By the time we got to NA, our way of thinking was now unreliable and self-destructive. Addiction had distorted our desires, our interests, and our sense of what was good for us. This is why it is so important in recovery to begin to believe in a Power greater than ourselves that can guide us rationally and reliably when we cannot. We are beginning to learn how to rely on the care of this Power and trust the guidance it provides.
As with any learning process, it takes practice to "pray only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out." The selfish attitudes – looking out for one another – that we've become accustomed to using, don't magically disappear. This mindset can affect the way we pray. We may even find ourselves praying like this: "relieve me of such and such a defect so that I may appear good to others."
The clearer we are with our ideas and desires, the more easily we will distinguish our own will from the will of our Higher Power. We may say in our prayer, “Just so you know, God, this is what I would like for this particular situation. However, Thy will be done, not mine.' As we do this, we are ready to recognize and accept the guidance of our Higher Power.
