A Map and Guide

Someone said that you cannot climb a mountain with just a map.  Why not?  A map shows me the path.  I can read.  Well, what happens when you get unexpectedly lost, or bad weather develops or you get injured?  You need a guide to go along with the map.  In the 12 Steps of Recovery from addiction, the steps are the map.  You can read them.  But you cannot follow them all alone.  You need help.  Left to your own devices you got into this predicament in the first place.  You need a guide, called a "sponsor" to help you through the bad weather that might come in every day experiences.  I think that it is the same with prayer.  We need a spiritual friend to help make sure we are still on the path to which God called us.