One of the most powerful prayers one should hold on to, The Serenity Prayer.
By: Taren Vaughan
“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.”
Accepting the things that we can not change can be difficult to do at times. When we want so bad for an outcome in a situation to be different, we try to do everything in our power to make things better, for ourselves or someone else. Knowing that we don’t possess the kind of power that He does, God grants us a peaceful mind and spirit that allows us to realize when He is in control of what is going on. You begin to recognize when it comes to the point where only He can change a person or a situation. We just have to come to grips with that. The “unchangeable things” in life are all left up to God to fix.
However, there are some things in life that we can change. Here is where He provides us with courage. Even though some things have to be left up to Him, there are moments where we can be in control of what goes on in our lives; our destiny is in our own hands. But in order to know which things we have the power to change and which ones that can only be influenced by God, He goes on to give us that wisdom to know the difference between the two.
“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;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.”
In life, we must live each day like it’s our last. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us so we must live our lives to the fullest, with no regrets about the things that we did not get to do. But be thankful for what we have accomplished thus far. We will face hard times through life’s journey. No matter who you are or how good of a person you believe yourself to be, there will be moments when things are not going as well as you would like them to be. But through it all, one must keep their faith and understand that going through these trials and tribulations will lead you to that peaceful place in your life. One of the biggest things that this prayer stresses is keeping your faith and remaining patient and attentive. Holding on strong to these things can get you through anything that comes your way. Only then will you fully understand your purpose and what it is that God wants you to do while here on Earth.