Many people come to Alcoholics Anonymous less than enthusiastic about the “God part.” How then do they come to experience a relationship with some kind of higher power that they say helps them to stop drinking? Reluctant newcomers are often reassured that they can choose a higher power that works for them and are sometimes encouraged to “act as if” they believe, until they actually do. Using anthropologist T.M. Luhrmann’s helpful concept of spiritual “kindling,” this paper will explore how AA members make “conscious contact” (Step 11) with their higher powers to help them get and stay sober. Grounded in archive research, ethnographic observation, and interviews with 34 current and former members of AA, I will reveal how ongoing “conscious contact” became the proposed solution to alcoholism advocated by AA’s founders and how contemporary members seek such contact through ritualized practices and resulting spiritual experiences.