The Seventh Step Prayer: Words, Meaning and How to Pray It
The Seventh Step prayer is a short prayer from page 76 of the Big Book (4th edition). In it you tell God you are willing to give Him all of yourself, ask Him to remove every defect that keeps you from being useful, and ask for strength to do His will. Here it is in full:
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.
It belongs to Step 7, “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” Many people pray it every morning, especially in the first weeks after their Fifth Step.
The prayer, line by line
“My Creator.” The prayer starts by putting things in order. God made you. You did not make yourself, and you can’t remake yourself either. For a Christian, this is the God who knit you together and knows every part of you.
“I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad.” Most of us were happy to hand God our problems and keep our strengths for ourselves. This line hands over both. The good parts were never really ours to run, and the bad parts are too heavy to carry.
“I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character…” Not the worst three. Every single one. You are asking, not promising to fix them yourself. Some will lift fast. Most will take time.
“…which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows.” This is the reason for the asking. It isn’t so you can feel better about yourself or look good at church. It is so you can be of use to God and to the people around you. That turns the whole prayer outward.
“Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding.” The prayer ends at the door. After you say amen, you walk into a day full of chances to practice the opposite of your defects. You ask for strength for that walk.
Scripture that fits this prayer
“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!”
David asks God to search him and lead him. That is the heart of the Seventh Step: an open invitation, with nothing held back.
How to pray it each day
- Pray it out loud in the morning. Before the phone, before the news. Some people kneel. Do what helps you mean it.
- Name one defect. After the amen, say the one you are working on today, in your own words.
- Plan the opposite. If it is impatience, plan one moment to wait well. If it is self-pity, plan one call to someone who is struggling.
- Look back at night. Did you catch it? Thank God for any progress. Ask again for what is still there.
If the words feel stiff, that is fine. Say them anyway and mean what you can. Willingness grows with use.
A shorter prayer in your own words
Some days you need fewer words. Try this: “Lord, here is all of me. Take whatever gets in the way of loving You and loving people. Give me strength for today.” That carries the same spirit, and you can pray it in the car or at work.
The full step, with the reading and common traps, is on the Step 7 page. If you are not ready to pray this yet, go back to the willingness of Step 6 and pray for that first.
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