from 'The 12 Steps for Adult Children'

Step 7 - "Humbly asked God to remover our shortcomings"

"Step 7 requires prayer... Our condition, our honesty , and our pain have humbled us so now we must open our mouths and pray... If we were thorough, our Step 4 inventory listed each character defect separately. Our admission in Step 5 was also done item by item, and later our amends will be made individually. So now our Step 7 work is humble prayer for the removal of our shortcomings - one defect at a time...

"We prepare for Step 7 by making sure that we have resolved the fear of letting go of our defects. We prepare for Step 7 by learning to draw nearer to God, by becoming comfortable in God's presence. We prepare by taking prayer seriously...

"Prayer for Step 7 - Prayer for healing:

Higher Power, You have told us to ask and we will receive, to seek and we will find, to knock and you will open the door to us.

I trust in your love for me and in the healing power of your compassion. I praise you and thank you for the mercy you have shown me.

Higher Power, I am sorry for all my mistakes. I ask [you to remove all the negative patterns of my life. I accept with all my heart your forgiving love.

And I ask for the grace to be aware of the character defects that exist within me... Teach me the gift of understanding and the ability to forgive, just as you continue to forgive me.

I seek your strength and your peace so that I may become your instrument in sharing those gifts with others.

I thank you, God , for doing this.

"... Step 6 prepared us to let go of our old defective behaviors and freed us to develop the powerful new ones that God intends for us to use. Asking God to remove our faults is a true measure of our willingness to surrender control. For many of us, the surrender of control can be an extremely difficult task - but not impossible. Are we sincerely ready to abandon these deceptions? If so, then we can ask God to help us to let go of our past and create new life within us...

"Step 7 is a vitally important part of the cleansing process and prepares us for the next stage of our journey. During the first six Steps, we became aware of our problems, looked at our lives honestly, revealed previously hidden aspects of ourselves, and became ready to change our attitudes and behaviors. Step 7 presents us with the opportunity to turn to our Higher Power and ask for removal of those parts of our character that cause us pain.

"Our partnership with our Higher Power will put our obsession with 'self' into its proper perspective. We will finally recognize the person we have been, understand who we are, and look forward with joy to the person we are becoming...

"Preparing to have our shortcomings removed requires willingness to work with God to revise and redirect our attention and activity. Our progress will be halted if we continue our destructive behaviors. We must be ever-vigilant and alert to the possible return of 'old behaviors' and work diligently toward eliminating them from our lives. It is wise to be gentle with ourselves...

"When looking to God to remove our shortcomings we do well to remember that God gives strength to us through prayer and meditation and also through other people. God often uses outside forces to correct our defects. Teachers, ministers, medical doctors, and therapists can all be instruments of our Higher Power's work. Our willingness to seek outside help can be a clear indication of our readiness to change.  Compulsive worriers can pray to God to release their worries and, at the same time, seek help from a counselor to relieve their anxiety. Persons who overindulge in food or drugs can seek professional help to gain control over their obsessive habits... "