Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Am I deeply grateful to A.A. for what it has done for me in regaining my sobriety and opening up an entirely new life for me? A.A. has made it possible for me to take on other interests, in business and in various other associations with people. It has made a full life possible for me. It would perhaps be wrong if all my activities were limited to A.A. work. It has made a well rounded life possible for me in work, in play and in hobbies of various kinds. But will I desert A.A. because of this? Will I accept a diploma and become a graduate of A.A.? Do I realize I could have nothing worth while without A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

There is only one way to get full satisfaction from life and that is to live the way you believe God wants you to live. Live with God in that secret place of the spirit and you will have a feeling of being on the right road. You will have a deep sense of satisfaction. The world will have meaning and you will have a place in the world, work to do that counts in the eternal order of things. Many things will work for you and with you, as long as you feel you are on God’s side.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have a sense of the eternal value of the work I do. I pray that I may not only work for now, but also for eternity.  

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

How big a part of my life is A.A.? Is it just one of my activities and a small one at that? Do I only go to A.A. meetings now and then and sometimes never go at all? Do I think of A.A. only occasionally? Am I reticent about mentioning A.A. to people who might need help? Or does A.A. fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life? Where would I be without A.A.? Does everything I have and I do depend on my A.A. foundation? Is A.A. the foundation on which I build my life?

Meditation For The Day

Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. Do not dwell upon your failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel. You have a mediator between you and God–your growing faith–which can lift you up from the mire and point you toward the heavens. You can still be reconciled with the spirit of God. You can still regain your harmony with the Divine Principle of the universe.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. I pray that I may rise and walk upright.  

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

A.A. work is one hundred percent voluntary. It depends on each and every one of our members to volunteer to do his or her share. Newcomers can sit on the sidelines until they have got over their nervousness and confusion. They have a right to be helped by all, until they can stand on their own feet. But the time inevitably comes when they have to speak up and volunteer to do their share in meetings and in twelfth step work. Until that time comes, they are not a vital part of A.A. They are only in the process of being assimilated. Has my time come to volunteer?

Meditation For The Day

God’s kingdom on earth is growing slowly, like a seed in the ground. In the growth of his kingdom there is always progress among the few who are out ahead of the crowd. Keep striving for something better and there can be no stagnation in your life. Eternal life, abundant life is yours for the seeking. Do not mis-spend time over past failures. Count the lessons earned from failures as rungs upon the ladder of progress. Press onward toward the goal.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be willing to grow. I pray that I may keep stepping up on the rungs of the ladder of life. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Am I still on a “free ride” in A.A.? Am I all get and no give? Do I go to meetings and always sit in the back row and let others do all the work? Do I think it’s enough just because I’m sober and can rest on my laurels? If so, I haven’t gone very far in the program, nor am I getting nearly enough of what it has to offer. I will be a weak member until I get in there and help carry the load. I must eventually get off the bench and get into the game. I’m not just a spectator; I’m supposed to be one of the team. Do I go in there and carry the ball?

Meditation For The Day

Try to be thankful for whatever vision you have. Try to perform, in the little things, faithful service to God and others. Do your small part every day in a spirit of service to God. Be a doer of God’s word, not a hearer only. In your daily life try to keep faith with God. Every day brings a new opportunity to be of some use. Even when you are tempted to rest or let things go or to evade the issue, make it a habit to meet the issue squarely as a challenge and not to hold back.
Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may perform each task faithfully. I pray that I may meet each issue of life squarely and not hold back. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

How good a sponsor am I? When I bring new members to a meeting, do I feel that my responsibility has ended? Or do I make it my job to stay with them until they have either become good members of A.A. or have found another sponsor? If they don’t show up for a meeting, do I say to myself: “Well they’ve had it put up to them, so if they don’t want it, there’s nothing more I can do? “ Or do I look them up and find out whether there is a reason for their absences or that they don’t want A.A.? Do I go out of my way to find out if there is anything more I can do to help? Am I a good sponsor?

Meditation For The Day

“First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift to God.” First I must get right with other people and then I can get right with God. If I hold a resentment against someone, which I find it very difficult to overcome, I should try to put something else constructive into my mind. I should pray for the one against whom I hold the resentment. I should put that person in God’s hands and let God show him or her the way to live. “If a man say: ‘I love God’ and hateth his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may see something good in every person, even one I dislike, and that I may let God develop the good in that person. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When new members come into my A.A. group, do I make a special effort to make them feel at home? Do I put myself out to listen to them, even if their ideas of A.A. are vague? Do I make it a habit to talk to all new members myself, or do I often leave that to someone else? I may not be able to help them, but, then, again it may be something that I might say that would put them on the right track. When I see any members sitting alone, do I put myself out to be nice to them, or do I stay among my own special group of friends and leave them out in the cold? Are all new A.A.s my responsibility?

Meditation For The Day

You are God’s servant. Serve Him cheerfully and readily. Nobody likes a servant who avoids extra work, who complains about being called from one task to do any less enjoyable. A master would feel that he was being ill served by such a servant. But is that not how you so often serve God? View your day’s work in this light. Try to do your day’s work in this light. Try to do your day’s work the way you believe God wants you to do it, never shirking any responsibility and often going out of your way to be of service.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be a good servant. I pray that I may be willing to go out of my way to be of service. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Am I willing to be bored sometimes at meetings? Am I willing to listen to much repetition of A.A. principles? Am I willing to hear the same thing over and over again? Am I willing to listen to a long blow by blow personal story, because it might help some new member? Am I willing to sit quietly and listen to long-winded members go into every detail of their past? Am I willing to take it, because it is doing them good to get it off their chest? My feelings are not too important. The good of A.A. comes first, even if it is not always comfortable for me. Have I learned to take it?

Meditation For The Day

God would draw us all closer to Him in the bonds of the spirit. He would have all people drawn closer to each other in the bonds of the spirit. God, the great Spirit of the universe, of which each of our own spirits is a small part, must want unity between Himself and all His children. “Unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.” Each experience of our life, of joy, of sorrow, of danger, of safety, of difficulty, of success, of hardship, of ease, each should be accepted as part of our common lot, in the bonds of the spirit.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true fellowship. I pray that I may be brought closer to unity with God and other people.   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

There is such a thing as being too loyal to any one group. Do I feel put out when another group starts and some members of my group leave it and branch out into new territory? Or do I send them out with my blessing? Do I visit that new offshoot group and help it along? Or do I sulk in my own tent? A.A. grows by the starting of new groups all the time. I must realize that it’s a good thing for a large group to split up into smaller ones, even it if means that the large group–my own group–becomes smaller. Am I always ready to help new groups?

Meditation For The Day

Pray–and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a feeling of communion with One who is near and ready to help. The thought of God is balm for our hates and fears. In praying to God, we find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In thinking of God, doubts and fears leave us. Instead of those doubts and fears, there will flow into our hearts such faith and love as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have the tolerance to live and let live.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that I may keep striving for these difficult things.   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Do I put too much reliance on any one member of the group? That is, do I make a tin god out of some one person? Do I set that person on a pedestal? If I do, I am building my house on sand. A.A. members have “clay feet.” They are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long they have been in A.A. This has been proved to be true more than once. It’s not fair to any member to be singled out as a leader in A A. and to always quote that member on the A.A. program. If that person should fail, where would I be?

Meditation For The Day

You must always remember that you are weak but that God is strong. God knows all about your weakness. He hears every cry for mercy, every sign of weakness, every plea for help, every sorrow over failure, every weakness felt and expressed. We only fail when we trust too much to our own strength. Do not feel bad about your weakness. When you are weak, that is when God is strong to help you. Trust God enough, and your weakness will not matter. God is always strong to save.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may learn to lean on God’s strength. I pray that I may know that my weakness is God’s opportunity.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Is it my desire to be a big shot in A.A.? Do I always want to be up front in the limelight? Do I feel that nobody else can do as good a job as I can? Or am I willing to take a seat in the back row once in a while and let somebody else carry the ball? Part of the effectiveness of any A.A. group is the development of new members to carry on, to take over, from the older members. Am I reluctant to give up authority? Do I try to carry the load for the whole group? If so, I am not being fair to the newer members. Do I realize that no one person is essential? Do I know that A.A. could carry on without me, if it had to?

Meditation For The Day

The Unseen God can help to make us truly grateful and humble. Since we cannot see God, we must believe in Him without seeing. What we can see clearly is the change in a human being, when he sincerely asks God for the strength to change. We should cling to faith in God and in His power to change our faith in God and in His power to change our ways. Our faith in all Unseen God will be rewarded by a useful and serviceable life. God will not fail to show us the way we should live. When in real gratitude and true humility we turn to Him..

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may believe that God can change me. I pray that I may be always willing to be changed for the better.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Do I have any hard feelings about other group members or for any other A.A. group? Am I critical of the way a group member thinks or acts? Do I feel that another group is operating in the wrong way and do I broadcast it? Or do I realize that all A.A. members, no matter what their limitations, have something to offer, some good, however little, that they can do for A.A. in spite of their handicaps? Do I believe that there is a place for all kinds of groups in A.A., provided they are following A.A. traditions, and that they can be effective even if I do not agree with their procedure? Am I tolerant of people and groups?

Meditation For The Day

“The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and even forever more.” All your movements, your goings and comings can be guided by the Unseen Spirit. Every visit to help another, every unselfish effort to assist, can be blessed by that Unseen Spirit. There can be a blessing on all you do, on every interview with one who is suffering. Every meeting of a need may not be a chance meeting, but it may have been planned by the Unseen Spirit. Led by the Spirit of the Lord, you can be tolerant, sympathetic, and understanding of others and so accomplish much.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be led by the spirit of God. I pray that the Lord will preserve my goings and my comings.   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Am I critical of other members of A.A. or of new prospects? Do I ever say about other members: “I don’t think they’re sincere, I think they’re bluffing, or I think they’re taking a few drinks on the quiet?” Do I realize that my doubtful and skeptical attitude is hurting those members, if only in my attitude toward them, which they cannot help sensing? Do I say about new prospects: “They’ll never make the program,” or do I say: “They’ll only last a few months?” If I take this attitude, I am unconsciously hurting those prospects’ chances. Is my attitude always constructive and never destructive?

Meditation For The Day

To be attracted toward God and a better life, you must be spirit-guided. There is wonderful illumination of thought given to those who are spirit-guided. To those who are material-guided, there is nothing in God or a finer life to appeal to them or to attract them. But to those who are spirit-guided there is strength and peace and calm to be found in communion with an Unseen Lord. To those who believe in this God they cannot see but whose power they can feel, life has a meaning and purpose. They are children of the Unseen Lord, and all human beings are their brothers and sisters.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be spirit-guided. I pray that I may feel God’s presence and power in my life.   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

How do I talk with new prospects? Am I always trying to dominate the conversation? Do I lay down the law and tell prospects what they will have to do? Do I judge them privately and feel that they have small chance of making the program? Do I belittle them to myself? Or am I willing to bare my soul so as to get them talking about themselves? And, then, am I willing to be a good listener, not interrupting, but hearing them out to the end? Do I feel deeply that they are my brothers or my sisters? Will I do all I can to help them along the path to sobriety?

Meditation For The Day

“The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever.” Only when the soul attains this calm, can there be true spiritual work done, and mind and soul and body be strong to conquer and bear all things. Peace is the result of righteousness. There is no peace in wrong doing, but if we live the way God wants us to live, quietness and assurance follow. Assurance is that calmness born of a deep certainty of God’s strength available to us and in His power to love and guard us from all harm and wrong doing.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may attain a state of true calmness. I pray that I may live in quietness and peace.   

A.A. Thought For The Day

What makes an effective talk at an A.A. meeting? It is not a fine speech with fine choices of words and an impressive delivery. Often a few simple words direct from the heart are more effective than the most polished speech. There is always a temptation to speak beyond your experience, in order to make a good impression. This is never effective. What does not come from the heart does not reach the heart. What comes from personal experience and a sincere desire to help the other person, reaches the heart. Do I speak for effect or with a deep desire to help?

Meditation For The Day

“Thy will be done” must be your oft-repeated prayer. And in the willing of God’s will there should be gladness. You should delight to do that will because when you do, all your life goes right and everything tends to work out for you in the long run. When you are honestly trying to do God’s will and humbly accepting the results, nothing can seriously hurt you. He who accepts the will of God in his life may not inherit the earth, but he will inherit real peace of mind.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have a yielded will. I pray that my will be attuned to the will of God. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

There are no leaders in A.A., except as they volunteer to accept responsibility. The work of carrying on A.A.–leading group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other groups, doing twelfth-step work, spreading A.A. among the alcoholics of the community–all these things are done on a volunteer basis. If I don’t volunteer to do something concrete for A.A., the movement is that much less effective. I must do my fair share to carry the load. A.A. depends on all its members to keep it alive and to keep it growing. Am I doing my share for A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

When you look to God for strength to face responsibility and are quiet before Him, His healing touch causes the Divine Quiet to flow into your very being. When in weakness you cry to God, His touch brings healing, the renewal of your courage, and the power to meet every situation and be victorious. When you faint by the way or are distracted by feelings of inferiority, then rely on the touch of God’s spirit to support you on your way. Then arise and go forth with confidence.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may lay myself open today to the healing touch of God. I pray that I may not falter or faint by the wayside, but renew my courage through prayer 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves some searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves periodically. Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day, sure that God will give me the strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to hold back.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept every task as a challenge. I know I cannot wholly fail if God is with me.  

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

For the past two months we have been studying passages and steps from the Big Book. Now why not read the book itself again? It is essential that the A.A. program become part of us. We must have its essentials at our finger tips.  We cannot study the big book too much or too often. The more we read it and study it, the better equipped we are to think A.A., act A.A., and live A.A. We cannot know too much about the program. The chances are that we will never know enough. But we can make as much of it our own as possible. How much of the Big Book have I thoroughly mastered?

Meditation For The Day

We need to accept the difficulties and disciplines of life so as to fully share the common life of other people. Many things that we must accept in life are not to be taken so much as being necessary for us personally, as to be experienced in order that we may share in the sufferings and problems of humanity. We need sympathy and understanding. We must share many of the experiences of life, in order to understand and sympathize with others. Unless we have been through the same experiences, we cannot understand other people or their makeup well enough to be able to help them.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept everything that comes my way as part of life. I pray that I may make use of it in helping my fellow men. 

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Continuing the consideration of the term “spiritual experience”: “What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self-discipline. With few exceptions, our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves. Most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves the essence of spiritual experience. Some of us call it God-consciousness. In any case, willingness, honesty, and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery.” Have I tapped that inner resource which can change my life?

Meditation For The Day

God’s power in your life increases as your ability to understand His grace increases. The power of God’s grace is only limited by the understanding and will of each individual. God’s miracle-working power is only limited in each individual soul by the lack of spiritual vision of the soul. God respects free will, the right of each person to accept or reject His miracle-working power. Only the sincere desire of the soul gives Him the opportunity to bestow it.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not limit God’s power by my lack of vision. I pray that I may keep my mind open today to His influence.   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Continuing the consideration of the term “spiritual experience”: “The acquiring of an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness, resulting in a dramatic transformation, though frequent, is by no means the rule. Most of our spiritual experiences are of the educational variety, and they develop slowly over a period of time. Quite often friends of newcomers are aware of the difference long before they are themselves. They finally realize that they have undergone a profound alteration in their reaction to life and that such a change could hardly have been brought about by themselves alone.” Is my outlook on life changing for the better?

Meditation For The Day

Look at the world as your Father’s house. Think of all people you meet as guests in you Father’s house, to be treated with love and consideration. Look at yourself as a servant in your father’s house, as a servant of all. Think of no work as beneath you. Be ever ready to do all you can for others who need your help. There is gladness in God’s service. There is much satisfaction in serving the highest that you know. Express your love for God in service to all who are living with you in your Father’s house.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God. I pray that my work may be a small repayment for His grace so freely given me.  

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Let us consider the term “spiritual experience” as given in Appendix II of the Big Book: “A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do no need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual.” Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?

Meditation For The Day

“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity comes from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God’s everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God’s strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God’s support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.