I like, have enjoyed, and have learned things at many AA meetings. However, I can’t recite the Lord’s Prayer for the life of me (pun intended). It feels hokey to put it lightly.
Does anyone else have this feeling / experience?
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It’s not the Lord’s Prayer they recite. It’s a sobriety prayer. I don’t know it or the Lord’s Prayer, but I’ve heard both enough where I should. I could come close
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It takes time to feel it and to understand. At almost for four years sober and going to many AA meetings per week plus being a secretary for three different meetings, I still do not have it memorized.
Welcome to our community Mr. Coyote. This is a good place for people like us. Congratulations on your sobriety, keep up the good work, keep reaching out and staying connected. It helps 
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Nah. Some meetings actually recite the Lord’s Prayer.
@Coyote, I do feel it’s kind of counter to the AA preamble. But also when I let go of its origin and turn it toward a power of my own understanding, it’s a pretty good prayer all the same.
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Interesting. Was telling my buddy AA was totally non religious as they preach it every meeting. And he was skeptical (as was I). They shouldn’t be doing that
Yeah. To be honest my own homegroup does it.
It doesn’t really bother me, but a few of us are suggesting it doesn’t really jive with the book either, and maybe we should sub in something like the promises instead. We’ll see.
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Although the sobriety prayer is religious too, right? My skeptical buddy said he heard it in church growing up
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I haven’t been to a meeting of any sort where they don’t recite the sobriety prayer. If that’s from the Bible, shame. I’m not against religion, I’m just against an organization preaching they’re not religious when they are
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The Serenity Prayer was written by a theologian, yes. Originally picked up via a newspaper quote.
It’s so synonymous with AA though (and probably the most powerful thing I’ve personally gotten from the program) that, meh. Lol.
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I will say this. It’s a program of applying spiritual principles and deliberate footwork to get sober. But AA to my knowledge was the first group to say, let’s let folks bring whatever inspiration they have. Doesn’t matter what they call “God.”
As I’ve heard it said, there’s only two things I gotta know about my HP to get sober: that there is one, and I’m not it!
At the time AA started, Christianity was the prevalent thing to draw on. So it happens a lot of stuff was drawn from there. Maybe even when trying not to. I dunno.
In today’s rooms though, I’ve had profound conversations with people of probably every faith (including secular philosophy and none at all).
They all gimme something and all keep me sober.
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They should have signs / cards out for you to read off?
I managed to memorise it after about a month
Do they?
I’ve never known them do that. It massively goes against
“A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination”
I’d be questioning that as doesn’t make that meeting open and exclusive for people of all religions if they have to recite a Christian prayer 
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And Jesus taught us to pray:
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. Amen 
I’ve been to meetings where they recite the responsibility statement. I’ve also been to meetings where they recite a prayer of the local Indigenous tribe. If they wanted to recite from the Koran I’d be cool with that too. I guess I don’t understand why people get so bent out of shape about prayer. Not religious? Cool, just don’t say it. It’s pretty common where I come from for people to just leave before the prayer 
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It’s true, though where such prayers are suggested they also say, “Those who wish, please join us in saying the XYZ prayer.” So some just don’t.
I had no preconceptions. They start off every meeting with ‘we’re a non denominational group.’ If they’re reciting the Lord’s Prayer, that’s not being honest.
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In my AA meeting we do lords prayer at emd
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Prayer nor religion bother me at all. Each group can do whatever they’re comfortable with. That said, the Lord’s Prayer is a Christian prayer, so there is a Christian based theme to AA, or many meetings. And that’s fine. Just be open and honest about it.
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I probably said this before but my buddy is scared of AA because he thinks it’s a religious cult. He said they hold meetings in churches and they recite prayers. I adamantly defended AA and said they’re totally nondenominational and I highly doubt they’d hold meetings in churches. Well, it appears he’s right and now I look like an idiot.
I think it should be noted in this discussion that @Mephistopheles is definitely, with a capital D, not religious.
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