Action is at the heart of the Twelve Steps.

The following is excerpted from The Good Book and The Big Book* by Dick B.:

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.  James 1:21-22 states:

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

[Samuel] Shoemaker devoted an entire chapter in one of his titles (The Gospel According to You. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1934) to this verse, stating:

I think St. James’ meaning is made much clearer in Dr. Moffatt’s translation, “Act on the Word, instead of merely listening to it.”  Try it out in experiment, and prove it by its results – otherwise you only fool yourself into believing that you have the heart of religion when you haven’t.” (Shoemaker, 45-55)

In the same chapter, Shoemaker also pointed out that prayer is often more a struggle to find God than the enjoyment of Him and cooperation with His will.  He added that “God is and is a Rewarder of them that seek Him.”

We cannot find a specific reference to James 1:21-22 in the Big Book; but A.A. stresses over and over that A.A. is a program of action that probably no human power can relieve a person of alcoholism, and “The God could and would if He were sought.”  A.A.’s program emphasizes action in the experiment of faith it adopted from John 7:17 – seeking God by following the path that leads to a relationship with God.  James 1:22 stresses doing God’s will as expressed in His Word – not merely listening to it.  James was an Akron favorite.  Shoemaker was a Wilson favorite.  “Faith without works” was a Big Book favorite; and it therefore seems possible that A.A.’s stress on action might have derived from in part from James 1:21-22. (103-104)

*Dick B.  The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible.  Bridge Builders Edition.  Kihei, Hawaii:  paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1997.