Keeping the pain bottled up inside or denying the pain of loss is unwise, as it will only come out in uglier ways. It is an essential part of the process of acceptance. More often than not, there will still be a certain degree of suffering and uncomfortable consequences. It also does not mean we force ourselves to approve of or enjoy them. Acknowledging these things does not mean we no longer feel the pain that comes along with it. But what’s important is to assess what these are in our own lives and how they affect us. This includes our childhood, our past, the wrongs we’ve done and the wrongs that have been done to us, other people and their choices, and inevitable situations like illness, loss, and death. It helps to acknowledge the things, people, and circumstances in our lives that we cannot change. His peace is lasting.īut how can we begin to accept things we cannot change? Here are 3 practical steps that can help after we decide to submit to God’s will. John 14:27 says the peace that God gives is not the same as the most temporary peace that the world gives. It takes God-given grace and humility to recognize that God is the giver of true peace over circumstances that are out of our control. Not a lot of people have the courage to admit that it is God who can fully, perfectly, and wholly give the serenity we need and long for. I love how the prayer starts with, “God, grant me the serenity…” It is both a bold and a modest statement. God-Given Serenity To Accept The Things We Cannot Change But do we understand what this beautiful prayer means? Let’s break down the Serenity Prayer to have a better perspective of it. We see it in merchandise perched in our homes. We hear it preached in our churches and prayed in our Bible study groups. The Serenity Prayer is a well-known prayer among believers and has even been adapted by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as part of their 12-Step Recovery Plan. What is clear though is the fact the Niebuhr intended for it to be a prayer during difficult times and encouragement to focus on working on what can be improved. Some say it is to address any kind of suffering in general, while others imply it was a statement against Nazi Germany. There are different speculations as to why Niebuhr wrote the Serenity Prayer in full. #Prayer of serenity fullThe full Serenity Prayer was also in the Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces released in 1941. Howard Robbins requested to include the prayer in a book he compiled and published in 1934. He wrote the Serenity Prayer in the early 1930s while he was a professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City originally as the closing part of a longer prayer. He eventually became a pastor himself and has been described as “the most influential American theologian of the 20th century” by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Born to German parents and raised in Missouri, he grew up being part of a church his father pastored. It was found that the prayer was originally written by Reinhold Niebuhr, a German-American reformed theologian in the 20th century. The author of the Serenity Prayer has been a largely debated detail for years until a 1932 diary entry was recovered. It is a powerful prayer seeking help from the Lord so we can graciously accept what we cannot change and courageously change what we can. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,Īnd supremely happy with You forever in the next. Trusting that You will make all things right, God, give me grace to accept with serenityĪccepting hardship as a pathway to peace, The full Serenity Prayer from which the above is quoted is longer and more elaborate. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, There are various versions of the Serenity Prayer, but the most commonly known one is this: Let us study together what the Serenity Prayer means and how we can apply it in our lives. This is the reason why the Serenity Prayer has resonated with a lot of people to a great extent from the time it was written. And oftentimes, trouble comes when we fail to recognize and accept this. We do not have control over or power over a lot of matters in this world. While this may sound cliché and one of those “easy to say but hard to do” facts of life, there is truth and wisdom in it. We often hear the phrase “surrender to God” in different contexts and different situations. The timeless Serenity Prayer is a plea for comfort, strength, and wisdom in a turbulent world. Faith-Filled Content Delivered To Your Inbox.God-Given Courage To Change The Things We Can.
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