May 24
Calling It Guidance
Sometimes a discussion begins with our saying that we have prayed about it. That may be a simple account of our preparation. It can also make disagreement feel awkward for everybody else. Who wants to be the person arguing with an answer that has apparently arrived from God? The conversation becomes smaller before it has properly begun.
Prayer can make us more willing to hear, including when someone questions the conclusion we reached afterward. Our sense of guidance remains something we understand through a human mind, with its hopes and blind spots. We can offer it honestly without giving it authority over another person's conscience. Saying that we believe a course is right leaves room for questions about facts, consequences, and motives. God does not need our confidence to become a barrier around the proposal. We can pray sincerely and still explain our reasons in ordinary language.
Does the way I describe guidance make it easier or harder for someone to question me?
My understanding can remain open to conversation.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven, pp. 103–104.