The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
I tried to reply to a posting on the board a few days ago from Mollyann about how to pray.Typed a reply and lost the connection so it didn't send. Tried again and same thing happened. Grrrrrr.Between bad internet connections here in Turkey and being blacklisted so I cant get into chat I haven't been having an easy time of it just lately.LOL.
Anyway,about a week ago I did actually manage to get into the chatroom and the topic was praying and how hard it is for some of us to know how to pray effectively.
Having spent many years going to church regularly in my younger days,you'd think that I'd find it comparitively easy to get down to the nitty gritty and be able to formulate a prayer.WRONG!!!!!
It was only when I found myself in the desperate situation of being in love with an A and subsequently finding Alanon that I truly began to realise that praying was an absolute necessity for me and more than that.....an absolute NEED. Could I do it? Well I tried,got in a muddle,rambled and ended up losing my focus and letting my mind wander onto inane things like "what should I cook for dinner tomorrow?how do I solve my A's alcohol problems?what do I need to remember to get at the supermarket? etc etc. Before I knew it I was way off focus and in panic mode.
I mean,how difficult can it be to actually verbalise what it is I am trying to get guidance on?
I was surfing through the internet one day and stumbled across a site about effective praying and found a very simple prayer that even I could remember and it recommended that I pray it for 28 days straight and see how it worked in my life. I tried it....and it worked!! I can adapt it now to take in particular things I need to pray about but in the first days I kept it to the basic prayer until I was comfortable with being able to say it without my mind wandering off on another planet.
I LOVE YOU GOD.
THANK YOU GOD FOR LOVING ME.
THANK YOU GOD FOR LOVING (MY A).
THANK YOU GOD FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
THANK YOU GOD FOR ALANON(I always put that in as its' so relevant for me)
I REALLY FEEL LOST AND CONFUSED RIGHT NOW GOD.
I KNOW YOU LOVE ME AND WILL SHOW ME YOUR WAY.
THANK YOU GOD.
AMEN.
I said this many times a day along with the serenity prayer for a month before I changed some of the words to suit my needs and find now that it's easy for me to remain focussed on what I need to pray about. It helped me,so I thought it would be nice to share with you all in case it's helpful to someone else.
Think I will add a line about helping me to get into the chatroom!!!!!!Grrrrrr. LOL.
Chris great job Life seems to have become a 24 / 7 pray job to include too not prey. Thats my story - thanks to alanon - the shares we offer and to u. Regards, \/\/ille l g - give it up - l g
To me, affirmations are just like prayers. When you repeat affirmation, you're talking to your subconscious, and when you pray, you're speaking to your HP. Just my opinion.
When I want to change something, I focus on a particular affirmation for 28 days, the amount of time it supposedly takes for a repeated action to become a habit. It has worked for me.
Thanks for posting this - I am not much good at praying (we atheists are notorious for that! lol).
Anyway, I think your prayer is great. I used to pray - plead, please God help me, please dont let this happen... blah blah, must have bored him stiff! Then, Alanon told me to pray, asking only to show me "His" will, and for the power to carry that out. OK, I could manage that. Then, I learned about the gratitude list - 5 things today, to feel grateful about - so, I say my list, do the other thing, and, I can get some peace of mind/serenity.
Think I will give your prayer a try - dont want to bore my HP with the same old same old!
I got "blacklisted", threw a mega hissy fit!!!!! It is not you, it is the system. www.mipchat.net might let you in - I hope so, haven't talked to you in chat for ages.
