Made  a  decision  to  turn  our  will  and  our  lives  over  to  the  care  of  God  as  we  understood Him. In  this  article,  we  will  examine  the  third  part  of  the  surrender  process,  which  is  to  move from  a  “life  run  on  self  will”  to  a  life  guided  by  “the  vision  of  God’s  will.”    We  do  this  by turning  our  ego-­‐centric  lives  over  to  the  “Power  greater  than  ourselves”  that  resides  inside each  and  every  one  of  us. One  of  the  earliest  references  to  “God  as  we  understood  Him”  comes  to  us  from  Reverend Sam  Shoemaker,  the  pastor  of  the  Calvary  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York  City.    This  is  where Bill  W.,  one  of  the  co-­‐founders  of  A.A.,  attended  meetings  from  1934-­‐1937.    At  the  time, Sam  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Oxford  Group,  the  organization  from  which  A.A.  evolved. He   was   the   man   Bill   W.   described   as   the   teacher   of   “the   principles   and   attitudes   that afterward  came  to  full  flower  in  A.A.’s  Twelve  Steps  for  recovery.” When  talking  about  self-­‐will  vs.  God’s  will,  Sam  would  say,  “Surrender  as  much  of  yourself  as you  know  to  as  much  of  God  as  you  understand.”    Bill  W.  And  others  picked  up  on  this concept.     Instead   of   relying   upon   a   God   of   somebody   else’s   understanding,   they   started relying  upon  a  God  of  their  own  understanding,  hence  God  as  we  understood  Him. Some  of  the  key  paragraphs  the  A.A.  pioneers  used  to  explain  and  take  the  Third  Step  are:

A  life  run  on  self-­‐will:  pg.  60:  4  (1-­‐8) Selfishness  blocks  us  from  God’s  will:  pg.  62:  1  (1-­‐8)  and  pg.  62:  2:  (1-­‐8) A  life  guided  by  God’s  will:  pg.  62:  3  (1-­‐4,  6-­‐8)  and  pg.  63:  (1-­‐4) Third  Step  prayer:  pg.  63:2  (2-­‐8) On  pages  62  and  63  the  “Big  Book”  authors  explain  how  to  become  God  directed.    But,  first they  tell  us  that  being  self-­‐directed  keeps  us  separated  from  the  spiritual  solution  to  our difficulties.    In  the  fourth  paragraph  on  page  60,  they  explain  that,  when  we  live  on  self-­‐will, we  are  like  actors  trying  to  control  every  detail  of  a  play:

“The  first  requirement  is  that  we  be  convinced  that  any  life  run  on  self-­‐will can  hardly  be  a  success.  .  .  .  Each  (of  us)  is  like  an  actor  who  wants  to  run  the whole  show;  is  forever  trying  to  arrange  the  lights,  the  ballet,  the  scenery  and the  rest  of  the  players  in  his  (or  her)  own  way.” In  the  first  paragraph  on  page  62,  the  authors  declare  that  it  is  our  selfishness  that gets  us  into  trouble.    We  must  take  responsibility  for  our  preoccupation  with  ourselves  and lack  of  concern  for  others:

“Selfishness—self-­‐centeredness!     That,   we   think,   is   the   root   of   our troubles.  .  .  .  (W)e  invariably  find  that  sometime  in  the  past  we  have  made decisions  based  on  self  which  later  placed  us  in  a  position  to  be  hurt.  .  .  . Above  everything,  we  .  .  .  must  be  rid  of  this  selfishness.    We  must,  or  it  kills us!     God   makes   that   possible.     And   there   often   seems   no   way   of   entirely getting  rid  of  self  without  (God’s)  aid.” Then   in   the   third   paragraph   on   page   62,   the   authors   tell   us   what   happens   once   we   rid ourselves  of  this  selfishness:

“This  is  the  how  and  why  of  it.    First  of  all,  we  had  to  quit  playing  God. It   didn’t   work.   .   .   .   Most   good   ideas   are   simple,   and   this   concept   was   the keystone   of   the   new   and   triumphant   arch   through   which   we   passed   to freedom. Although  they  say  the  wording  is  optional,  the  “Big  Book”  authors  do  provide  us  with a  prayer  we  can  use  to  take  the  Third  Step.    The  prayer  is  in  the  middle  of  page  63,  starting with  the  second  line  in  the  second  paragraph:

“.  .  .  ‘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!’  ” Once  we  have  internalized  the  Third  Step  prayer,  we  have  completed  the  surrender  process. But  as  the  “Big  Book”  authors  write  on  the  following  page,  this  surrender  “could  have  little permanent  effect  unless  AT  ONCE  followed  by  a  strenuous  effort  to  face,  and  to  be  rid  of, the  things  in  ourselves  which  had  been  blocking  us.” In  the  next  article,  we  will  examine  some  specific  difficulties  that  have  kept  us  blocked  from the  Power  greater  than  ourselves.    We  will  determine  what  these  blocks  are  by  making  an inventory.

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