"power" in the Big Book

I had always believed in a Power greater than myself.

Judging from what I had seen in Europe and since, the power of God in human affairs was negligible, the Brotherhood of Man a grim jest.

Had this power originated in him?

There had been no more power in him than there was in me at that minute; and this was none at all.

It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself.

Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility

We are growing in numbers and power.* An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature.

Why can’t he?’’ “Why don’t you drink like a gentleman or quit?’’ “That fellow can’t handle his liquor.’’ “Why don’t you try beer and wine?’’ “Lay off the hard stuff.’’ “His will power must be weak.’’ “He could stop if he wanted to.’’ “She’s such a sweet girl, I should think he’d stop for her sake.’’ “The doctor told him that if he ever drank again it would kill him, but there he is all lit up again.’’ Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time.

What has become of the common sense and will power that he still sometimes displays with respect to other matters?

In a vague way their families and friends sense that these drinkers are abnormal, but everybody hopefully awaits the day when the sufferer will rouse himself from his lethargy and assert his power of will.

The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink.

Our socalled will power becomes practically nonexistent.

Young people may be encouraged by this man’s experience to think that they can stop, as he did, on their own will power.

But try and get them to see it!* As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our will power.

Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not.

I felt I had every right to be self-confident, that it would be only a matter of exercising my will power and keeping on guard.

I saw that will power and self-knowledge would not help in those strange mental blank spots.

His defense must come from a Higher Power.

We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn’t there.

Lack of power, that was our dilemma.

We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.

But where and how were we to find this Power?

Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem.

with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly.

We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.

As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps.

“Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?’’ As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way.

The reader may still ask why he should believe in a Power greater than himself.

In our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater than himself.

Every one of them has gained access to, and believes in, a Power greater than himself.

This Power has in each case accomplished the miraculous, the humanly impossible.

They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking.

In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure of their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction flowed into them.

When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God.

It is not by chance we were given the power to reason, to examine the evidence of our senses, and to draw conclusions.

For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.

He stood in the Presence of Infinite Power and Love.

But there is One who has all power—that One is God.

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3.

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

(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.

Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power.

As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter.

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.

In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill.

We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish.

Much has already been said about receiving strength, inspiration, and direction from Him who has all knowledge and power.

Show him, from your own experience, how the queer mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power.

The main thing is that he be willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles.

Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!

What had become of their judgment, their common sense, their will power?

Show him you have confidence in his power to stop or moderate.

The power of God goes deep!

If your husband is trying to live on a spiritual basis, he will also be doing everything in his power to avoid disagreement or contention.

At such moments we forget that alcoholism is an illness over which we could not possibly have had any power.

This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives.

We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others.

If he has your will power and guts, he will make the grade.”

Painfully aware of being somehow abnormal, the man did not fully realize what it meant to be alcoholic.* When our friend related his experience, the man agreed that no amount of will power he might muster could stop his drinking for long.

He has helped other men recover, and is a power in the church from which he was long absent.

Many of us have felt, for the first time, the Presence and Power of God within its walls.

You forget that you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself.