I addressed this before a little in a previous entry, but in numerous classes we've had a lot of discussion about the AA 12 steps "God" language and how to relate it - and how not to relate it - to Buddhism.
Some people just said they read around it, or ignore it. Others tried to work with it in different ways. Some people in class brought up that this can coincide with the views of Amitabha or Mahavairocana more easily with some branches of Buddhism. Although these are not "God" per se, they could definitely be considered "higher powers."
The Pure Land Branch of Buddhism certainly qualifies, as they basically preach submitting yourself to power other than yourself.
Mahavairocana is called a Buddha, but he is anthropomorphized as a symbol of the essence of existence. In Shingon Buddhism, for example, they teach Mahavairocana is a part of all of us and we are all a part of him. He is often also associated with light and the inherent light that exists in and connects all beings.
One student in class pointed out one of the main issues at play here is agency. Are you leaving the task to something wholly other than yourself? Most Buddhists would deny that, but at least through the vies of dependent origination and non-self, we could at least say we leave it to our not-self nature :-p
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