Serenity Prayer

A brief history of the Serenity Prayer, which was originally written in 1932 by American theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. The short version has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous but the full version, recited here by Laur, is even more beautiful. Whether or not you identify as Christian, this beautiful pray will surely move you.

Transcript

Hello.

Thank you for joining me.

Today I'd like to talk about the Serenity Prayer.

It's commonly known for being a prayer used at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings,

And that's where I first heard it.

My father has been in Alcoholics Anonymous for 35 years,

And growing up I would go to the meetings to support him when he had a milestone,

Five years,

Ten years,

And so on and so forth.

So this is the version they say at the meetings,

And the version that I originally heard.

God,

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

I later found out that it stems from an original longer version of the prayer,

Which was written in 1932 by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

I'd like to recite it for you now.

God,

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

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 forever in the next.

Amen.

I've memorized that prayer because I found it so beautiful,

And I recite it every day.

If you'd like to come back to this prayer and listen to it,

I hope you do,

And it brings you peace and calm.

Thank you for listening.

Reviews

Thank you for noticing and sharing. 😃

It would be good to re-record this with a better microphone and less scratchiness and pops. Beautiful prayer and story.

needed this. thank you!