Step wording, daily practice, and a classic meditation
What people mean by the “Eleventh Step Prayer”
The phrase can point to several closely related parts of A.A. literature: the wording of Step Eleven, the nightly and morning practices in Chapter Six of Alcoholics Anonymous, or the prayer associated with St. Francis used in the Step Eleven essay. Together they describe a continuing practice of review, prayer, meditation, renewed direction, and action.
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact…”
Read the complete official wording of Step Eleven opens in a new tab
Three parts of one continuing practice
Step · daily rhythm · meditationStep Eleven
The Step describes the purpose: improved conscious contact with a Higher Power, knowledge of that Power’s will, and the strength to carry it out.
Official Step list new tabNight, morning, and day
Chapter Six, pages 85–88, describes an evening review, preparation for the day ahead, requests for direction, and pauses when agitation or doubt interrupts the day.
Chapter Six PDF new tabThe prayer associated with St. Francis
The Step Eleven essay introduces this prayer on page 99 and follows its movement from the desire to receive comfort toward the willingness to offer love, forgiveness, hope, light, and joy.
Step Eleven essay new tabA daily rhythm of review, direction, and return
Chapter Six · pages 85–88Review without morbid reflection
- Check resentment, selfishness, dishonesty, and fear.
- Ask whether an apology or immediate discussion is owed.
- Consider kindness, love, usefulness, and what could be improved.
- Ask forgiveness and what corrective measures should follow.
The page explicitly warns against drifting into worry, remorse, or morbid reflection because these diminish usefulness.
Read page 86 new tabConsider the day ahead
- Review the next twenty-four hours and the day’s plans.
- Ask that thinking be separated from self-pity, dishonesty, and self-seeking motives.
- When undecided, ask for inspiration, an intuitive thought, or a decision—then relax rather than struggle.
- Close meditation by asking to be shown the next step and given what is needed to meet problems.
Pause when agitated or doubtful
- Ask for the right thought or action.
- Remember that the member is no longer “running the show.”
- Return to willingness rather than excitement, fear, anger, worry, or self-pity.
- Carry the result into action; the chapter ends by turning toward Step Twelve.
The St. Francis prayer as a meditation on giving
Pages 99–101 · a worked meditationbefore
comfortTwelve and Twelve · page 99
Slow attention reveals the prayer’s direction
On page 99, the Step Eleven essay invites the beginner to consider a classic prayer. Its approach is deliberate: reread the prayer, become quiet enough to receive its images, notice the direction of its requests, and compare that direction with present conduct.
Let each phrase be heard
The essay recommends several readings so that each phrase and idea can be considered instead of passed over on the way to the ending.
Rest from argument for a moment
Meditation asks for a temporary willingness to stay with the text and discover what it offers before accepting or rejecting every thought.
From receiving toward giving
Pages 100–101 follow the desire to become a channel of love, forgiveness, harmony, truth, faith, hope, light, and joy.
Compare the ideal with present conduct
The essay asks what life might become if it moved closer to that ideal. The meditation therefore points beyond recitation toward a changed way of meeting other people.
How the Step Eleven essay develops prayer and meditation
Twelve and Twelve · pages 96–105Begin with experiment rather than certainty
The essay acknowledges disbelief and resistance, then connects self-examination, meditation, and prayer as interwoven practices that can be tried before they are fully understood.
Let attention move beyond the self
The prayer associated with St. Francis becomes an exercise in slow attention, imagination, and the desire to give what one might otherwise demand from others.
Carry prayer into the day
The essay relates prayer to meditation, considers the direction of morning prayer, and suggests returning to a simple phrase when decisions or emotional disturbance arise.
Remain cautious about private certainty
The essay warns that supposed “guidance” can become wishful thinking or rationalization, especially when someone presumes to know what ought to happen in another person’s life.
Resume when prayer is difficult
The closing pages move away from demands and toward openness. They acknowledge that prayer may sometimes feel impossible and encourage beginning again when one is able.
Action remains the test
In both books, prayer and meditation remain connected to usefulness, emotional balance, corrected conduct, and a more responsible relationship with other people.
Open all Step Eleven formats new tabFollow Step Eleven through both books
Wording · daily practice · sustained meditation| When you are looking for | Read | Location | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| The wording of Step Eleven | Official Twelve Steps | Step Eleven | The concise statement of prayer, meditation, conscious contact, knowledge, and power. |
| A nightly review | Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter Six | Page 86 | Questions about the day, possible corrective measures, and a warning against worry, remorse, and morbid reflection. |
| A morning practice | Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapter Six | Pages 86–87 | Preparation for the day, requests for direction, a way to meet indecision, and a request for the next right step. |
| The prayer associated with St. Francis | Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven | Page 99 | The complete prayer followed by a meditation on its movement from seeking for oneself toward giving to others. |
| Cautions about “guidance” | Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven | Pages 103–104 | Warnings about rationalization, self-serving demands, and presuming to know what ought to happen to someone else. |
Continue with the complete texts
Read the daily practice and the full meditation
Chapter Six offers a pattern that moves from evening review into morning direction and daytime pauses. The Step Eleven essay explores the inner movement of prayer and the cautions needed when personal wishes begin to resemble certainty. Together they connect quiet reflection with useful action.