These thoughts from the AA Big Book run through my mind nearly constantly: “Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all of our activities. ‘How can I best serve Thee—Thy will (not mine) be done’” (85). And, as emphasized on the same page, this is the proper use of my willpower.

The words of Step Eleven insist that we pray “only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out.” I added the emphasis because I need to remember that I am only praying for what comes from my Higher Power. While I need to think of “those I would help” (AA 63) and “my usefulness to you and my fellows” (AA 76), I cannot better serve my wife, my friends, my job, my children, or certainly myself out of my own motives, but only as God leads me to do so. In the spirit of the Third Step prayer, I want others to witness God’s power, love, and way of life working in me.

I can always use more help to practice serving God in whatever way He needs me at that moment. So I developed a simple prayer to use whenever I’m to speak in public, or when I’m not sure what to do next. I have found that this prayer not only calms me down, it also opens my mind and heart up to the people and situation in front of me. The prayer lays out the sequence of my choices: thoughts, words, desires, then actions. If at all possible, I say it on my knees. Here it is:

God, may my thoughts be Your thoughts;
May my words be Your words;
May my desires be Your desires;
May my actions be Your actions;
May Thy will, not my will, be done.

Among the program prayers I use often are the Third Step, Fourth Step, Seventh Step, and Eleventh Step prayers. I also, like many others, continue to explore the meaning in the Serenity Prayer. My simple prayer, however, keeps me focused on the task at hand and my need for God to power me through it.