Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood [God], praying only for knowledge of [God’s] will for us and the power to carry that out.
—Step 11 of the Twelve Steps
Father Richard connects prayer and meditation to a deepening acceptance of the will of God:
The word prayer, which Bill W. used in Step 11, juxtaposed with the word meditation, is a code word for an entirely different way of processing life. When we “pray,” we are hopefully moving from an egocentric perspective to a soul-centric perspective. It’s the prayer of quiet and self-surrender that best allows us to follow Step 11, which Bill W. must have recognized by also using the word meditation—at a time when that word was not at all common in Christian circles. He was right, because only contemplative prayer or meditation invades, touches, and heals the unconscious! This is where all the woundedness lies—but also where God hides and reveals, “in that secret place” (Matthew 6:6). [1]
Mindfulness teacher Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart visited the Missionaries of Charity Motherhouse in India, where Mother Teresa spoke of prayer:
[Mother Teresa] said daily prayer and meditation helped to keep the nuns from getting disheartened.
“You should pray and meditate every day, so you know that you are loved, so you feel the presence of God’s love in your life. This is the only way you can truly help others and serve the poorest of the poor. We have to give from a full heart, one that is saturated with love, overflowing to others. Before we can give freely, we have to know that we are loved. This is why you should pray and meditate every day. So you can remember you are loved, letting it fill your heart and your body. Let it fill every cell of your being. Then give it all away.” She smiled. “Do you see?”…
In my early years of working Step 11, all that seeking through prayer and meditation seemed like a lot of effort. I realize now that I was striving, applying my usual style of managing and controlling to my spiritual practice…. Now, thirty-some years later, I think that conscious contact simply takes time on the cushion. [2]
Richard continues:
The Twelve Step Program was deeply inspired in recognizing that we need forms of prayer and meditation that would lead us to “conscious contact with God.” Prayer and meditation can bring us to real inner “knowledge of God’s will for us” and the “power to carry it out” (actual inner empowerment and new motivation from a deeper Source).
People’s willingness to find God in their own struggle with life—and let it change them—is their deepest and truest obedience to God’s eternal will. Remember, always remember, that the heartfelt desire to do the will of God is, in fact, the truest will of God. At that point, God has won, the ego has lost, and our prayers have already been answered. [3]
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Sarah Young; Jesus Calling
As you listen to birds calling to one another, hear also My Love-call to you. I speak to you continually: through sights, sounds, thoughts, impressions, scriptures. There is no limit to the variety of ways I can communicate with you. Your part is to be attentive to My messages, in whatever form they come. When you set out to find Me in a day, you discover that the world is vibrantly alive with My Presence. You can find Me not only in beauty and birdcalls, but also in tragedy and faces filled with grief. I can take the deepest sorrow and weave it into a pattern for good.
Search for Me and My messages, as you go through this day. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with your whole being.
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
John 10:27 (NLT)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Romans 8:28 (NLT)
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Additional insight regarding Romans 8:28: God works in “everything” – not just isolated incidents – for our good. This does not mean that all happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. Note that God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill his purpose. Note also that this promise is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by him, that is, those whom the Holy Spirit convinces to receive Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mindset. They trust in God, not in worldly treasures; their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waver in pain and persecution because they know God is with them.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Additional insight regarding Jeremiah 29:13: According to God’s wise plan, his people were to have a future and a hope; consequently, they could call upon him with confidence. Although the exiles were in a difficult place and time, they need not despair because they had God’s presence, the privilege of prayer, and God’s grace. If we seek him wholeheartedly, he will be found. Neither a strange land, sorrow, persecution, nor physical problems can break our fellowship with God.
