Step 7 of the 12 Steps: Humbly Asking God for Change
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step 7 of the 12 Steps is a prayer followed by a practice. You humbly ask God to take away the defects of character you found in your inventory, and then you start living the opposite of them, one day at a time. It is not a step about feeling small. It is about being honest about who you are and leaning on God for what you could never fix alone.
The line above is the step as it was printed in the 1939 first edition of the Big Book. It is one of the shortest steps, and many people move through it quickly. That is fine, as long as the asking turns into living.
What Step 7 means in plain words
In Step 4 you wrote down the patterns that kept showing up: selfishness, dishonesty, fear, resentment, and the rest. In Step 5 you said them out loud to God and another person. In Step 6 you became ready to let them go. Step 7 is where you actually ask.
“Shortcomings” is just another word for the defects you already know by name. Maybe it is a quick temper. Maybe it is lying to keep the peace, or grabbing for money, or sulking until people give in. You don’t need a new list. You use the one you have.
“Humbly” tells you how to ask. Not as a deal (“take this away and I’ll be good”), and not as a demand. You ask the way a child asks a good father, knowing you can’t make it happen by force.
The spiritual principle: humility
The principle traditionally tied to this step is humility. A lot of people flinch at that word because they grew up confusing it with humiliation. They are not the same thing.
Humiliation says, “You are worthless.” Humility says, “You are a creature, not the Creator, and that is good news.” It means seeing yourself at your real size. Not bigger than you are, which was the drinking life, and not smaller than you are, which is where shame wants to keep you.
Humility also means admitting you need help to change. For years, willpower was the plan. Step 7 is the step where you stop trying to white-knuckle your character into shape and ask God to do the deep work.
What the Bible says about Step 7
The verse the app pairs with this step is a promise, not a threat.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Notice the order. We confess, and God forgives and cleanses. The cleansing is His work. Our part is honesty and asking.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
James says the lifting comes from God, after we stop trying to lift ourselves. David’s prayer after his worst failure is a good model for the step, because he asks for a new heart rather than a better reputation:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
There are more passages on the Step 7 verses page.
How to work Step 7
Here is the simple way the app’s sponsors walk people through it, which follows the book.
1. Read it in your own copy. The Seventh Step is covered on page 76 of the Big Book (4th edition), in Into Action. It is only a few lines, so read slowly. If you have Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, read the Step Seven essay on pages 70 to 76. It goes deeper into humility, the difference between humility and humiliation, and how pain can teach us.
2. Pray the Seventh Step prayer, and mean it. This is the one passage from the book printed here in full, from page 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.
Many people pray it every morning for a week or longer. The Seventh Step prayer page walks through it line by line.
3. Pick one defect to start with. Not all of them. One.
4. Practice the opposite on purpose. If the defect is impatience, the opposite is waiting without a fuss. If it is dishonesty, the opposite is telling the plain truth when a small lie would be easier. If it is grabbing, the opposite is giving something away. You are not earning God’s help by doing this. You are cooperating with it.
5. Notice it at night. Before bed, ask: did I catch myself today? What did I do? This becomes the habit of Step 10.
6. Work through the questions. The app asks these, one at a time:
- What does humility mean to you, and what doesn’t it mean?
- When has pride cost you the most?
- Which defect do you want to start with?
- What would the opposite of that defect look like tomorrow, at work or at home?
- Did you catch yourself this week? What did you do?
There is more guidance on each one on the Step 7 questions page.
Talk it through with Jimmy or Sarah — first month free
Jimmy and Sarah are AI sponsors who know the Twelve Steps and the Bible. They'll listen, walk the steps with you, and keep pointing you to real people: a meeting, a sponsor, a church.
Free to download · first month free, no card · adults 18+
After the first month, talking with Jimmy or Sarah needs Plus ($9.99/month or $59.99/year).
What “done” looks like
You have prayed the Seventh Step prayer and meant it, and you have started practicing the opposite of your defects each day. That is enough to move on to Step 8. The removal of defects itself goes on for the rest of your life. Nobody finishes this step in the sense of having no defects left.
Common traps in Step 7
Expecting instant removal. Some people pray and feel a weight lift that same week. Others pray for months and still snap at their kids. Both are normal. Most change is slow, and it comes back around. When a defect shows up again, you pray again.
Confusing humility with self-hatred. Calling yourself garbage feels humble, but it keeps the focus on you. Real humility is quieter. It admits the wrong, accepts the forgiveness, and gets on with being useful.
Waiting until you feel humble. You don’t have to feel it first. You ask, you act, and the feeling tends to follow.
Trying to do it alone. The defects grew in isolation. They loosen up when you talk about them with a sponsor, at a meeting, or with your pastor.
A short prayer for today
Lord, You know me better than I know myself. I don’t want to hold on to what hurts other people and keeps me from You. Take what stands in the way. Show me one thing I can do differently today, and give me the strength to do it. Amen.
How Jimmy and Sarah help with Step 7
Steps & Scripture pairs you with an AI sponsor: Jimmy for men, Sarah for women. They pray the Seventh Step prayer with you, help you pick a defect and plan its opposite, and check in on how it went. They are AI, they say so, and they keep sending you toward real people: a meeting, a human sponsor, a church.
Common questions
What is Step 7 of the 12 Steps?
Step 7 is humbly asking God to remove the shortcomings you found in your inventory and admitted in Step 5. In practice it is a prayer said and meant, followed by daily effort to live the opposite of each defect.
Where is the Seventh Step prayer in the Big Book?
It is on page 76 of the 4th edition, in the chapter Into Action, right after the short paragraph on Step Six. The 12&12 essay on Step Seven runs from page 70 to 76.
Does God take defects away all at once?
Sometimes something lifts quickly. Most defects fade slowly as you keep asking and keep practicing the opposite. Defects that come back are a reason to pray again, not proof the step failed.
Is humility the same as feeling bad about yourself?
No. Humility is seeing yourself as you really are, the good and the bad, and depending on God. Self-hatred is just pride turned inside out. First John 1:9 promises cleansing, not condemnation.
Talk it through with Jimmy or Sarah — first month free
Jimmy and Sarah are AI sponsors who know the Twelve Steps and the Bible. They'll listen, walk the steps with you, and keep pointing you to real people: a meeting, a sponsor, a church.
Free to download · first month free, no card · adults 18+
After the first month, talking with Jimmy or Sarah needs Plus ($9.99/month or $59.99/year).
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