The Serenity Prayer
I know many of us have heard the serenity prayer before. Many of us even have it posted up in our homes, in our cubicles or offices at work and there are some brave souls that have even gone as far as having it tattooed on their bodies as some sort of reminder when they don’t know what to do about a situation. For those who have never seen or heard of this prayer, here it is:
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.
This prayer dropped in my spirit about a month or so ago and then again this morning, so I knew it was time to blog about it. I love this prayer because when we need encouragement or feel like God doesn’t hear our prayers, this is something that we can recite and receive peace; however, sometimes I dislike the way it is used, as if it is an excuse to not use the power and authority that God has given us. What some may not know is that there is more than just 4 lines to that prayer. Here it is in its entirety:
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.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships 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;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.
God graces us daily with the ability to stand firm on His word, to stand boldly against all principalities, to lean and depend on Him but He also gives us power, strengthens our hands for war and gives us the courage, knowledge and wisdom to say no to certain things and to stand up for ourselves. How long will we continue to hide behind the shield of the Serenity Prayer because we are fearful of the outcome, too lazy to put forth the effort or seize the moment? How long will it take for us to realize that peace doesn’t just reside in the words of this prayer but through obedience to the One and standing firmly in the power that He gave us, that we can tap into that same peace without shying away from what we know is right?
Most of the things that we say we can’t change, we can; we just don’t want to because it requires work. You know that thing that everyone has to do. I think we like to hear ourselves pray this prayer because it sounds good but we really don’t understand that there is work in the prayer as well. Anything that we do in life will require work. Yes, God requires us to lean not unto our own understanding” (Prov 3:5) but He also requires that we continue in the work that He has called us to do. Don’t stop because something isn’t going the way you want it. Trust Him and keep working!
The next time you decide to pray this pray, realize that He has given you all that you need to accomplish whatever it is that you are facing. Your business will not be all that it could be if every time you are faced with adversity, you throw in the towel. You will never finish school or write that book if every time you don’t understand something, you quit. Trying times will come but when it does show it, pray the prayer, drop the excuses and do the work.
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