Recently I began to research words of wisdom or more properly words that have withstood the test of time. One of the most well known prayers is the Serenity Prayer, which has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs.
The most common form is:
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.
Actually there is more to this prayer than is commonly known and as I read it for the first time it shows the power of taking responsibility of ones life and the decisions we make in it. In addition the prayer also let’s us surrender ourselves to God or another higher power, so that we realize we are not alone in our life’s journey.
The Serenity Prayer dates back to around 1934 when Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the prayer for use in a sermon.
The remainder of the prayer is:
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.
Tags: Help with daily struggles, higher power, personal strength, Serenity Prayer, wisdom, Words of Wisdom