Prayers to quit smoking

Smoking is a bad habit. Moreover, it is a dangerous one and not so many people take this into consideration when they start smoking. A Prayer to quit smoking is something that every smoker needs. Some people consider that smoking is something fancy. Some people are addicted to that gesture they make when they pick the cigarette from the pack, they click the lighter, inhale the first smoke and then feel a peaceful state of mind.

What is the prayer to quit smoking?

Maybe you’re asking why I started this article. Why am I talking about something like this? Do I have any experience with this habit? Yes. I had. And now my life is more beautiful than it was when I was a smoker. Only the prayer to quit smoking helped me. Maybe you will want to read a specific prayer, then I am sorry because I don’t have something dedicated to smoking. I have real stories and tips to teach you how to ask God for help using a prayer to quit smoking cigarettes, this bad and dangerous habit.

So indeed, there is no formula for this prayer for quitting smoking. You only need a strong will and courage, wisdom and a strong relationship with yourself. I won’t tell you that in this article you will find the secret prayer to stop smoking, but you will see how to pray, how to live with the absence of this habit and how to manage the hard times that come after you stop smoking.

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Why do you need a prayer to stop smoking cigarettes?

1 – Your heart will be strengthened, your breathing capacity will increase;

2 – Your immune response to colds will increase;

3 – You will be more productive in every task you have, whether we speak about housework or your job;

4 – You will be a good example to your children;

5 – The morning cough will disappear;

6 – Your blood pressure will be lowered;

7 – You will have more energy.

7 Bible verses about quitting smoking

1 – Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

2 – Ephesians 4:22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.”

3 – Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

4 – John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

5 – 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.”

6 – 1 Corinthians 10:23 “I have the right to do anything, you say–but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything–but not everything is constructive.”

7 – Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Each Bible verse about quitting smoking speaks, in fact, about the strong will you must have to quit this bad habit. Each bible verse about quitting smoking means prayers to overcome addiction.

When there is an addiction in your life, it means that you are not a free human being. You need to be free, you need to see the light of freedom, and you have to start with your way of thinking.

Think positive with  the help of a prayer to quit smoking! The most powerful prayer against addiction comes from your strong will to stop smoking cigarettes.

There are so many prayers to overcome addiction, and in fact, you do not need to look for a specific one. But you can use the Serenity Prayer as help because its powers are beneficial for those who want to be clean again, with no addiction and no bad habits.

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

This is the short version of the Serenity Prayer. Pray every day and be strong because a prayer to quit smoking is your salvation.

Take your time. Every day. You need time to understand that with wisdom and courage you can overcome the addiction.

What happens when I say a quit smoking prayer?

When you start to pray to quit smoking, you call your Guardian Angel to help you. Your Guardian Angel will listen to you and will give you the wisdom to become a non-smoker again. But this can’t happen overnight, so you must be patient and you must believe in yourself.

Which quit smoking prayer should we use?

First of all, you must know that changing a bad habit comprises three steps:

1 – The phase where you become conscious of how much damage it can cause. If we talk about smoking we should think about: heart attack, lung cancer, infertility, and so on.

2 – The phase where you really regret what your bad habit caused you until that moment.

3 – The phase where you embrace a good habit and see its benefits.

How to pray to stop smoking cigarettes?

I have heard this question many times, so let’s see how to do this.

First of all, you need to enter into a state of calmness and relaxation. Sit down, or kneel, do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Then, quietly, start a prayer to quit smoking. You can use the serenity prayer full version or bible verses about quitting smoking. You can simply choose the words that describe your state of mind and your strong will to overcome the addiction and that could be all the prayer.

The most important thing is to be sincere in your prayer. Your Guardian Angel is there for you, close to you, listening to you by the Prayer to quit smoking.

Secondly, you must use your imagination to see how dangerous this smoking habit is. Do you like what you see? I bet that “no” is your answer. This is good because you can see the many reasons why you need to quit smoking and how a quit smoking prayer can help you.

Third, you must use your imagination again, but this time you have to see how sad and miserable your life will be if you don’t quit smoking. Multiply what you saw in the second phase, and you will see how your life will be if you continue to smoke.

Have faith and make a good change in your life.

Discover some more prayers from Padre:

• PRAYER FOR INSOMNIA

• PRAYER TO DISCOVER FORTUNE

• SERENITY PRAYER – FULL VERSION, 7 BENEFITS AND ITS HISTORY

www.guardian-angel-reading.com

Every smoker remembers her first cigarette. I took my first puff in 1942 back in high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was 14, on the chubby side and wore glasses. Though people were already talking about what a good voice I had, I wasn’t exactly one of the popular girls. But I’d made up my mind. I was going to hang out with the cool kids. The kids who looked so grown-up leaning against their cars in the school parking lot, lighting one another’s cigarettes, blowing tendrils of smoke in the air.

During lunch one day I sauntered across the parking lot to them. “Wanna smoke?” one of the guys asked, holding out a pack. I pulled out a cigarette and put it to my lips. I looked into his eyes as he flipped open his Zippo and lit me up. I felt so sophisticated. Then the smoke hit my lungs and I couldn’t help it. I coughed. A lot.

“First time?” he asked.

“No, of course not,” I said, trying to regain my composure. Before lunch was over I’d worked my way through that cigarette and started on another.

I didn’t dare light up at home—my mother would have killed me. I was only sneaking cigarettes at school. Then I got an after-school job singing for KTUL radio. Everyone at the station smoked. They were all older, and I felt even more out of place than I had in school. One day a DJ offered me a cigarette. I grabbed it like it was a lifeline. Just a few drags and I felt different. Worldly, experienced. There was no going back after that.

I wasn’t the kid with the great pipes anymore. I’d become a grown-up, a real professional singer. And a real smoker too. How many people are in the audience? I’d worry backstage. What if I forget the lyrics? Then I’d light up, inhale and my fears would drift away. Nothing eased my anxieties like a cigarette.

My singing career took off in my twenties. “Tennessee Waltz” and “Doggie in the Window” shot up the charts. My smoking habit rocketed, too, to three packs a day. I couldn’t leave the house without a fresh pack and a book of matches in my purse. I’d walk out of church after services and be puffing away before I got to my car. Touring in Europe? No problem—there, smoking was a way of life. Instead of the usual souvenirs, I came home with an exquisite French porcelain demitasse cup that had been turned into a cigarette holder and an antique silver filigree lighter. (Now I wonder if I collected those lovely things to cover up a habit that deep down I knew was ugly.)

Nothing could get me to stop. Not the nagging cough I developed. Not my husband’s worrying. Not even my two children. The thought of it makes me shudder now, but back then, no one understood the effects of secondhand smoke on a child. At one annual physical, my doctor warned me, “Sooner or later, Patti, smoking is going to take its toll on your body. You’ve just been lucky so far.” But I didn’t listen. I lit up as soon as I left his office. If my health gets really bad, I can always stop, I told myself. I sailed through my physicals, so I never seriously considered quitting.

Until one day in the summer of 1974. The kids and I were going grocery shopping. I got into our station wagon and stuck a cigarette in my mouth before I even turned the key.

“Oh, Mom, those things stink!” my 12-year-old, Kathleen, said. Her little brother, Danny, chimed in, “Yeah, Mom, cigarettes are bad for you.”

I knew he was right—people I loved, like Nat King Cole and Betty Grable, smokers all, had died of lung cancer. But I couldn’t admit it—especially not to my kids.

“Fine,” I said, and stubbed out my cigarette. “I don’t need to smoke.” I hardly got out of the driveway before the urge set in. I can’t go two blocks without a cigarette! It was the longest drive to the supermarket. By the time we walked inside, sweat beaded on my brow.

I told Kathleen to take Danny to the deli and get some cold cuts. “I’ll pick up some apples and meet you there,” I said. As soon as they were out of sight, I dashed outside. I pawed through my purse, frantic. I lit up a cigarette. I took a puff. Instead of the usual relief, something else hit me. Reality. I’m lying to my children over this. I’ve got to stop smoking. I would just do it. I would use my willpower. I would break this horrible habit.

I must have tried to quit a hundred times. I never lasted a day. Something would invariably trigger the urge—a person in the audience smoking, my morning cup of coffee, a really good meal, an argument with the kids.

Then something really got me worried. I used to be able to sing for hours. Now I’d belt out a song and feel my vocal cords tiring by the time I reached the high notes in the finale. During one particularly difficult rehearsal I had to take a break. Backstage I immediately lit up a cigarette. What am I doing? I lowered my head. Lord, I’m hooked on these things. I don’t want them to control my life anymore. I don’t want them to ruin my voice. Please help me quit.

“What’s wrong, Patti?” my pianist asked.

I held up my cigarette. “I’m so sick of not being able to live without these.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I used to smoke, but then I talked to a great counselor about it. With his help and a lot of prayer, I finally stopped.”

I believed in the power of prayer. The counselor I was a little skeptical about. But I was desperate. After years of smoking, I was willing to try anything. The Lord helps in mysterious ways, I thought. Maybe this is the answer. I took the number and made an appointment.

I sat in the counselor’s office and explained my problem. My addiction. And that’s what it was. Yes, it was bad for my health, for my vocal cords. But worse, smoking made me ashamed. Not just because I did it, but because I couldn’t stop.

The counselor asked, “What made you start smoking?”

I thought back. Back to being that nervous teenage girl who wanted to fit in. That girl who needed to be liked. Who needed to feel like she was a part of something. That girl who was trying to act more grown-up than she was. Smoking is such a dangerous thing, and I was too young to make a decision like that.

“Patti, you’re one of the best-selling recording artists out there,” the counselor said. “You have a family who loves you. You’re not that awkward teenager, not anymore. God’s given you incredible gifts. Now you have to respect them.”

We talked a long time. I realized that I stumbled upon cigarettes at a very vulnerable point in my life. Smoking used to take away my worries. But it had turned into my biggest worry.

I went home and dug up every pack of cigarettes and every book of matches in the house and threw them in the garbage. I stared into the trash can. Temptation stared back at me. I reached for the only force powerful enough to help me resist. Lord, keep me strong, I prayed. You gave me a beautiful voice, and I don’t want to abuse it anymore. Please lift this addiction from me. Hands shaking, I put the lid on the trash can and walked away.

That was 30 years ago. I haven’t picked up a cigarette since. And it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. But not by myself. Every time I felt the urge for a smoke, I would think about the life and the voice that the Lord had honored me with. Smoking would hurt that gift. Disrespect that honor. Instead of reaching out for a cigarette, I would reach out in prayer. That’s why I’m still singing though I’m into my seventies. And not just singing either, but hitting those high notes.

Download your FREE ebook, A Prayer for Every Need, by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

www.guideposts.org

Stop kidding yourself. You’re not ready to quit.

And that’s okay. The sooner you admit that you’re not ready, the sooner you’ll be able to quit once and for all.

I smoked for over 10 years. A pack a day for most of that time.

I tried to quit 14 times. Some attempts lasted a few days. Others lasted as long as 9 months.

But all 14 attempts had one thing in common — I wasn’t ready.

“It’s easy to quit smoking.  I’ve done it hundreds of times.” – Mark Twain

Not convinced?  Still think you’re ready? Fine.  Then answer this question:

Right now, this very instant, can you honestly say that you are ready to never take another drag from a cigarette?  Not a single drag.  Not ever.   Starting right now.

If your answer was “no,” or if you found yourself arguing with the question, then you’re not ready.  But I already knew your answer.  How did I know?  Because you’re reading this article.

I’ve helped dozens of students to successfully quit smoking.  If you follow the steps below, then you’ll succeed too.  And you won’t have to fail 14 times like I did.

Step 1: Admit It

You’re an addict. There’s no shame in admitting that. I am an addict too. And I quit smoking years ago!

So why do I still call myself an addict? Once an addict, always an addict. Especially with nicotine, the king of addictions.

During one attempted quit, let’s call it attempt #5, I actually picked up someone’s half-smoked cigarette from the ground. It was surreal, as if I wasn’t in control of my actions. I stopped myself midway, as if waking from a nightmare, but wow — that’s addiction!

I can admit that I’m an addict. Can you?

Step 2: Know Thy Enemy

Nicotine is powerful stuff. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and messes with your dopamine pathways. After years of smoking, those pathways get altered. In other words, smoking physically changes your brain.

If you’ve been smoking for a few years, then your brain has been conditioned to responded to nicotine. Think about how many cigarettes, day in and day out, you’ve smoked. That’s a lot of training. No wonder your brain changed.

Can those dopamine pathways heal? Probably. I agree with Dr. Rankin that there is “no such thing as an incurable illness”, and I’ve seen the incredible power of self-healing in myself and thousands of students.

But when it comes to nicotine, it can take years to heal those pathways. So it’s a conundrum. By the time your dopamine pathways heal, by the time you MIGHT be able to take a drag without getting addicted, you’ll no longer have any desire to do so.

Step 3: Know Thyself

I can sit in a bar, surrounded by smokers, and have zero desire to smoke. If someone offers me a cigarette, I say “I don’t smoke” without hesitation, and without a second thought. Even when major stresses come into my life, I still don’t feel any urge to go buy a pack.

So I’m “cured” of smoking, right? Yes. But you know what? Even after all these years without a cigarette, even with my daily Qigong and Tai Chi practice, even with all the acupuncture I’ve received — I’m still not sure if my dopamine pathways are 100% back to normal.

And it doesn’t matter. Because I’m not going to find out. Even after all these years as an ex-smoker, I believe that a single drag might be enough to reignite the dopamine pathways and send me right back into addiction. That belief, whether it’s true or not, serves me well. It helps me in my mission to remain smoke free.

I’m an addict, and I understand the addictive nature of nicotine. I’ll never take another puff in my life. I won’t risk it. Period.

Step 4: Make Peace

Are you bargaining in your mind? Are you trying to rationalize a future where you can smoke cigarettes now and then? If so — forget it. That’s the addiction talking.  Once you break the addiction, you’ll think much more clearly.

You don’t have to quit now (we’ll get to that part soon). But once you do, you can’t smoke ever again. Make peace with that. You don’t have to like this advice, but for your own sake, you should make peace with it.

If you do the research, you’ll find that all ex-smokers agree on this issue.  All of us have one thing in common — we’re completely done with smoking.  That chapter is over.

What about those people who can just smoke on weekends?  Personally, I think they may be aliens in disguise. I’m not sure that they’re human.  Certainly, they are not addicted like you are, or like I was.   They aren’t REAL smokers.

I desperately wanted to believe that I could be like them, and I tried really hard to do it.  But it didn’t work.   At least 8 of my quit attempts failed because I tried to smoke “just now and then”.

It doesn’t work.  Ask any ex-smoker.  The next time you quit, it’s got to be forever.

Step 5: Quit Quitting.

Now for the fun part.  If you’ve been stressed out thinking about never smoking again, then relax.  You’re not quitting now. In fact, I want you to quit quitting.

The next time you quit will be the last.  Until then, you’re  going to continue smoking — and you’re going to do it completely guilt free.

Right now, there are too many negative emotions surrounding the act of smoking.  Guilt, shame, anger, worry, fear.  In the world of Chinese medicine, those emotions represent energy blockages.  You need to start clearing those blockages BEFORE you try to quit smoking.

If you’re constantly trying to quit, and constantly failing, then there’s never a chance to clear those blockages.  You’re spinning your tires in the mud.  You’re just reinforcing negative emotions, and making it harder and harder to actually quit.

Quitting smoking is stressful. Of course, smoking is also your way of de-stressing. If you quit too many times, you’re creating more stress than you’re eliminating. You may actually be lowering your stress threshold rather than raising it.

Step 6: Enjoy Smoking

If you’re reading this article, then you’ve probably gotten to the point where you hardly enjoy smoking any more. You smoke because you’re addicted, because of the habit, because you would feel terrible if you didn’t smoke.  Gone are the days when you truly enjoy smoking.

We need to reclaim that. I know it’s counter-intuitive. But if hating smoking made it easier to quit smoking, you would have quit already, right?

So I’m giving you a free pass. For the next 3-12 months, you’re going to smoke guilt free.  In fact, you’re NOT ALLOWED to quit smoking for at least 3 months.  If anyone questions you, tell them that Sifu Anthony said so, and they should take it up with me. (Don’t worry. I know Kung Fu.)

For 3 months, I want you to savor each cigarette. Be present. Smile from the heart. (Click here to learn how.)  Be here and now.  Notice the cigarette, the color of the cherry, the feel of the drag, the shape of the smoke. That’s Zen.

Here’s what’s NOT Zen.  Lighting a cigarette and smoking half of it without hardly noticing.  And then needing to smoke another one immediately after because you missed the first one.

It’s critical that you don’t feel guilty. Guilt just creates a negative loop.  You feel bad, and then you want to smoke more, and then you feel worse, so you smoke more.  You need to break the cycle, and the way to do that is by feeling good.

Step 7: Add Good Habits

In this online course, I talk about why most people fail with their New Year’s Resolutions.  They fail because they try to subtract bad habits rather than adding good one. Don’t make the same mistake.

Don’t take anything away. Add good habits first.

The course above gives you everything you need to change your life using 2 minutes a day of qigong as your gateway habit.

Learn qigong ASAP.  If you’re not going to learn it right this instant, then schedule a time to learn it.  I’m serious. If you finish this article without scheduling a time, then no matter how good your intentions, you won’t do it. So put it on your calendar right now.

You first goal is to do 2-Minutes once a day. That’s harder than it sounds.  You’ll probably be okay for a few days, but then you’ll forget.  Keep trying until you succeed in doing it every day for 30 days.

Step 8: Set a Date

Keep smoking, and enjoying yourself, until you have made a strong habit of doing 2 minutes a day of qigong. 

All of that enthusiasm and energy you periodically have toward quitting — put all of it into your daily qigong. It’s not time to quit yet.

Once you’ve managed to do 30 days of qigong (and not before), then you can think about setting a quit date. There’s never a perfect time. You’re going to be an absolute mess for a few weeks after you quit. But you’ve got to do it sooner or later.

Remember, this next attempt at quitting is going to be your last one ever. No more trying. Do or do not.

Set the date far enough in advance that you can continue to do two things for a few more months — enjoy smoking, and practice qigong for 2 minutes a day.

So let’s say that you’ve successfully done 2 minutes a day for 30 days. You decide to set your quit day 3 months down the road. Until that day, you’re going to continue enjoying your cigarettes (a Zen exercise), and also doing 2 minutes at least once a day (and preferably twice).

Step 9: Get Ready

With your quit date set, you have time to get yourself ready. Gradually start to arrange things for that day. For example, collect all of the ashtrays in your house, and throw out all but one. Tell people that you’re going to quit.  Obviously, you’ll also need to get rid of all your extra cigarettes.

I’m a big fan of the acupuncture protocol called NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association). If you’re in Gainesville, my wife offers it at her clinic.  You should start doing this roughly 1-2 weeks BEFORE your quit day.  (If you’re not in Gainesville, then look for a NADA practitioner near you.)  This will help you to get ready for the big day.

But most importantly, get your heart and mind ready for the big day.  You’re gradually psyching yourself up, reminding yourself of all the reasons you want to quit.

Step 10: Say Goodbye

So the big day is approaching. You’ve told all your friends so that they can support you (and not tempt you, if they’re smokers). You’ve gotten the house ready. You’ve gotten rid of all but a few cigarettes.

This is a personal choice, but I’m a big believer in the power of ritual. I still remember the last cigarette that I smoked. I made a little ritual out of it, and said goodbye, as if saying goodbye at a funeral.

I recommend that you smoke your last cigarette at night. That way, you can wake up the next morning and start fresh.  And that’s exactly what you’re going to get — a fresh start on life.

Step 11: Go Cold Turkey

Forget the patch.  Forget the gum.  Cold turkey is the only way to go.   Again, just ask ex-smokers, and the successful ones all agree — go cold turkey.

I’m not going to sugar-coat it for you. It’s going be rough for a few weeks. You’re going to go through withdrawal from one of the most addictive substances known to man. But that’s a necessary part of the process.

The suffering that you experience during the withdrawal is part of the equation. Don’t wimp out of this step with the patch or something similar.  Going through the hell of withdrawal is necessary.  A few months down the road, when you’re craving a cigarette, you’ll remember how awful it was when you went cold turkey.  Because of that memory, you’ll be less likely to go backward, and more likely to go forward.

Use your tools, especially the 2-Minute Drill. It will be your life vest.  It will also help you to detox faster. During the first 2 weeks, you may need to do it 10 times a day, or even more.

Don’t expect the 2-Minute Drill to make everything okay. You won’t be okay. You’ll probably be miserable. But the 2-Minute Drill will make it tolerable, and give you the strength to get through.

(A small percentage of people don’t experience the hell of withdrawal. This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it’s easier to quit. The disadvantage is that it’s easier to start up again. If you’re one of these people, then you need to stay vigilant, especially 3-6 months after you quit.)

Step 12: Visualize the Future

Maybe I should have started with this part.  Do you start with the good news, or the bad news? In this case, I started with the bad news. So here’s the good news.

Once you make peace with never taking another puff, and once you get through those first few months, once you quit for good — life becomes beautiful.

[Click here to read an article I wrote after going 10 years without a single puff from a cigarette.)

All those little things that you’re worrying about now — how you’ll drink coffee without a cigarette, how you’ll go to a bar, what you’ll do after a meal — all of that stuff will seem trivial once you’ve broken the cycle of addiction.

Take it from me — it’s worth it. You haven’t felt so alive in years. 

I know that, from where you’re standing, it’s hard to imagine life without cigarettes.  But from where I’m standing, it’s hard to imagine life WITH cigarettes.

Like I said, that chapter is over for me. My life is so much fuller and richer now that there’s absolutely no need for me to smoke again. Not ever. Not even one puff.

Let’s use the comments below as a community support group. Those of you who have already quit, please post your stories below.  And those of you who are getting ready to quit — come back to this article and post your thoughts, questions, and concerns whenever you need a little help.  I’m here for you. Best regards, Sifu Anthony I’m Anthony Korahais, and I used qigong to heal from clinical depression, low back pain, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. I’ve already taught thousands of people from all over the world how to use qigong for their own stubborn health challenges. As the director of Flowing Zen and a board member for the National Qigong Association, I’m fully committed to helping people with these arts. In addition to my blog, I also teach online courses and offer in-person retreats and workshops.

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