THE SERENITY PRAYERS
common
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
original
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and
The Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
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.
American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971)
modified
God, grant me the serenity
to grieve and accept the things I cannot change,
The courage found in learning, training, and practicing to change the things I can,
which
will usually provide me with most of
The wisdom I need to know the difference.
Amen