Serenity, Please

Have you heard of the Serenity Prayer? Yes, that one:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Did you also know that there’s more to that prayer than those three phrases? Here is the entire prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.
Taking as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that you will make all things right
If I surrender to your will.
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy in the next.
Amen.”

This prayer is used in many recovery circles. I learned of it in a Bible-based recovery program. I recite it whenever I get frustrated with circumstances I don’t know how to handle, people I want to change, and trials I can’t seem to get over.

Serenity. It’s a gift from my Heavenly Father.

· It’s knowing what I alone can do and trusting God to take care of that which He alone can do.
· It’s living in the present and trusting God to take care of every aspect of my future.
· It’s stepping through my troubles and allowing God to bring me to victory.
· It’s accepting others and stepping aside so God alone can change them.
· It’s giving myself to God today so I can rest in Him tomorrow and forever.

God, grant me that serenity—the peace you alone give.

“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 NLT).

Daphne Tarango