The Serenity Prayer is a powerful invocation for peace, courage, and wisdom. Most commonly known as written above, the full version, as written by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) is as follows:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
Although Niebuhr was Catholic, all denominations of Christianity seek to trust in Gods ways, though it is not always easy. The ‘Serenity Prayer’ is the ultimate prayer, asking God for a strong faith, understanding and happiness in daily life.
History of the Serenity Prayer
Niebuhr used various versions of this prayer widely in sermons, given as early as 1934. The prayer spread rapidly and often without attribution to Niebuhr, primarily through church groups in the 1930s and 1940s but then became popularised by ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ and other twelve-step programs.
The Serenity Prayer appeared in a sermon of Niebuhr’s as part of the 1944 ‘A Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces’. Niebuhr himself however first published it in 1951 in a magazine column.