Origin of the Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer is often used at the end of AA meetings. And most AA's know it from there. However, there is a longer older version of this prayer.


The Serenity Prayer
(full text)
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
-- Reinhold Neibuhr-1926

If you would like to know more about the history of the prayer in AA, you can find it here:

http://www.aahistory.com/prayer.html