by Bill W.
If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to ovecome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago…. 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. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.
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. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a wilingness to beieve 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.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. 1976