For over a year now, I’ve prayed the Serenity Prayer every day. Many people know it through Alcoholics Anonymous, which recites the shortened version in every meeting:
“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.”
This prayer, originally written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in 1934, actually has a much longer version — one that I believe captures the heart of Christian recovery:
“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.”
The Prayer in Recovery
In AA, the prayer helps people face addiction with honesty. In Celebrate Recovery, where I first learned it, the full version is recited every week as we work through hurts, habits, and hang-ups. It is rooted in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3–10, where Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
For me, this prayer has become more than a ritual. It’s a daily reset that draws me back to God, reminding me:
- I can’t control everything.
- I must act where God gives me strength.
- I need His wisdom to know the difference.
Why I Pray It Daily
Life will always bring challenges. But praying this prayer helps me see them differently. What used to ruin my day — or even my week — now becomes a moment I can surrender. Problems stop being roadblocks and start becoming opportunities for God to show His strength.
Paul said it this way:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
When I surrender through this prayer, I find joy in both the good and the hard, because I know God is at work.
A Prayer
Lord, grant me serenity today in the things I cannot change. Give me courage where You call me to act. Fill me with wisdom to know the difference, and the faith to trust You with all of it. Amen.