Ready in RecoveryReady in Recovery
The Recovery Pastor Podcast
Shannon explains the "Ready" step in faith-based recovery, linking AA, Celebrate Recovery and practical spiritual habits. The talk focuses on surrendering character defects to God, preparing for change like a farmer preparing a field for rain, and embracing honest self-reflection and prayer as daily tools for growth.
20:46•25 May 2026
Ready in Recovery: Preparing Your Field for Rain
Episode Overview
- Being "ready" means admitting powerlessness, coming out of denial, and asking God to remove character defects fuelled by the flesh.
- Inventory is described as the warehouse of the heart, revealing how hurt received, internalised and repackaged leads to hurting others.
- True change is framed as a process of preparing your field for rain: steady prayer, self-reflection and obedience before conditions look ideal.
- Practical tools include praying "your will be done", listing triggers, confessing struggles daily, and using Scripture such as Psalm 51.
- Shannon stresses that recovery depends on God’s grace, not personal willpower, and encourages openly praising what God has done so others can find hope.
“Are you preparing your field for rain?”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? This episode of The Recovery Pastor Podcast zooms in on the recovery step called "Ready", linking it to AA’s Step Six and Celebrate Recovery’s Principle Five. Shannon, the recovery pastor, talks straight to anyone wrestling with addiction, character defects and that stubborn "flesh thorn" that keeps dragging them back.
She explains inventory in simple terms: "the warehouse is our heart" – all the hurts we’ve taken on, how we’ve turned them on ourselves, and how we’ve sent them back out to hurt others. The "ready" step is described as the moment you stop pretending nothing’s wrong, admit you’re powerless, and say, "I need help fighting my flesh thorn." This is aimed at people in recovery who are ready for change but scared of what that actually means.
One farmer keeps working his land before a drop falls, and that becomes a picture of daily spiritual discipline: praying "your will be done", writing down triggers like fear and shame, confessing struggles each night, and even standing in front of the mirror to say, "I forgive you." This episode sits firmly at the intersection of faith and recovery, with an honest focus on dependence on God rather than willpower: "If we could change on our own, you wouldn’t be watching this video." It’s aimed at anyone in a Christ-centred recovery journey who’s tired, frustrated, and wondering if change is really possible.
Using stories from Scripture and a scene from the film Facing the Giants, Shannon paints a vivid picture of what it means to "prepare your field for rain" even when life feels like a drought. Ready to start preparing your own field for rain?
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