Serenity Prayer Principles: Finding Serenity in a Simple Prayer

Have you ever imagined that the difficulties in your life could be what could lead to peace? I mean peace of mind where your mind is calm, calm and relaxed. It is the kind of peace you can have in the middle of the storm. Although there is great turbulence in the waters, nothing can disturb the serenity in the depths. It is the kind of peace we long for. Yet how many times do we abandon it! We drenched ourselves from the heavy rains. We were deafened by the crashing waves. Violent winds shake us.

What keeps serenity at bay? They are not our problems so much as our resistance to them. There are some things in life that we simply cannot change, no matter how hard we try. The more we resist accepting this truth, the more frustrated and angry we become. And we end up losing our peace.

There is a well-known prayer that has comforted many people known as the Serenity Prayer. Many know only the first part of prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change; the courage to change the things that I can; and wisdom to know the difference. It is the rest of the prayer that gives us some instructions on how to receive the serenity that God wants to grant us. It goes on like this: Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accept difficulties as the way to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it: Trusting that He will fix all things if I surrender to His Will; May I be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever the next. Amen.

There are several keys to serenity as described in this sentence. First, true peace comes from living in the present moment. It is the only place where happiness exists. If we begin to enjoy and appreciate the here and now we will learn to grow more and more content. Second, if we want serenity in our lives, we must stop resisting and start accepting what we cannot control. Acceptance results when we realize that it is not in our power to change some things and that only He can. Third, we must surrender to God, who is almighty. When we surrender, we are essentially saying: Lord, let Your will be done, Your will, not mine. Finally, living one day at a time in complete surrender and acceptance requires that we put our trust in the Lord. We can trust that He will solve all things for us. We can trust that He will give us the courage to change the things that are in our power to change. We can trust Him for wisdom, direction, and guidance. We can know that if we trust Him, we can have a happy life now and a glorious future in heaven to look forward to.

When the world around you shakes; When faced with a storm or tempest that you cannot escape from, remember that you can have an anchor of perfect peace to keep you safe. With surrender, acceptance, and trust in the Lord, you can weather any storm that threatens to hit or drown you. You can have a peace that exceeds all you can understand and that protects your mind and heart. You can start with a simple prayer of serenity.