What is the Serenity Prayer?

The Serenity Prayer is a prayer that asks God to grant acceptance, courage, and wisdom for things in our life we can’t control. This prayer is one of the most well-known today, especially the shortened version below. 

Written by Reinhold Neibuhr in the 1930s, this prayer has been widely used in sermons, Sunday school groups, and studies. In the early 1940s, the group Alcoholics Anonymous began to use a shortened version of the Serenity Prayer in their twelve-step program. 

How often have you seen The Serenity Prayer on a card or on a magnet and simply read the inspirational words without fully grasping its message? It’s a powerful prayer, and we truly need to believe in each phrase for its wisdom to enhance our lives. Be inspired to live with serenity through faith in Christ with these Bible verses about giving God our anxieties.

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;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.

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Author: Ken Crawford

Church Transitions and Conflict Solutions

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