Praying Individually

Recently I found myself in several relationship struggles: needing to make an apology at work, having to be uncomfortably honest with a friend about her having hurt my feelings, and desperately trying to stay out of a conflict between my sister and my mother. On top of all that, I had to talk with two sponsees who were not working their program to our mutually agreed upon expectations. It felt like a snowball rolling downhill about to become an avalanche.

I called another S-Anon member. Her words of wisdom: “Have you tried praying about these situations and praying for the people individually?” While I had prayed about it all in general, I had not yet prayed for each individual. I started to feel some relief right away. I didn’t have to do a thing at this point but pray and wait. It was the right thing to do; the answers became clear one by one.

Whenever I want to have the answer right away or feel I need to make things happen, it is a clue that I’m trying to control outcomes and I’m active in my own role in the disease of sexaholism. I’ve learned that this is the time to stop and let go through prayer.

Reprinted from S-Anon’s Reflections of Hope, page 155.