Staying Connected
Step 11 – Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
A growing relationship with God through prayer and meditation is foundational for long-term recovery. We have tried, for so long, to control our eating, but we could not. No longer can we depend solely on ourselves to conquer our food issues. We need a power greater than ourselves to give us the strength, power, and courage to stay on the path of recovery.
Step 11 tells us that prayer and meditation improve our mindfulness of God. We are reminded that we need to call on Him daily for everything we need in life. Our creator God loves us and desires to connect with us daily. We don’t have to do life alone. He is with us.
Just as we spend time with friends to get to know them, God desires us to spend time with Him so that we can get to know Him. The more time we spend with God, in His Word, prayer, and meditation, the closer and stronger our connection will be to Him.
Prayer
Talking and listening to God, daily, is an irreplaceable discipline for me. It is an amazing thing when I think about it. Daily, I get to be in the presence of the One who not only created me but the universe. And to think that He desires me to be in His presence is phenomenal.
He is waiting for meto ask Him for the knowledge of His will and the power to carry it out.
I ask for help to abstain from flour, sugar and processed food, because I know that I can’t do it on my own. All my concerns for others and myself are laid before Him. I also ask for wisdom, power, and courage to do things that I feel ill-equipped to do.
Meditation
Christian meditation is to reflect and focus on the Word of God. David describes in Psalm 1:1-2 that a person is blessed when he delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law, day and night. We get to meditate on what the scriptures reveal about God and about us. There are so many powerfully positive scriptures that help sustain us through all circumstances of life, like:
- I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
- She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. (Prov. 31:25)
- The Lord is my strength and my shield.(Psa. 28:7)
- For the Spirit that God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7)
- The battle is not ours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
Some of the benefits from the discipline of prayer and meditation are:
- Prepares our spirit for the day
- Gives us direction for decision-making
- Helps us to submit to God’s will for our life
- We acknowledge that He knows what’s best for us
- Calms our spirit and gives us peace
- Keeps us connected to Him
- The privilege of accessing His power
- Gives us strength and perseverance
- Promotes long-term abstinence
Joshua 1:8
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
These two disciplines, prayer, and meditation are foundational for sustaining long-term abstinence from addictive eating. They help us draw close to God and purposefully keep us connected to Him. God is the source of our strength and power to overcome addiction, one day at a time.
Cynthia
