In 1950, in response to questions about the already quite widely known prayer’s provenance, Niebuhr wrote that the prayer “may have been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don’t think so. The Federal Council of Churches (NCC) included the prayer in a book for army chaplains and servicemen in 1944 and the USO circulated the prayer (with Niebuhr’s permission) to soldiers on printed cards during World War Two. Various other authors also cited Niebuhr as the source of the prayer from 1937 on. A 1937 Christian student publication attributed the prayer to Niebuhr in the following form, which matches the other earliest published forms in requesting “courage to change” before petitioning for serenity:įather, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other. The earliest printed reference, in 1936, mentions that during a speech, a Miss Mildred Pinkerton “quotes the prayer,” as if to indicate it was already in a circulation known to the reporter, or that Pinkerton relayed it as a quote, without mentioning its authorship. Wygal was a longtime YWCA official and all early recorded usages were from women involved in volunteer or educational activities connected to the YWCA. O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other. In 1940, Wygal included the following form of the prayer in a book on worship, attributing it to Niebuhr: Several versions of the prayer then appeared in newspaper articles in the early 1930s written by, or reporting on talks given by, Wygal. The earliest recorded reference to the prayer is a diary entry from 1932 by Winnifred Crane Wygal, a pupil and collaborator of Reinhold Niebuhr, quoting the prayer and attributing it to Niebuhr.
Some twelve-step recovery programs use a slightly different version: 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. A reply in the same column in the issue for August 13, 1950, p. 19, attributed the prayer to Niebuhr, quoting it as follows: O God and Heavenly Father, Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Amen.Ī version (apparently quoted from memory) appeared in the “Queries and Answers” column in The New York Times Book Review, July 2, 1950, p. 23, asking for the author of the quotation. 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, If 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 most well-known form is a late version, as it includes a reference to grace not found before 1951: 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. Niebuhr’s versions of the prayer were always printed as a single prose sentence printings that set out the prayer as three lines of verse modify the author’s original version. The prayer has appeared in many versions. A New Commentary of the Holy Quran Emphasizing Compassion, Justice and Human Rights Launched via TheMuslimTimes July 17, 2017
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