Step 11 of Alcoholics Anonymous: Connect With a Higher Power

Recovery support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) offer valuable ways for people in recovery from alcohol misuse and addiction to obtain support and share their experiences.¹

AA’s 12 steps of recovery provide a structured framework designed to be practiced as a way of life to help people attain and maintain recovery.² This article will focus solely on explaining step 11 of AA and help answer the question, what is step 11 of AA?

What Is Step 11 of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)?

AA step 11 states that we seek “through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”³

In AA, the word prayer refers to a petition to God or your higher power to ask for the things that serve your highest need.³ Prayer can provide a way to maintain a sense of balance after an emotional disturbance, and in this way, it is closely linked to meditation.³

Meditation is seen as an individual adventure, which can always be worked on and further developed.³Each person works out what meditation means to them in their own way.³ It can be used to improve a person’s conscious contact with their spiritual source and, as with prayer, to attain and maintain emotional equilibrium.³

What Is the Purpose of Step 11 of AA?

The ultimate purpose of step 11 is to sustain a connection with God or your higher power through the intertwining of self-examination, meditation, and prayer, all of which provide a strong and steady foundation for life in recovery.³

Meditation offers a way for AA members to use constructive imagination so that they can picture what they want their spiritual objective to be before they move toward it.³ It is similar to building a house, where a person first needs to imagine what kind of house they want to build and how they want it to look before they actually begin construction.³

Equally important is prayer, which helps people stay connected to the spiritual realm, maintain a sense of the grace of God or their higher power, and be assisted by a source of strength that can be relied on during tough times.³

Engaging in meditation and prayer provides a way for people to nourish their minds, emotions, and intuitions with necessary spiritual support.³ It can also provide a sense of belonging, promote emotional homeostasis, and connect a person to a sense of something that is bigger than themselves in a mindful and positive way.³

How to Complete Step 11 of AA

Completing step 11 of AA is an ongoing, daily process where you meditate and reflect on what you need and then pray to God to provide assistance.³ While this process is going to be unique for everyone, and there are many ways to accomplish it, what follows are some tips to help you understand how to complete step 11 of AA.

1. Connect to a higher power of your own understanding.⁴ This doesn’t have to mean “God” in the traditional sense, it can be any source of spiritual nourishment that resonates deeply with you.
2. Think about what prayer means to you. For some, this might mean going to a church and kneeling in front of an altar, but prayer can also mean quiet contemplation in a natural setting where you feel connected to your higher power.³
3. Pause throughout the day when you need to make decisions, and quietly remind yourself that it is “not my will, but your will be done,” if this resonates with you.³
4. Sit quietly with your thoughts in a place where you can be undisturbed so you can contemplate the beauty of life.³
5. Ask for the grace to engage in love, forgiveness, and understanding in all areas of your life.³ Remember the AA statement, “If we remind ourselves that it is better to comfort than to be comforted, to understand than to be understood, to love than to be loved, we will be following the intent of Step 11.”³

This step can be an important and ongoing component of your long-term recovery. You can continue to work on this step in different ways as needed, such as by cultivating your meditation skills, maintaining a consistent practice, and being forgiving with yourself if you’re not always as consistent as you might like.

How Step 11 of AA Fits Into Your Recovery Journey

All 12 steps work together to provide a solid foundation for your recovery, and each step builds on the previous one.

Step 10 of AA states that we continue “to take personal inventory” and promptly admit when we are wrong, which sets the stage for you to engage in the ongoing self-reflection in step 11.⁴

Step 12 of AA, which states, “having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs,” encourages you to help others and to continue to practice the 12 steps throughout your life.⁴

Involvement in AA has been shown to help people reduce alcohol use and maintain abstinence, promote a sense of self-efficacy, develop healthier coping skills, and increase subjective well-being.^5,6 Research also shows that 12-Step programs and peer support groups can provide a sense of community, increase motivation, reinforce family support, and strengthen the continuum of treatment.⁷

How to Find a 12-Step AA Program

If you’re involved in or thinking about rehab, you might start the AA process as a part of group therapy, and many rehabs also offer the opportunity to attend group meetings.

Rehab can involve different levels of addiction treatment based on your unique needs, but may include:

• Medical detox, which provides medical supervision and support to help you safely and comfortably withdraw from alcohol.¹
• Residential addiction treatment, which involves living onsite at a rehab where you’ll stay for the duration of treatment and participate in various therapies.¹
• Outpatient drug and alcohol rehab programs, which allow you to live at home, but you will need to travel to a treatment center on a regular basis.¹
• Intensive outpatient programs for drug and alcohol addiction, which are outpatient programs that involve 9 to 20 hours of treatment each week.¹
• Partial hospitalization programs for addiction, also known as high-intensity outpatient programs, which offer 4 to 8 hours of daily treatment.^1,8
• Aftercare programs, which provide ongoing recovery support that can include individual or group counseling, support groups like AA, or sober living.¹

You can find an AA meeting by searching online or visiting the AA website, which can connect you with online groups as well as local organizations that can provide you with a list of meetings. Meetings are available virtually as well as throughout the U.S., so you’ll always be able to find one in case you’re away from home, traveling, or moving to a new location.

Start Your Recovery

If you or a loved one are interested in a 12-Step program or are already a member of one, you might also benefit from rehab. Rehab and treatment can help people safely stop using alcohol and other drugs, teach coping and relapse prevention skills, and promote healthier lifestyles; participating in AA can extend these benefits.⁹

Use our rehab treatment directory today!

Read More About the 12 Steps

• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3
• Step 4
• Step 5
• Step 6
• Step 7
• Step 8
• Step 9
• Step 10
• Step 12
• AA Big Book
• AA Promises
• AA Recovery Programs
• AA Frequently Asked Questions
• 12-Step Addiction Recovery Programs