Step 11. Spiritual Principle: SPIRITUAL AWARENESS

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God through Jesus Christ, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

((Colossians 3:16)Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.)

In time, we see that through God, we really can be free of addictions death grip, and that life is actually much better without it. In time, we settle down, the relapses finally stop, and we begin to walk with God in a new way. And in time, we realize that God is actually for us and not against us, and that if we trust Him every day to help us, we can live a truly happy and fulfilling life. Now, it is our time that God wants, to deepen our relationship with Him and give us our daily bread so that we can know Him, and hear what He wants to say to us about our lives. Does God really hear us when we pray? Most definitely, yes! He also knows all of the thoughts and feelings you have ever had, and everything good and bad that ever happened to you. God is not watching us from a distance, He said that He will stick closer than a brother. He also promised that He would never leave or forsake anyone that would sincerely turn to Him for help. Just like you love your kids and know a lot about them, God knows you better than you know yourself, and He longs to interact with you on a daily basis. He is your loving Father.

All God wants when you pray is just for you to talk to him from your heart, and tell Him what's going on inside you. Just like you want your children to talk and communicate with you, so does God. When you talk to Him, talk to Him, not at Him. He understands English just fine because He invented it, so although we should be respectful, we do not have to talk to Him in King James English with all the "Thee's and Thou's". How would you feel if your child got up in the morning and said " Oh thou magnificent and profound parent of mine, wouldest thou givest me thine box of holy Cheerios, so that I mayest feast upon thy bounty of breakfast blessings with Thee?" It sounds kind of silly doesn't it? Or how about when we are engrossed in our busy activities like the TV or the computer, and our mate is talking to us, but we just kind of nod at them in a catatonic state. When you lay there sleeping on the couch that night because of it, you will realize that your mate just wanted your full attention, not grunts, or us staring blankly at the TV or monitor while they are trying talk to us. God just wants to talk to you about what's really going on your heart, mind, and life and He wants to share His heart, mind, and life with you. God is talking 24 hours a day, but most of us just don't know how to listen properly. He wants us to hear Him clearly.

When you read the bible every day, try asking the Holy Spirit beforehand to help you to understand what you are reading, and to talk to you through what you read. The bible is a living book inspired by a living God that will speak to you through each passage you read. Maybe you are wondering about something God may, or may not want you to do, but you aren't sure what His answer is. When you read God's word, certain words and phrases will just jump out at you, and that is God speaking to you. God can also talk to you through anything you are around during a day, nature, music, other people, TV, you name it. When you pray, stop and listen, your mind may wonder a bit, or you may start to fall asleep sometimes, but you will start hearing God speak to you for real. What does He sound like? Well, His words are usually positive, even if corrective. I remember when I first started listening when I prayed and asking Him to talk to me, I was surprised at how positive and supportive God actually was of me. I always kind of thought He was mad at me, but that is just how I thought of myself, not how He thought about me.

God knows just how to speak to you personally, and He also knows how to turn the volume up if necessary, so you don't have to worry about missing Him. You might say "Well, I have done so many terrible things and I doubt God would want to talk to me". Well you are just wrong. When your children make mistakes or have problems, do you just disown them because they have a problem? No. Most parents want to help their kids through a problem, and so does God. Adam and Eve were afraid to talk to God after they had sinned, but God actually went looking for them to deal with the problem, and restore their broken relationship. God will give you the answers you need to your problems, and He will also give you all of the help that you need to do whatever it is that He is asking of you. Let Him be your Father, and run to Him when you have a need or problem. He said for you to cast all of your cares upon Him because He really cares about what happens to you. When you seek God with all your heart, He will make sure you find Him.

Here is a prayer to pray if you need it.

"Dear God, I ask that you would help me to learn to communicate with you better. Help me to learn to hear your voice, and to listen and hear what you are trying to say to me. Help me to distinguish your voice from all other voices that would try to speak to me, and to fellowship with you even as Adam walked and talked with you in the Garden of Eden. I love you Father, and I want to know you as you really are. I thank you this day for hearing my prayer and for helping me to not only hear your voice better, but to also to receive the help you want me to receive from you on a daily basis. In Jesus name I pray, amen".

Some scriptures to help you.