The 12 Steps are designed to take a huge problem, whatever our issue is, and break it down into manageable pieces. The Steps are a blueprint for individual change. They bring us into contact with new concepts, that once internalized, bring about lasting change in the way we think. Changing the way we think is the key to changing the way we live.
Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, with the help of others, wrote the 12 Steps nearly a century ago. These Steps have helped countless people overcome the addictions and compulsive behavior that threatened their lives. These Steps can do the same for you.
Following are the 12 Steps of Recovery including a passage of scripture that supports the concepts involved in each step.
We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behavior, that our lives had become unmanageable.
“I see there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the brokenness that is still within me.”
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which<br> path to take.”
We made a decision to turn our life and our will over to the care and loving concern of God.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
“Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you <br> may be healed.”
We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”
We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up, in due time.”
We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
“Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
“If you think you are standing firm, be careful you don’t fall.”
We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.
“Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others, and practice these principles in all our affairs.
“Jesus said, ‘Go home to your family and friends and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”