Prayers
SAA is not affiliated with any religion, creed or dogma.
– Sex Addicts Anonymous, p. 21
Some of us come to SAA with limited or no experience with prayer. These are some prayers we have found helpful.
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done.
Third Step Prayer
God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy will always!
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 63
Third Step Prayer (Alternate Version)
God, I offer myself to you—to build with me and to do with me as you will. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do your will. Walk me through my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of your power, your love, and your way of life. May I do your will always!
Seventh Step Prayer
My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me the strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 76
Eleventh Step Prayer
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace—that where there is hatred, I may bring love—that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness—that where there is discord, I may bring harmony—that where there is error, I may bring truth—that where there is doubt, I may bring faith—that where there is despair, I may bring hope—that where there are shadows, I may bring light—that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted—to understand, than to be understood—to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. Amen.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 99
Morning Prayer
God, today is a new day for me with you; it can be a day of freedom from sex addiction. With you I can handle anything. I ask for your protection now in case sometime during the day my desire to act out becomes stronger than my desire to stay sober. I know that I am powerless over addictive sexual behavior, and that without you, life itself is unmanageable. I am coming to believe that you can return me to sanity. I am making a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of you. Please guide and sustain me through another day of sobriety so that I may better do your will, and help my fellow addict. God, I need you.
Prayer of Faith
I have faith that by putting you, God, first in my life, all will be taken care of. I have faith that with recovery first, all else will take its place.
Prayer of Surrender
God, I pray for the willingness to surrender to you all thoughts, actions and attitudes which create suffering in my life or the lives of others.
God, Help Me
God, help me to be real, to remember clearly the wreckage addiction has caused in my life. God, help me to be increasingly willing to defer my will to yours. I pray only for knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry that out.
Prayer of Sustenance
Higher power, the richness and bounty of this earth is truly evidence of your power and love. Thank you for providing so generously for my (our) sustenance with the gift of your creation.
Unity Prayer
I put my hand in yours and together we can do what we could never do alone. No longer is there a sense of hopelessness. No longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower. We are all together now, reaching out our hands for a power and strength greater than ours; and as we join hands, we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.
I Put My Hand in Yours by Rozanne S.. Copyright 1968 by Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.