

The Serenity Prayer accurately expresses a central problem of addiction and prescribes a timeless solution.

Living the Serenity Prayer in Recovery from Alcohol or Drug Addictionįor many, the first verse of the Serenity Prayer serves as a daily touchstone, reminding us that to achieve serenity, we must approach each moment with wisdom and courage.

The Serenity Prayer spread both through Niebuhr’s sermons and church groups in the 1930s and 1940s, and was later adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve Step programs. There it was credited to American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971). Many AA members were first exposed to the prayer in 1948, when it was quoted in the Grapevine, an AA periodical. The Serenity Prayer has been variously attributed to an ancient Sanskrit text, Aristotle, St.
Printable serenity prayer long version catholic full#
The full Serenity Prayer text has stronger religious overtones.Īlso there are conflicting accounts of the prayer's origin. There are several versions of the Serenity Prayer, each with slightly different wording that support groups have adopted. And, although the origin is thought to be Christian, the Serenity Prayer is applicable to your daily life regardless of religion or spiritual belief system. The Serenity Prayer meshes perfectly with the spirituality of AA's Twelve Steps. In fact, these 25 words are heard in most every AA meeting and widely taken as a succinct statement of a path to sanity and sobriety. Members of Alcoholics Anonymous have enthusiastically embraced this prayer-known as the Serenity Prayer-almost from the moment they discovered it. AA, the Twelve Steps and the Serenity Prayer So that I may be reasonably happy in this lifeĪmen. The Full Serenity PrayerĪccepting hardships as the pathway to peace Below, we provide the full Serenity Prayer along with an examination of its history, meaning and importance so that we all might carry its lessons closely and transform common hardships into a calming surrender. The Serenity Prayer serves as a focal point for the very spirit of AA, anchoring its members to its quintessential teachings about surrender and acceptance. Although its origins are a bit unclear, its impacts are not. This often used AA prayer is an excerpt from a longer prayer commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, When we pray the line “courage to change the things I can” we may think of how Joshua in the Old Testament was commanded to be strong and courageous, because God was with him.These simple words ring clear through the hearts and minds of Alcoholics Anonymous members across the world: Seeking God for wisdom (read the book of Proverbs explores the nature of the Lord’s wisdom).No, this prayer is not in the bible! However, it does allude to some biblical themes, such as:.

Is the serenity prayer in the bible? If so, where can I find it? It is thought that Reinhold wrote the first four lines and that the words after this (beginning with “Living one day at a time”), which form the long version of the serenity prayer, were added at a later date, and are probably the work of a different author. The original words of this beautiful prayer are attributed to the Christian writer and theologian Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971).
