Early in recovery, I had no reliable power source. I had to get the power from God largely through other people, and largely at meetings, which is where self was suppressed for long enough for me to access God. One-to-one calls and meetings were great, but there was often too much self present for me to be open to God.
It was like having a mobile phone that needed fairly constant charging. If it ran of out juice, I drank.
Completing the first nine Steps and using the last three as a method of living gave me an internal power source. No plugging in necessary. No relapse.