It is one of the most well-known prayers of our day. It was written by Reinhold Niebuhr, who was an American theologian and commentator. He was one of the leading intellectuals in the United States during the 20th Century, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. He wrote this prayer for a sermon that he preached at Heath Evangelical Union Church, in Massachusetts. It was used in sermons in the church beginning in 1934, and, in 1951 it was published in a magazine. Since then, “The Serenity Prayer” has been popular with Christians of many denominations. But most people are probably familiar with it because it is used in Alcoholic Anonymous meetings all over the world.
Before reviewing the prayer, let’s consider why people in AA meetings have found the prayer to be such a comfort. Alcohol has a been a social problem since the beginning of time. The website www.webmd.com describes the problem Americans have with alcohol like this:
It is estimated that between 18 million — or one in 12 adults — in the U.S. abuse alcohol or are chronic alcoholics. Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year as a result of alcohol abuse, and alcohol is a factor in more than half of the country’s homicides, suicides, and traffic accidents. Alcohol abuse also plays a role in many social and domestic problems, from job absenteeism and crimes against property to spousal and child abuse.
The immediate physical effects of drinking alcohol range from mild mood changes to complete loss of coordination, vision, balance, and speech — any of which can be signals of acute alcohol intoxication, or drunkenness. These effects usually wear off in a matter of hours after a person stops drinking. Many law-enforcement agencies regard a .08 percentage of alcohol in the bloodstream as evidence of intoxication. Larger amounts of blood alcohol can impair brain function and eventually cause unconsciousness. An extreme overdose, alcohol poisoning, can be fatal.
That academic description cannot begin to convey the grief and pain cause by people who are bound by alcohol. Neither can it begin to capture the frustration, shame, fear and helplessness experienced by those caught in its grip.
In 1935, two men set out to help people whose lives had been marred by alcoholism. They established a faith-based, twelve-step program called Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill Wilson and Bob Smith founded the first group in Akron, Ohio. The idea was to invite people to admit their need for help, turn to a higher power and then take steps toward overcoming the addiction. AA has been in existence for 80 years and there are now over 115,000 groups world-wide.
Each time a group meets, they recite the Serenity Prayer, so there is no telling how many people have prayed this prayer. This prayer is effective because it is based on biblical truths and because of the sheer volume of people who have prayed it. Here is the most commonly used version of 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.”
The Serenity Prayer personifies how Believers can rest in God through prayer. We can have peace because, through prayer, God will help know what we need to do and what we need to leave up to Him. Prayer works and is powerful because the God to whom we pray is so big… and powerful… and full of mercy and grace. Because we pray to an all-powerful God, we can enjoy serenity, even in difficult circumstances.