One of the most popular prayers in the world today is the Serenity Prayer. You get to read this on posters, social media, books, billboards, and other places. It is often quoted by preachers, leaders, authors, and even ordinary people. However, only a few people know its deep meaning.

Today, we are going to take a deep dive into the Serenity Prayer. Let’s learn 7 powerful lessons and see how we can apply them.

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What is the Serenity Prayer?

The Serenity Prayer is a prayer that asks for God’s wisdom in understanding the things that a person can and can’t change and for the courage to take action or accept various situations. 

The prayer has been widely distributed and shared among different church groups since the late 1930s. It became even more popular when it was adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other organizations starting in the 1940s. Later, in the 1960s, Hallmark added the Serenity Prayer to their gift items and greeting cards.

There are different versions of the Serenity Prayer. Some are shortened while others are considered to be the full version.

This is the short version of Serenity Prayer:

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.

The longer version or full Serenity Prayer is the following:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And 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.

Who wrote the Serenity Prayer?

The Serenity Prayer has been attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, who lived from 1892 to 1971. He was an American Reformed theologian, active political commentator, and ethicist. He mainly worked at Union Theological Seminary as a professor, spending 30 years of his life there.

The earliest version of the Serenity Prayer was known in 1937, written as follows: “Father, give us the courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other.”

There have been many debates about who really wrote the Serenity Prayer, but in 2009, Fred Shapiro, one of the strongest opponents of Niebuhr, concluded that the present evidence points to Niebuhr as the author of the Serenity Prayer.

What are the important lessons we learn from the Serenity Prayer?

While the Serenity Prayer isn’t written in the Bible, it still holds a lot of biblical lessons for all of us today. To help you better understand and appreciate this prayer, I have written 10 lessons from the Serenity Prayer. Here are the following:

Lesson no. 1: Accept what you can’t change

One of the key lessons from the Serenity Prayer is the importance of accepting the things we cannot change. Accepting what you can’t change means acknowledging the reality that there are certain aspects of life, situations, events, or people that you cannot control or influence.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6-7:

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

When we try to change the things that we actually can’t change, we become anxious, frustrated, and disappointed. However, God wants us to come to Him and let Him do what we can’t do — thereby, accepting what we can’t change and letting God do His part.

This means that we come to terms with the limitations of our power and understand that attempting to change these unchangeable things would be futile and lead to unnecessary frustration and stress.

Instead of resisting or fighting against these uncontrollable factors, acceptance involves embracing them as a part of life and learning to adapt and cope with them according to God’s will and purpose.

Lesson no. 2: Acceptance leads to peace

Acceptance does not mean resignation or giving up; it means recognizing the boundaries of your control and focusing your energy and efforts on things that you can change or influence.

By accepting what you can’t change, you can free yourself from the burden of trying to control the uncontrollable and redirect your energy to fulfilling God’s purpose for you.

It often leads to a sense of peace, as you let go of unnecessary worries and focus on making positive changes in the areas where you have control.

Lesson no. 3: Develop the courage to change

The prayer also emphasizes the importance of having the courage to change the things we can. It encourages taking proactive steps to address the issues and challenges within our control. This requires bravery and determination.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 3:17:

¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever we do, we must do our best and we must do it for our Master, Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah. When we know that we can do something to improve the situation, we don’t shy away and shrink back to our comfort zone. Instead, we accept the responsibility and give it our best.

In our Teach Us to Pray course, one of the greatest lessons we emphasize is how prayer can strengthen us. Prayer has this special power to encourage us and get us motivated. Prayer doesn’t just make us strong, but also gives us the courage to do the things we are afraid to do!

Lesson no. 4: Ask for wisdom

The prayer highlights the significance of wisdom in distinguishing between what can be changed and what cannot. Developing discernment and understanding the difference between the two can lead to better decision-making and a more balanced life.

Sometimes, it is not easy to distinguish between the things we can change and the things we can’t change. It demands great wisdom for us to do that. The problem is that our fallen human nature may deceive us into thinking that we can’t do anything anymore to the point that we resort to resignation when in fact, there are just so many things you can do.

Thus, it is a must that we ask for wisdom from the Most High. We read in James 1:5:

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Wisdom is available but if you know where to find it. You can find it in God’s presence. The good news is that if we need wisdom, all we need to do is simply ask God in prayer. He is more than willing to grant us wisdom because He knows it is what is best for us.

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Lesson no. 5: Don’t try to control everything

While it may not be obvious, there’s another lesson we can learn from the Serenity Prayer and that is we must not try to control everything. We must let go of the desire to control every single aspect, be it other people or a situation that is beyond our control.

By acknowledging the limitations of our control and surrendering the need to manage every aspect of our lives to God, we can experience a sense of freedom and reduced stress.

Instead of controlling everything, we should do what Psalms 46:10 mentions:

10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

In the midst of a world of unpredictable and uncontrollable things, God encourages us to be still and wait for His lead and guidance.

Lesson no. 6: Accept God’s will in your life

The prayer does not simply tell us to accept what we can’t change, but rather, it ultimately teaches us to accept God’s will in our lives. This is an important lesson we must learn because it gives us a sense of direction in our lives.

As human beings, we are threatened by things that we can’t control. We actually want to control everything, but that is a sure way of living this life stressful because that’s impossible to do.

Instead of doing your best to control things, do your best to do God’s will. That’s the sure way of living a peaceful life.

We read in Proverbs 19:21

There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.

Yes, you can plan your life, but you shouldn’t forget to consider first the plan of God for you. Do you know why? Because it is God’s plan that will surely stand at the end.

Remember what Jeremiah 29:11 also tells us:

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

This is God’s plan for you. Wouldn’t you want to have this plan applied in your life rather than the plan you prepared for yourself?

Lesson no. 7: Learn to trust God

One last lesson we should learn from the Serenity Prayer is to learn to trust Yahweh. It is not easy to accept things that we can’t change. It’s not easy to have the courage to change things that we can. Not only that, but the hardest is to gain the wisdom that will help you properly know how to improve yourself based on the things you can and can’t change.

That’s where trusting God comes in.

We read in Proverbs 3:5-6:

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

As you can see, we must trust Yahweh with all our hearts. By doing so, He will direct our paths.

Every day, in prayer, we come before our Heavenly Father. We pray that He will take care of us. We let Him know that we will do our best and trust Him that He will do the rest.

Trusting God that He will do what we can’t do is freeing. It gives us the freedom and peace that this world can never provide. When we trust in God, we achieve serenity in our life.

Learn the Serenity Prayer Lessons Today

The Serenity Prayer teaches us valuable lessons, from accepting things we can’t change to trusting God in our lives. Indeed, praying to God comes with so many benefits and one of them is gaining peace and serenity.

It is my sincerest hope that the lessons we discussed above will help us to have a better understanding of God’s grace, peace, and love.

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