pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking and fear. God inspire my thinking, decisions and intuitions. Help me to relax and take it easy. Free me from doubt and indecision. Guide me through this day and show me my next step. God give me what I need to take care of any problems. I ask all these things that I may be of maximum service to you and my fellow man in the name of the Steps I pray. AMEN

Set Aside Prayer  
God, please set aside everything I think I know about myself, my disease, the Big Book, the 12Steps, the Program, the Fellowship, the people in the fellowship, and all the spiritual terms, especially about you God. That I might have an open mind and a new experience with all these things. Help me to see the truth. AMEN

Upon Awakening   
On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Be­fore we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these condi­tions we can employ our mental faculties with as­surance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives. 

In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while. What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspira­tion gradually becomes a working part of the mind. Being still inexperienced and having just made con­scious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of in­spiration. We come to rely upon it.  

We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn’t work. You can easily see why. 

Accepted by Others
Lord, help me to be accepted in a world of indifference. My tastes, personality, and beliefs don’t always fit in with those around me. Help me to accept, and be accepting of these differences. Help me find friends and loved ones who will see the uniqueness in my spirit. Show me where to find spirituality, to find a fellowship, and enjoy time with others in a comfortable environment. Keep my soul filled with positivity and hope as I search for acceptance. Lead me to the right situations, show me good, genuine people, and allow me to find life-long relationships. I ask these things in your compassionate name, I pray. Amen.