The Serenity Prayer can be an important aspect of your recovery as it exemplifies the principles you need to incorporate into your life to find peace and tranquility. It’s not a magical prayer and it won’t change your life on its own, but learning to apply its principles will. This powerful prayer addresses five important personal traits: serenity, acceptance, courage, wisdom and surrender.
Serenity
The first part of the verse asks God or a “higher power” for serenity. Serenity is a state of perfect calm and peace within you. It is derived from the Latin word serenus which means “calm” or “peaceful.” The suffix –ity means “a state of.” When you ask God for serenity, you are asking him for the ability to remain calm and peaceful as you go forward in the moments of the day and your journey in recovery.
Acceptance
The next part of the verse asks God for the ability to “accept the things I cannot change.” This part of the serenity prayer speaks to learning to accept that you cannot change or control others and that, sometimes, you just need to accept them as they are.
It doesn’t mean you should ignore the things you see wrong in the world, it simply asks that you recognize that you are not all powerful and you cannot right the world on your own. Accepting your limitations and acknowledging that some things cannot be changed is important to your personal growth.
For example, you cannot change your past. You can make amends to those you have hurt or caused pain, but you cannot change the events. Accepting this and forgiving yourself is important to your recovery.
Courage
Asking God for the courage to change the things you can means you are willing to look deep within yourself and change the way you react to the world or how you interact with others. Even though you cannot change your past or choose a different childhood, you can change how you view them. You can also change the way you view the future. It takes courage to recognize that it is you that needs to change and to take the steps needed to do so.
Asking God for the courage to change the things you can means you are willing to look deep within yourself and change the way you react to the world or how you interact with others. Even though you cannot change your past or choose a different childhood, you can change how you view them. You can also change the way you view the future. It takes courage to recognize that it is you that needs to change and to take the steps needed to do so.
Wisdom
The Serenity Prayer also asks for the wisdom to tell the difference between the things you must accept and the things you can change. This is often the most difficult step of all. One easy way to determine whether you have the power to change something is to ask yourself who needs to change.
If you are unhappy in your relationships, it is easy to think that if only the other person would change that the relationship would be perfect. The truth is, you can only change yourself. While you can change how you react or how you act toward others, you cannot change another person.
Surrender
The final portion of the serenity prayer deals with living one day at a time and surrendering to a higher power. You may be familiar with concept of “Letting go and giving it to God.” This concept means surrendering to God’s power over your life and letting him take the wheel.
When you surrender to God, or a higher power, you trust Him to bring you serenity, acceptance, courage and wisdom as you work your way through your addiction recovery. Many find wearing a serenity ring as a helpful reminder to let God guide their way.