September 9th, 2019

Leading off the Almost Daily Devotional is a short series on what has come to be known as The Serenity Prayer. Composed in various forms by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930’s, it has been used with regularity in the 12 Step Community.  There are different versions of the prayer, but this is my favorite:

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,
As I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

The famous Seinfeld Episode called Serenity Now lampooned our attempts to rely on a mantra to maintain internal peace. Placarding over real anger and frustration with a simple affirmation will not work. As one character on the show said, “Serenity Now leads to insanity later.”  However, prayer, even daily (or almost daily) prayer is different. In prayer, you are bringing your real self, with all your anger and frustration into the company of your Father who loves you. So, “do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The Serenity Prayer is a longer prayer than you will usually find in the Almost Daily Devotional, but it is worth your time and attention. In the coming days, I will break this prayer into 8 different sections, grounding its wisdom in scripture and connecting its truth to our experience. But, its wisdom and truth are also self-evident (Niebuhr was quite the theologian, after all), so for today just spend a little time in the prayer’s company. 

That’s all for (serenity) now - see you tomorrow.