His writings are filled with many similar quotes: Born a slave, Epictetus was taught that philosophy was a way of life, and he lived according to his guidelines of accepting whatever happened while remaining responsible for what happens. The oldest dates to the 1 st century, to Epictetus, a Greek Stoic philosopher. Niebuhr may have been consciously or unconsciously inspired by any of them when writing, or may have written his own independently of any inspiration. While the current version of the Serenity Prayer was proven to have been written by Niebuhr, there are a variety of much older prayers or sayings that reflect a similar meaning. Because many addicts often have difficulty coping with stress and difficulty, the prayer has remained relevant and in service in AA for over 80 years. In most cases, the prayer is used to invoke a sense of detachment, that things that stress you are not immediately pressing or important, and that it is important to step back and recognize what can and cannot be changed. Today, most 12-step groups use the common version of the prayer. Serenity to accept what cannot be helped,Īnd the insight to know the one from the other. The original text of the Serenity Prayer distributed was as follows:įather, give us courage to change what must be altered, Wilson, popularly known as Bill W., liked the prayer so much that he had it printed and distributed during meetings. While the original introduction of the prayer is not recorded, the official AA version is that a new member of the AA brought the prayer to the attention of William Griffith Wilson, co-founder of AA. Use by Alcoholics AnonymousĪlcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step groups have made use of the Serenity Prayer since at least 1941. Other versions of the 3-line prayer are typically the first 3 or 4 lines of the Prayer. Instead, these primarily stem from Wygal’s interpretations, which are much shorter and typically just 3 lines long. Niebuhr himself never used a 3-couplet version of the poem. This longer version of the prayer is no longer used, but did appear in various forms throughout history. 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. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time,Īccepting 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, God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed,Īnd the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. In 1951, Neibuhr published a printed version of the Serenity Prayer, including the first written mention of the word ‘grace’ in the poem. By 1944, the Federal Council of Churches printed the prayer in a prayer book issues to army chaplains and the USO circulated the prayer on printed cards to soldiers during WW2. By 1936, the Serenity Prayer was well-circulated enough that it was referenced as-if common knowledge in literature of the time. He continued to use it in sermons from 1934, where it spread to Alcoholics Anonymous and was quickly adopted by the group. It is believed that Neibuhr first wrote the Serenity prayer as part of a sermon, which he then used at the Heath Evangelical Union Church in Massachusetts. These references are often the simplest, and the closest to the current version of the prayer. Wygal was then responsible for several versions of the prayer which appeared in newspapers, as well as a prayer book which was published in 1940 referencing the prayer. Wygal was then a pupil of Niebuhr, and quoted the prayer in a personal diary, attributing it to the theologist. The earliest written reference to the Serenity prayer dates to 1932 in a diary entry by Winnifred Crane Wygal. While the most popular version of the prayer, it is a truncation of Niebuhr’s original. “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.” Most people are familiar with the common form of the prayer, which reads as follows: The modern version is attributed to the American theologist, Reinhold Neibuhr, but it is possibly based on a series of sayings dating back to ancient times. Today, the prayer is utilized as a catch-all saying, but is heavily used by 12-step and other recovery groups to incentivize personal responsibility and calm in the face of adversity. The Serenity Prayer is a prayer that has become common knowledge through its use by Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, as well as in popular media.
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