God,
I offer myself to Thee,
To build with me and do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
That I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
That victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy power,
Thy love,
And Thy way of life.
May I do Thy will always.
Amen.
This is my take on the Third Step Prayer.
Part One.
God,
I offer myself to Thee.
At the heart of most addictions is the need to control.
Control my feelings,
Control the people around me.
So,
Right out of the gate,
The Third Step Prayer is about giving up control,
Which,
For most of us,
Is the mother of all contrary actions.
It's like deciding to restructure a business by first burning down the building.
When I see the word God,
I set aside the scowling,
Gray-bearded man with a checklist.
What works for me is a loving presence,
A universal intelligence that lives within each of us.
And that old-fashioned word,
Thee.
In Old English,
Thee was the intimate form of you.
So,
Already,
This first line is not a contract with a distant deity.
It's an offering into intimacy.
So,
I'm handing over the keys,
Climbing in the backseat,
And listening for that quieter,
Heartfelt voice.
Part Two.
To build with me and do with me as Thou wilt.
We addicts love doing life as a solo act.
But all I have to do is review my history,
And it's clear that totally relying on my own thinking has brought mixed results.
My life has always been a co-creation.
My intentions meeting that great,
Mysterious force that goes by many names.
Luck.
Serendipity.
Spirit.
God.
So,
Here I'm throwing in the towel.
Build with me.
Work through me.
Use me for the highest good.
I'm willing to be a work-in-progress in the hands of love.
Part Three.
Relieve me of the bondage of self.
Bondage.
Being stuck.
Tied up.
Limited.
These are the versions of who I think I am that confine me.
The self-righteous self.
The self-centered self.
The fearful self.
The self that believes he's not good enough.
The self that needs everyone's approval to feel at peace.
When I'm relieved of that bondage,
Something beautiful becomes possible.
Authentic courage shows up.
I can recognize my real gifts,
Not as ego trophies,
But as tools for service.
Part Four.
Take away my difficulties,
That victory over them may bear witness to those I would help.
This isn't a demand for a pain-free existence.
It's more like,
Meet me in my difficulties.
Help me remember that life's challenges are almost always opportunities to evolve.
And here's the best part.
Victory over my difficulties isn't so I can sit alone in my new,
Improved life and say,
Nailed it.
I want my journey through hardship to be useful to others.
Part Five.
May I do thy will,
Always.
This last line is both a request and a reminder,
Because I will forget.
I will fall back into survival brain,
Into old habits.
That's not a failure,
That's just being human.
So,
When I drift,
Bring me back.
Help me return to being a loving presence in the world.
And of course,
Like most prayers,
It ends with the word,
Amen.
Which has always struck me like a collective sigh that says,
We are all in this together.
It's kind of like a spiritual rimshot.
And so it is.
If this resonated with you,
There's a fuller version of this talk waiting for you in my Plus Library,
Along with my course,
Finding Serenity.
I'll see you there.
