What More Can I Do To Submit My Will To God?

Day 62 – Step Work

HUMILITY
KEY PRINCIPLE: Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your shortcomings.

All the steps require humility, but step 7 requires it most explicitly: “Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your shortcomings.” The humble heart we developed in step 6 brought us to our knees in step 7 to ask the Lord to remove our shortcomings. When we had progressed to this point, we were ready to pray without any other motivation but our desire to become one in heart and in mind with Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. No longer were we satisfied with a change in habits or even in lifestyle. We were finally ready to have God change our very nature.

Step 7 represented for each of us such total surrender to the Savior that many of us could not help but cry out in our hearts, as Alma did, “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me” (Alma 36:18). Genuine remorse filled our hearts, not only because we had suffered or made others suffer but because we regretted that even in recovery we still could not remove our own shortcomings.

Share your feelings as you have become more aware of your character weaknesses and sins and your need for the Savior’s Atonement.

I feel really reliant on the Savior. I feel there is really no way I can become what I want to become, and what Heavenly Father wants me to become, with His help.

I’m grateful for this recognition and acceptance. I look forward to a day in recovery.

Having felt a portion of the love of God, we desired to give up all our sins, even all inclination to sin, so we might know Him better. Finally, voluntarily, with all our hearts, we offered our whole souls to God and asked Him to forgive us and make us in His image. We had finally come to realize that no other name, no other way nor means, can give us a complete remission of our sins. Holding nothing back, we pled with the Father that He, in His infinite mercy, would forgive us for all our pride, transgressions, and shortcomings. We asked that He would grant us grace, that through Him we might maintain this new way of life.

The Lord did not begin such a revolutionary change of our entire character until we allowed Him to do so.  Step 7 was our decision. We had to humble ourselves deliberately. We had to surrender every particle of self-sufficient pride and admit that our efforts to save ourselves had been insufficient. We had to feel and live the truth King Benjamin taught—that we are all beggars before God and have no hope of salvation by our own efforts but only through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ (see Mosiah 2:21; 4:19–20).

Step 7, like step 3, is a “decision step” and will need to be taken initially and then followed up with right action.  Explain your understanding of this at this time.

I’m grateful for this understanding. I’m grateful I’ve decided to turn my life and will over to God and let Him direct me. I realize that it’s never over: I have to continually be aware and be willing to submit to Him in all situations.

I feel Step 3 and 7 are like a basketball free-throw – I have to practice them all the time in order to be consistently the best I can be. If I stop practicing, I’ll throw away a lot of the practice I’ve been working on.

Step 7 marked for each of us the moment when we finally yielded without reservation to the eternal truth taught in Mosiah 16:4: “All mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state.” Our experience taught us that in taking step 7 we were not excused from the work that was ours to do. We still had to be patient and “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ” (2 Nephi 31:20).

How has working the steps helped you recognize YOUR “lost and fallen state?”

It’s opened my eyes even more this time to how “lost and fallen” I have been and am without the help of Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I don’t ever want to stop working the steps of recovery. I don’t want to fall back into bad habits.

I look forward to continuing to work the steps and help others who may need help in their process of recovery from addiction and character weaknesses.

Do you feel ready to cooperate with the Lord in the removal of your character weaknesses AND to do the work that is yours to do?

I do feel ready. I am ready, and I’m excited about what today holds in store for me as I try to submit to Him.

We had not become entirely free from the desire to sin. We had to learn to accept life on God’s terms and wait upon His purposes and His timing—even in the removal of our shortcomings. In taking step 7, we learned to live with the same humility and patience toward God that Alma and his brethren showed when their burdens were lightened but not removed: “They did submit  cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15). We finally abandoned the idea that we could become perfect by ourselves, and we accepted the truth that God desires us to conquer our weaknesses in this life by coming to Christ and being perfected in Him. We found that by His grace, He enabled us to deny ourselves of all ungodliness and to understand that salvation comes not by our own power but by His (see Moroni 10:32).

Do you understand that the position and prayer of step 7 is to be willing to submit to “All the will of the Lord” as a means for the eventual removal of your character weaknesses?

I feel I do understand this. I’m grateful for the understanding, although I feel there is more I can do to understand it more clearly. I’m grateful for the desire to want to understand it more and have hope that as I keep practicing and trying, Heavenly Father will help me.

How are you preparing for this new perspective?

I’m working the steps of the program, I’m journaling, I’m saying prayers in the moment of temptation, and I’m studying the words of ancient and modern prophets and apostles. I’m hopeful that I can be guided as I try to do these things.

Each step comes with a warning, though, and step 7 is no exception. We who have embraced these principles must warn you that you cannot expect to take this step without sacrifice—and rightly so. In Doctrine and Covenants 59:8, the Lord commands, “Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”  This offering is the essence of step 7. Even as you feel the pains of your own rebirth, remember that His suffering, not yours, ensures your redemption from sin.  Your sacrifice is only a humble reminder of His “great and last sacrifice” on your behalf (Alma 34:14).

When you put everything into God’s hands, you have finally done all you can to receive His unmistakable witness that your sins are forgiven, that your past is truly in the past. Like people who were converted in the Book of Mormon, you can testify that you have “been visited by the power and Spirit of God, which [is] in Jesus Christ” (3 Nephi 7:21). Along with Alma, you can exclaim: “I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!” (Alma 36:19–20).

Do you feel ready to put EVERYTHING into the Lord’s hands?

I do feel ready to put everything into the Lords hands. I want to feel that I’m doing this all the time, not just conveniently or when I feel I need Him most.

Do you feel hope for COMPLETE forgiveness?

I do feel this hope. I feel it’s a process but one that I’m a part of each day as I submit to him and ask for his help and forgiveness.

What concerns do you have, if any, about these two points?

My biggest concern is if I’m doing enough. I feel I could be more consistent at scripture study and personal prayer. I feel at times I’ve had thoughts that aren’t appropriate. I do try to pray right when that happens, but I don’t want those thoughts to come at all. I want to feed my spirit more and have a light all the time.

Action Steps
Seek for the power of the Savior’s Atonement to become effective in your personal life by meditating on the sacrament prayers

One effective form of meditation is to think of a verse or a phrase of scripture as you pray to understand its meaning and application in your own life. Since each of us must make the covenant that is repeated in the sacrament prayers, you could meditate on them.

Following the invitation of the prophets to apply the scriptures in your life, you may want to read Moroni 4:3 and 5:2 and humbly consider these sacred words in your own voice: for example, “O God, the Eternal Father, [I] ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to [my soul as I] partake of it . . . and keep his commandments which he hath given [me], that [I] may always have his Spirit to be with [me].”

Will you continue to strive to make the Sacrament more meaningful to you, especially in connection with taking step 7?

Yes, I will. I will also read more about meditation in the Inner Gold manual.

Pray humbly for God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself

By keeping a simple prayer in your heart, such as “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” or “Thy will be done,” you will be continually reminded of your total dependence upon the Lord. The love of God, yours for Him and His for you, will help you form one relationship to which you can give yourself without reservation.  You sought this love all the years you were trapped in addiction. In step 7, you will find a way to obtain peace as you enter into the “rest of the Lord” (Moroni 7:3; see also Alma 58:11; Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” Ensign, Dec. 1988, 2).

Will you continue to seek the Lord and His love for you as you move forward in this process?

I will – I feel committed to asking for Him to guide me and direct in all aspects of my life, not just my recovery from addiction.

The initial taking of step 6 & 7 will be in the form of a prayer, which will be an expression of readiness and a humble plea to your Heavenly Father for the removal of your character weaknesses or shortcomings.  It should be expressed vocally and on your knees.  It should be taken upon completion of step 5.  You should begin to prepare for this prayer and for the seeking of this blessing of spiritual healing and ongoing spiritual progress.

Will you begin to prepare now?

Yes, I will prepare now.

After sharing your inventory with your sponsor (step 5), your sponsor will leave the room and give you some private time to consider the following:

Has my work been thorough and complete up to this point in taking steps 1-5?
Have I admitted and accepted my powerlessness over my addiction?
Have I recognized and admitted my inability to manage my life without the Lord’s help?
Have I come to believe in His healing, saving power and its availability to me?
Have I sincerely made a decision to turn my will and my life over to His care, protection, and direction?
Have I acted accordingly and will I continue to do so?
Have I been thorough and complete in doing my inventory?
Have I been thorough and complete in sharing my inventory?
Am I now willing to have Him remove all these character weaknesses (step 6?)
Will I apply step 6 if I find myself struggling in self-will and sin, by praying for willingness to let it go?
Will I now kneel and vocally ask my Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, and through His infinite Atonement, to remove my character weaknesses?
Will I humbly accept His time frame and means to do so?
Will I trust that He will consecrate all my afflictions for my and others’ gain?

After taking some time to ponder these key elements and feeling that you are truly ready, you will kneel and take step 7.

If you have not already done so, please schedule a time to take steps 5-7 with your sponsor.  Make sure to allow enough time and make sure to do so as soon as possible.