205. Practicing Principle 7: Daily Time With God205. Practicing Principle 7: Daily Time With God
Hope in Recovery
Andy Petry talks through Celebrate Recovery’s Principle Seven, using Psalm 139 to show a simple way of spending daily time with God. The conversation focuses on honest self‑examination, anxiety, amends, and ongoing surrender to Jesus as part of healing.
17:02•2 Oct 2026
Principle Seven: Simple Daily Time With God in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Reserve a daily time with God for self‑examination, Bible reading, and prayer as a core part of Principle Seven.
- Use Psalm 139:23–24 as a simple, structured prayer to invite God to search the heart and reveal anxious thoughts.
- Treat anxiety and hidden worries as indicators to bring into the light, rather than problems to keep in the dark.
- Apply Step 10 by keeping short accounts, making amends quickly, and facing relational issues instead of avoiding them.
- View daily surrender to Jesus as entering deeper relationship and moving toward abundant life, rather than just moral improvement.
“Recovery is not a process of us seeking to live life by our best understanding. That's actually what led most of us into recovery in the first place.”
What drives someone to seek a daily, honest connection with God as part of recovery? This episode of *Hope in Recovery* focuses squarely on Principle Seven from Celebrate Recovery: reserving daily time with God for self‑examination, Bible reading, and prayer.
Andy Petry, a grateful believer in Jesus who shares openly about his struggles with anxiety, depression, sexual addiction, and grief, talks through why “recovery is not a process of us seeking to live life by our best understanding.” He explains that this kind of self-directed living is what many feel has led them into recovery in the first place.
The heart of the episode is Psalm 139:23–24, used as a simple framework for daily time with God: “Search me, O God, and know my heart… test me and know my anxious thoughts… see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Andy breaks this down into practical questions you can ask: What am I scared to let God see? What anxious thoughts am I avoiding?
Is there anyone I need to make amends with or forgive? You’ll hear how addiction can act like a hiding place for the mind, and how bringing anxiety, unforgiveness, and hidden behaviour into the light can be the beginning of real change. Andy connects this reflection with Step 10 and keeping “short accounts” in relationships, stressing that recovery means learning a different way of doing life with God and others.
Throughout, the tone is honest, gentle, and very down-to-earth, with a clear message: daily surrender to Jesus is about stepping into relationship and “the life that we’ve always wanted,” not ticking religious boxes. If you’re wondering how to start spending time with God without overcomplicating things, this episode offers a simple prayer, a clear passage, and a community-minded perspective to keep you moving forward. Could this be the next small step in your own daily walk?
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