February 7
Saying God Told Me
There is a difference between explaining that we prayed about a decision and presenting the decision as beyond question because we prayed. The first describes our effort to seek guidance. The second can leave other people with nowhere to stand. Disagreeing with us begins to sound like disagreeing with God, a rather unfair arrangement for a human conversation.
Our understanding remains human, however sincere the prayer. We may have missed a fact, misunderstood another person's need, or confused a strong preference with direction. Step Eleven cautions us about precisely this difficulty. Humility allows us to describe the best understanding we have while remaining open to correction. We do not have to drain our convictions of meaning. We simply refrain from giving them an authority that makes further discussion impossible. A decision made prayerfully should still be able to meet an honest question without treating the questioner as spiritually disloyal.
Does the way I describe guidance leave other people free to question my judgment?
My understanding is still my understanding.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven, pp. 103–104.