My sponsor, as well as others with some time, told us newcomers that a Higher Power doesn’t have to be God. Because many always questioned why God was everyone’s HP, we were told we could have a tree, a sunset, a planet, etc. as a HP and that’s fine.
Good points.
The point is that we are far less likely to recover by ourselves, by our own power.
Believing in a Higher Power brings along the chance at forgiveness and unconditional acceptance of our own weakness.
Once the addict can accept the idea of Grace and start to forgive themselves, we no longer have to feel helpless and worthless.