The Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer is one of the most famous and powerful prayers in all Christianity. The prayer, also known as God Grant me the serenity, is one of the AA Prayers that is said at every meeting to help recovering alcoholics.

At the bottom of this page you will find a Prayer Request form. We invite you to post your personal prayer for serenity so that we can share in your prayers.

As Christians we yearn to trust in Gods ways, though it is not always easy. This is the ultimate prayer, asking God for a strong faith, understanding and happiness in daily life. Below is the complete, full text of this powerful prayer.

The Serenity Prayer

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 hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

serenity-prayer

How to Pray the Serenity Prayer

This is the perfect prayer to add to your Daily Devotions. Set aside a few minutes in the morning or in the evening to pray your devotions to God. Ask God for serenity on a daily basis using this prayer as your guide.

Some additional tips and exercises for praying this prayer:

1. Try to memorize the words to the prayer. Write it out on a post card and each day see how far you get before you need to reference the card.

2. Speak directly to God. Dont just blindly repeat the words youve memorized. You need to speak directly to Him and truly mean the words youre speaking.

3. After praying, write your reflections in a prayer journal. Over time youll be able to track your progress towards serenity and happiness.

AA Prayer History

God grant me the serenity became the default prayer of Alcoholics Anonymous in the early 1940s when a member spotted the prayer in the obituaries section of the newspaper.

The prayers focus on acceptance resonated with the group. Acceptance is central to AAs philosophy. Only once you accept yourself as you are, can you begin to change the things in your life that are within your power to change. Though life can be difficult, it is possible to change ones life for the better, one step at a time.

To read more about AA Prayers and the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, click here.

Variations of The Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer is so popular that many variations of it have been composed. Here are a sampling of these altered versions. The authors of these are unknown.