Many people are aware of the short version of the Serenity Prayer and twelve-step meetings use it extensively. I have done my share of reciting it during difficult times but I didn’t know till recently that there is a longer version and it is even attributed to an author.
The Serenity Prayer
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;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen
Reinhold Niebuhr
This prayer is so much more powerful when you read the entire thing. It makes his faith statement very clear and heaven tangible. We have it up on our bedroom at this point and having it come into our line of sight on a regular basis is convicting.
James 5:16b tells us, “The prayer of righteous person is powerful and effective.”