The step (11) talks of praying to improve a conscious contact with God, yet we're told the our prayers are to be for the knowledge of His will only and for the power to carry it out once we are certain of what it is! I believe God wants our best effort when that is only available with His help. Do we ask for it?
It seems to me that daily prayers asking for guidance should be the main focus along with gratitude for whatever that direction happens to be. Persistence in the "listening to God" department could be the major stumbling block for many of us. Recording, by writing our thoughts and prayer-time experiences proves to be be invaluable for several reasons. Here are but a few:
-so we don't forget what we heard in our time with God
-so we can discuss the guidance and separate the God-thoughts from our own
-so we can discuss the guidance with sharing partners
-so we can critique our activities to see if we are following God's instructions during the day
As we practice two way prayer (1-asking and 2-listening and recording) to resolve issues when in a group setting of two or more persons, we are finding the recording of thoughts and experiences (in writing by all present) to be a place where God demonstrates His power of using one person's prayer for someone's issue as a way to speak to many about a myriad of different things. When each shares her/his thoughts and experiences around the table, it feels to me like we are all being intimate with God simultaneously and our faith is growing stronger!
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