--Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity--

The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power.                            Alcoholics Anonymous pp 43

The moment they read Step Two, most AA newcomers are confronted with a dilemma, sometimes a serious one. How often have we heard them cry out, "Look what you people have done to us! You have convinced us that we are alcoholic and that our lives are unmanageable. Having reduced us to a state of absolute helplessness, you now declare that none but a Higher Power can remove our obsession. Some of us WON'T believe in God, others can't, and still others who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miricle. Yes, you've got us over the barrel, all right--but where do we go from here?"     12x12 pp 25

Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this power?                                                                    Alcoholics Anonymous pp 45

Suggested reading--Chapter 4(We Agnostics) of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, with one question in mind..." Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?"

As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully spiritual structure can be built.       Alcoholics Anonymous pp 47

When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?             Alcoholics Anonymous pp 53

...deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God....For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself. We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that he may be found.It was so with us.                                                                                  Alcoholics Anonymous pp55

Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this step. True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.                                                                 12x 12  pp 33