![]() ![]() It does not serve any purpose to worry about what your high school bully said 20 years ago, or dwell on unpleasant interactions with coworkers, it'll rob you of peace and serenity that we all desperately need in this life. It is useful to recognize that truly the only thing you can control is what is happening in this current moment. Each day is different and brings its own set of challenges and pleasures. Identify what is in your immediate controlĪs the serenity prayer says - "live one day at a time enjoying one moment at a time," you must create a habit of focusing on the present day's issues and blessings. Here are some ideas to start living the prayer: There is peace in letting go of strong expectations and let God help you understand what is worth changing. How can you accept things you cannot change?Īs the prayer mentions, there are things you cannot change, even though you would like things to be different. Wisdom comes with experience and the serenity prayer helps you ask God to attain this wisdom so you do not waste efforts trying to change things you cannot - such as other people, or macro-level issues that truly are out of reach. This prayer aims to ask God for help to help you identify what small steps you can take to start making positive change. In addition, the serenity prayer, despite its length, is full of core Christian values that are important reminders to any follower of Christ.įor example, you may have some bad habits that you want to change but know it is incredibly difficult to reverse bad habits. The intent of the prayer is to help you recognize what you can and cannot control and find wisdom to discern what you can change in your life versus some things that you cannot. Maybe you are suffering from addiction and trying to recover, or maybe you are subconsciously choosing to care about many different things that are making life tough. 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, while Niebuhr himself first published it in 1951 in a magazine column. The prayer spread rapidly, often without attribution to Niebuhr, through church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. (The preceding paragraph was taken from The Wisdom to Know the Difference: When to Make A Change–and When to Let Go.Niebuhr used various versions of the prayer widely in sermons as early as 1934. The individual wording more common on coffee mugs and tea towels is pithier than the original, but it relieves the prayer of its bigger challenge, to seek the wisdom to know the difference, not just in personal matters like birth and death, but in social issues, like poverty, injustice, and war. ![]() Furthermore, it was written in the plural: “God grant us.” Obviously there are problems that people can tackle together that they could not solve alone. Although Niebuhr was not optimistic about human nature, his prayer asks first for God’s grace, inviting us to imagine miracles. For Niebuhr, racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of injustice were clearly on that list. There are many things we know should be changed that we simply put up with because change seems so impossible. If you think about that for a minute, you’ll realize that they are not necessarily the same. Niebuhr’s version doesn’t ask for courage to change what can be changed, but for courage to change what shouldbe changed. ![]() ![]() It has been noted that the differences in the versions are not insignificant. Niebuhr’s daughter Elisabeth Sifton wrote in her book The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War that Niebuhr included the following prayer in a sermon delivered during the early 1940s: The Serenity Prayer is most commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, a famous Protestant theologian known for his concern for social justice. Although it addresses God, it has been meaningful to people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, as well as those who don’t belong to an organized religion. Whether you’re dealing with addiction, divorce, illness or something as mundane as a flat tire or a cranky toddler, the Serenity Prayer points a way out of feeling stuck. One of the most popular and beloved prayers in the world, the Serenity Prayer has helped millions of people let go of anxiety and focus on the things that are in their control, rather than obsessing over the things that aren’t. About the Serenity Prayer: Origin & Several Versions ![]()
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