12 Step Prayers: A Free Printable Prayer for Every Step
Here are 12 step prayers, one for each step, on two pages you can print and keep in your step-work folder. The Third and Seventh Step prayers are the book's own, word for word from the 1939 first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. The other ten are ours: short, plain and rooted in Scripture.
Pray the one for the step you're working on, every morning, until you move on. Or pray all twelve once a week as a way to keep the whole program in front of you.
Download free PDFFree. No email, no sign-up. A printable PDF, letter size: twelve prayers on two pages, then a page of Scripture.
Step 1 · Admitting I'm powerless
Lord, I admit it. I can't control my drinking, and my life has become more than I can manage. I'm tired of pretending. Thank You that Your strength is made perfect in weakness. Meet me here, at the end of myself, and help me tell the truth today. Amen.
Step 2 · Coming to believe
God, I'm starting to believe You can do what I couldn't. Restore my thinking. Where I've been foolish and stubborn, give me a sound mind. Help me trust that You haven't given up on me, and let me see Your hand in the people around me who got well. Amen.
Step 3 · The Third Step prayer (1939 wording, p. 63)
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!
Step 4 · Taking inventory
Father, search me and know my heart. Give me courage to look honestly at my resentments, my fears and the harm I've done, without hiding and without beating myself up. Show me my part. Keep me close to my sponsor as I write, and remind me that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Amen.
Step 5 · Telling the truth
Lord, I'm ready to stop keeping secrets. Give me the courage to tell You, myself and another person exactly what I've done. Lead me to someone I can trust. As I speak, let me feel Your forgiveness and the relief of being fully known. Amen.
Step 6 · Becoming ready
God, I've seen my defects, and I'm tired of them. Make me willing to let all of them go, even the ones I still enjoy. Where I'm holding back, soften my heart. I can't change myself, but You can. Get me ready. Amen.
Step 7 · The Seventh Step prayer (1939 wording, p. 76)
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 strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.
Step 8 · The amends list
Lord, bring to mind everyone I have harmed. Take away my excuses and my score-keeping. Where I'm still angry, help me forgive as You have forgiven me. Make me willing to set things right with every person on this list, and show me, with my sponsor, how and when. Amen.
Step 9 · Making amends
Father, give me courage and humility as I make amends. Help me clean up my side of the street without blaming anyone or expecting anything back. Keep me from causing new harm. Give me wisdom, through my sponsor or pastor, about the hard ones. Let my changed life say what my words can't. Amen.
Step 10 · Daily inventory
Lord, keep me honest today. When I'm wrong, help me say so quickly, without excuses. When resentment or fear starts up, help me catch it, bring it to You and turn my thoughts to someone I can help. Keep me growing, one day at a time. Amen.
Step 11 · Prayer and meditation
God, I want to know You better. Quiet my mind and teach me to listen. I'm not asking for my own way today, only to know Your will and to have the power to carry it out. Let my prayer be honest and my day be Yours. Amen.
Step 12 · Carrying the message
Lord, thank You for what You've done in me. Use me to carry this message to someone who is still suffering. Make me patient, humble and quick to answer the phone. Help me practice these principles at home, at work and everywhere I go. Amen.
How to use it
- Find the step you're on and pray that prayer each morning, out loud if you can.
- Read the matching section of your own copy of Alcoholics Anonymous alongside it.
- Pray it with your sponsor when you begin a new step.
- Work Steps 4, 5, 8 and 9 with a sponsor or another trusted person, not alone. Talk over any amends involving money, the law or a former partner with your sponsor or pastor before you act.
Scripture to go with it
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
“…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
The Third and Seventh Step prayers are from the 1939 first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous; page numbers are from the fourth edition. The other prayers are original to Steps & Scripture. Steps & Scripture is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
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Common questions
Is there an official prayer for every step?
No. The book gives specific prayers for Step Three (p. 63) and Step Seven (p. 76), and many people use the Prayer of St. Francis for Step Eleven. The other step prayers you'll find, including ours, were written later by people in recovery.
Are the Third and Seventh Step prayers the exact wording?
Yes. Both are from the 1939 first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Page numbers are from the fourth edition.
Can I change the words?
Yes, for the ten we wrote. God cares about your heart more than the wording. Many people make these prayers their own over time.
Can I print copies for my group?
Yes. Print as many as you like and share them freely.
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