The 11th step prayer is my favorite. These are the words I hear when I say it…

God, use me to bring peace to others in the world. 

Today if I feel anger towards another, please let me bring love instead. 

And if I am hurt by someone, help me to not react but to instead remember that they are like me, imperfect, and that I don’t need to get angry or even or mean. 

If I start doubting myself or life in general, please let me hear your words “everything will be ok.” 

If I feel hopeless, remind me that there is always hope if only I reach out to you.

If I feel like darkness is closing in around me, turn on the sun for just a moment.  

If I feel sad, help me realize that it’s ok because joy is just around the corner. 

And today instead of trying to get others to make me feel better, give me the opportunity to comfort others and encourage me to be of service to them. 

And rather than trying to be heard and understood, which I so frequently do, let me be a little quieter today, listen better, and try to understand how it might feel if I were in their shoes. 

And remind me that the best way to feel loved is to go out there and love everyone else, and more importantly even, to let them know how much I love them. 

Because I now know in my heart that the best kind of reward comes from giving of myself to others. 

And that I am only ever truly forgiven of my wrongs and character defects, and am finally able to stop blaming myself, when I’m consciously able to consistently forgive others when they behave inappropriately.

God, I know this life doesn’t last forever and there are no guarantees how long I even get in this world. So let me live my life in a consistent state of Thank-You-Ness. In that way, my spirit of loving life will live on forever in this beautiful world. 

– JamieQ