“Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” (Page 86, Big Book)
The passage simply asks me to do these things. It does not
stipulate that I be free of negative emotion or resistance. It does not even
say I have to mean it.
If I could say these prayers free of negative emotion and
resistance, if I could say these prayers and mean it, I would not have to say
these prayers.
The saying of it actually overcomes the negative emotion and
resistance, it actually induces me to mean it.
Perhaps not entirely and perhaps not straight away.
But progress is in the right direction.
But more than that:
If I submit a tax return, it is submitted, and tax will fall
due. The system does not care what I think or feel, only what I do.
When I say the prayer, the prayer is heard and acted upon. God fulfils His side of the bargain.