As practicing compulsive gamblers, we were all too familiar with depression, that pile-up of dark feelings that seemed to close over our heads at regular intervals. Even now, when I am not making progress at the rate I expect I should be, when I expect a total turnaround in my spiritual self overnight, those familiar …
We’re often told that compulsive gamblers are perfectionists, impatient about any shortcomings—especially our own. We tend to set impossible goals for ourselves, struggling fiercely to reach our unattainable ideals. Then of course—since no person could possibly meet the extremely high standards we demand of ourselves—we find ourselves falling short. Discouragement and depression set in; we …
Though I have prayed at various times in my life, I realized after several months in Gamblers Anonymous that I’d never really prayed properly. I’d always tried to make deals with God, much like a foxhole atheist; I’d always pleaded, Grant me my wishes, instead of Thy will—not mine—be done. The result was that I remained self-deceived and was …
Sometimes, even when friends in and outside of the Gamblers Anonymous Program tell us how well we’re doing, we know deep down that we’re really not doing well enough. We still have trouble handling life and facing reality on reality’s terms. We suspect, at those times, that there must be a serious flaw in our …
When I wake up, I’ll think quietly about the twenty-four hours ahead. I’ll ask God to direct my thinking, especially asking that it be free from self-pity and from dishonest or self-seeking motives. If I have to determine which of several courses to take, I’ll ask God for inspiration, for an intuitive thought, or a …
The Gamblers Anonymous Red Book, in explaining Step Eleven, says A conscious contact seems to start with daily prayer. What is prayer? To some it is a personal chat with their Higher Power. So each of us can pray as we see fit. If at first prayer seems difficult, you can fake it until you make it. In time …
From time to time, I begin to think I know what God’s will is for other people. I say to myself, This person ought to be cured of his illness, or That one ought to be freed from the abuse she’s going through, and I begin to pray for those specific things. My heart is in the right place …
I’ll begin today with prayer—prayer in my heart, prayer in my mind, and words of prayer on my lips. Through prayer, I’ll stay tuned to God today, reaching forward to become that to which I aspire. Prayer will redirect my mind, helping me rise in consciousness to the point where I realize that there’s no …
Prayer can have many rewards. One of the greatest rewards is the sense of belonging it brings to me. No longer do I live as a stranger in a strange land, alien in a completely hostile world. No longer am I lost, frightened, and purposeless. I belong. We find, in Gamblers Anonymous, that the moment …
Prayer does not change God, wrote Soren Kierkegaard, but it changes him who prays. Those of us in the Gamblers Anonymous Program who’ve learned to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we’d turn down sunshine, fresh air, or food—and for the same reason. Just as the body can wither and fail for …