full text... The Serenity Prayer   God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,   Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.   Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship 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      TaoZenTruth HomePage	Add to the TaoZenTruth   View the TaoZenTruth

 
The Serenity Prayer

By Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

Composed in 1932 as the ending to a longer prayer.  In 1934 it became a prayer itself in a book published by Dr. Howard Robbins, the doctor’s friend and neighbor.

In 1939, the prayer was printed on wallet-sized cards for use in meetings by Bill Wilson, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.  The prayer is considered to be Christian and Jesus is often referenced in the meetings.

By 1942, there is a shortened version:

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference."