1    We admitted we were powerless over ________—that our lives had become unmanageable.

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

3    Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. * (see Third Step Prayer right)

4    Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5    Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6    Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7    Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. * (see Seventh Step Prayer right)

8    Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9    Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10    Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11   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.

12    Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

God, I offer myself to Thee, to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. 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. May I do Thy will always.*

My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character, which stands in the way of my usefulness to you & my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here to do your bidding.*

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me bring love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
where there is discord, harmony;
where there is error, truth;
where there is wrong, the spirit of forgiveness.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek,
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right,
if I surrender to His will.

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever
in the next. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

From the belief that I have to earn Your love… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security that I have what it takes… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting you will leave me more destitute… Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of your words and promises… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against childlike dependency on Yo… Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances in accepting Your will… Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future… Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive preoccupation with the past… Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking in the present moment… Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked to give more than I have… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life has no meaning or worth… Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands… Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement… Deliver me, Jesus.

That You are continually holding me, sustaining me, loving me… Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your love goes deeper than my sins and failings and transforms me… Jesus, I trust in You.
That not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are with me in my suffering… Jesus, I trust in You.
That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church… Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your plan is better than anything else… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You always hear me and in Your goodness always respond to me… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me the grace to accept forgiveness and to forgive others… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me all the strength I need for what is asked… Jesus, I trust in You.
That my life is a gift… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will teach me to trust You… Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are my Lord and my God… Jesus, I trust in You.
That I am Your beloved one… Jesus, I trust in You.

God, Please help me to be free of anger and to see that the world and its people have dominated me. Show me that the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, has the power to actually kill me. Help me to master my resentments by understanding that the people who wrong me were perhaps spiritually sick. Please help me show those I resent the same Tolerance, Pity and Patience that I would cheerfully grant a sick friend.** Help me to see that this is a sick man. Father, please show me how I can be helpful to him and save me from being angry. Lord, help me to avoid retaliation or argument. I know I can’t be helpful to all people, but at least show me how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one. Thy will be done.

Dear God, I have a resentment towards a person that I want to be free of. So, I am asking you to give this person everything I want for myself. Help me to feel compassionate understanding and love for this person. I pray that they will receive everything they need. Thank you God for your help and strength with this resentment.

The C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters  are to be particularly useful in navigating the emotional fallout from a relapse as well as an aid during periods of temptation.

The Screwtape Letters is a fictional work detailing a collection of letters written by a devil, a tempter named Screwtape. He is writing to his young demon nephew, Wormwood, who is learning the ways of tempting and leading people, or “patients,” away from God (the devils refer to God as the “Enemy”). It’s a fascinating and amusing work.

The book’s insights are especially helpful during periods of temptation. If you don’t read anything else from this book, at least read Chapter 9, which offers a compelling description of addictive patterns of sin. I’ll highlight a few instances from the book and connect them to our work in recovery.

Let’s begin with the following passage:

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…”

As many of us are painfully aware, the above quote is particularly poignant. We’ve likely experienced it as we slowly sank more and more into our addiction. While acknowledging that Satan cannot create pleasure but only distort it, Lewis hints at the Law of Diminishing Returns, demonstrating that as we give in to our addiction or sinful behavior that we’ll increasingly need “more and more” of it to reach the same “high.” Yet, the more we seek the pleasure of the high, the less it actually offers us pleasure, and the more it becomes a controlling force in our lives.

It was only after beginning my recovery process that, looking back on my addiction, I could see “the gentle slope, soft underfoot,” leading down into quicksand. The devil had distorted my seeking of sexual pleasure, and the “more and more” I sought it the more enslaved I became. It took me a long time to reclaim the type of healthy, authentic pleasure God desires for us.

Similarly, I (and I suspect many of us), lived much in my mind during the height of my addiction. As Screwtape instructs, “there is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against [God]. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”

In other words, the more we live in our mind—worrying and anxiously thinking—the more vulnerable we become to giving into our addiction and committing sin. The less we focus on God and living presently in His will.

I personally spent years navigating this mental minefield. Now, as I seek strength to resist these temptations, I remember what Lewis wrote about fortitude: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” This is what we all should be aiming for in both recovery and our lives as a whole—the courage, by God’s grace, to stand firm against the devil during temptations.

Developing courage and fostering change through God’s grace requires that we respond to the Lord through our actions and to live outside of our inner worlds. This means looking outward through prayer, acts of service, and other good things that allow God to change us. This is why Screwtape admonishes Wormwood to “keep [the human being’s] mind on the inner life. [The human being] thinks his conversion is something inside of him and his attention is therefore chiefly turned at present to the states of his own mind.”

Again, if we are closed in on ourselves, the devil has an easier time inciting us with temptation and negative thoughts. But through concrete actions, such as praying a novena to Mary Undoer of Knots, consecrating ourselves to Saint Joseph, attending Eucharistic adoration, consuming the Eucharist regularly, connecting with others in our community, and serving our neighbor, the devil’s “mind games” will not be successful.

Additionally, there is another aspect of recovery that Lewis brings up. Screwtape instructs Wormwood, “Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground.” As recovery addicts we should take pleasure in the times, ways, and degrees that God allows. This might include developing new and positive habits as well as forming enjoyable friendships that encourage us to live Christ-centered lives.

One of the main ways that we can stumble in our Christian walk, especially during times of dryness, is engaging in pleasures that God has not ordained for us to partake in. Yet, it’s important to remember that the temptation to sin by misusing pleasure can be counteracted by an unhealthy tendency to restrict all legitimate pleasures and see pleasure as evil. God created pleasure, so let’s find enjoyment in His pleasures—not those of the devil, which are only a distortion of such pleasures.

Lastly, Lewis reminds us that we turn into what we emulate. Screwtape explains to Wormwood that, “All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be.”

This means that when we partake in evil we become more evil. But it also means that when we partake in good we become more good. As Lewis writes in another one of his famous books, Mere Christianity, when we take actions of love toward something or someone that we don’t naturally love we begin to cultivate a natural love for that thing within us.

By understanding how the devils seek to tempt and lead us away from God in The Screwtape Letters, we can counter the works of the devil by maintaining our sobriety and growing in holiness, all through the grace and mercy of our God.

Aaron Walter is a lifelong Catholic and former porn addict whose ministry, NewMenRising, is dedicated to pornography addiction recovery. He is a coach, mentor, and accountability partner and is passionate about helping husbands kick their addiction and transform their lives and relationships. You can connect with him at calendly.com/aaronwaltercoachingsessions.