If you want to use drugs, that’s your business. If you want to stop but can’t, that’s ours.
Attend one of our meetings or call the helpline (800) 539 0475 to find out how Narcotics Anonymous can help.
All of the efforts of Narcotics Anonymous are inspired by the primary purpose of our groups. To carry our message to addicts who still suffer.
Upon this common ground we stand committed.
Just For Today
July 08, 2026 |
The "G" word |
| Page 198 |
| "It is important for you to know that you will hear God mentioned at NA meetings. What we are referring to is a Power greater than ourselves that makes possible what seems impossible." |
| IP No. 22, "Welcome to NA" |
| Most of us come to Narcotics Anonymous with a variety of preconceptions about what the word "God" means, many of them negative. Yet the "G" word is used very regularly in NA, if not constantly. It occurs 92 times in the first 102 pages of our Basic Text, and appears prominently in a third of our Twelve Steps. Rather than sidestep the sensitivity many of us feel toward the word, let's address it head on. It's true that Narcotics Anonymous is a spiritual program. Our Twelve Steps offer a way to find freedom from addiction through the help of a spiritual Power greater than we are. The program, however, doesn't tell us anything about what we have to think about that Power. In fact, over and over again, in our literature and our meetings, we hear it said, "the God of our understanding"--whatever that understanding may be. We use the word "God" because it's used in our Basic Text and because it communicates most effectively to most people a basic understanding of the Power underlying our recovery. The word, we use for the sake of convenience. The Power behind the word, however, we use for more than convenience. We use that Power to maintain our freedom from addiction and to ensure our ongoing recovery. |
| Just for Today: Whether I believe in "God" or not, I will use the Power that keeps me clean and free. |