![]() ![]() The Serenity Prayer is based on four virtues: ![]() “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, It is most commonly quoted as the following: Let’s take a look at the Serenity Prayer, itself. It also means being able to know when things are within your control and when things are beyond your control. The Serenity Prayer means letting go of situations beyond your control and taking action toward things within your control. What is the meaning of the Serenity Prayer? If you or someone you know is struggling, check out my resource page for suggestions on how to find help. It is useful for persons in recovery from addiction, but also for anyone struggling with situations beyond their control. ![]() The Serenity Prayer is packed full of meaning and psychologically validated wisdom in just a few short lines. Although I was raised Roman Catholic and still practice occasionally, I appreciate the depth of the Serenity Prayer from a psychological perspective. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the meaning of the Serenity Prayer. (The preceding paragraph was taken from The Wisdom to Know the Difference: When to Make A Change–and When to Let Go.On the go? Listen to the audio version of the article here: 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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