The serenity prayer is attributed to a Protestant theologian named Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971). There are various versions of the serenity prayer floating around with minor alterations.
Niebuhr himself did not publish the serenity prayer until 1951, in one of his magazine columns, although it had previously appeared under his name in 1944, when it was included in a Federal Council of Churches book for army chaplains and servicemen.
The text of the entire prayer is as follows:
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 Jesus 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 You Forever in the next.
Amen.
Biblically speaking, there are some excellent thoughts expressed in this prayer. The prayer speaks of a life lived in calm, courageous faith in God, reminiscent of Paul’s admonition to “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). Fretting and worrying our way through life indicates a lack of faith in our God and an unwillingness to surrender to His will and trust that He has all things under control.
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