From my book A Calendar of Classic Prayer, familiar and not so familiar words from the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, pointing us on the way towards true and lasting happiness.
Introduction
The so-called Serenity Prayer will be familiar to most and loved in equal proportion. A unique blend of common sense and spirituality, it is at once wonderfully down-to-earth yet full of spiritual wisdom. Adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous in a shortened version, the words speak of gaining a proper perspective on life and, with God’s help, making the most of all he’s given. The prayer, written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), is here reproduced in full.
Prayer
God,
give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
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 with you for ever in the next.
Amen.