The Serenity Prayer is a powerful prayer for life. Its precepts inspire us to live our best lives now, in spite of the painful challenges life often brings our way.

Even before any of us heard of the coronavirus, many of us were dealing with difficult life circumstances – painful marriages, children in turmoil, concerns on the job, lay-offs, health scares, our own mental health crises, and other struggles that often kept us awake at night.

Then, the coronavirus entered our consciousness. At first, it slowly entered our awareness, like a fog gently making its entrance over the horizon, and then before we knew it, it hit us like a sledgehammer! Life for us didn’t change, but it did intensify. At least it did for me. The things we were dealing with didn’t miraculously disappear when the virus came along. The virus most assuredly impacted my personal challenges in ways I could have never imagined; and I am sure it has impacted us all, in one way or another. As a mental health and spiritual care provider I believe the Serenity Prayer offers a gift in these uncertain times. It gives us a unique perspective on both our emotional and spiritual health, and points us to the unchanging God who is with us in these rapidly changing times. 

The Serenity Prayer is a powerful prayer for life.

It centers us and helps us to keep our focus – first on God, and then on what God has given us to BE and DO – NOW, in this Present Moment!!

1. God grant me Serenity – We are invited to turn our heart and soul to the Sovereign God. God’s supernatural Peace, the peace that transcends and goes beyond human understanding. It is a calmness, a quietude of the mind and spirit. God’s peace lies deep in my soul and spirit, no matter what is going on around me. It is a knowing, deep within myself that “It is well.”   It is not a peace I can conjure up for myself. It is a peace given to me by God. “Lord, give me Your Peace, Your Serenity in this situation I am facing.”

The peace of the world is based on my happy circumstances. God’s Peace is with me no matter what my outward circumstances may be. 

In this life, I will falter and become discouraged, but the first lines of this prayer remind me to keep coming back to God to get the peace I need. 

2. To ACCEPT the things I cannot change – I must begin to recognize boundaries. I am NOT in control of many things. Am I able to accept that? Can I accept that and be at peace? The peace that goes beyond my human understanding? I can worry about things that are beyond my control, fume with anger about them, and try to manipulate them, but there are just some things I CANNOT CHANGE! There are some things in my life I can change, but I cannot always change my circumstances, and I cannot change the people in my life, and the events of my past. Instead of railing against those things I cannot change, my time would be better spent taking a deep breath and saying, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Your will be done, Lord.”  

ACCEPTANCE is Hard for Me. I’m always trying to figure out another way a problem can be solved. It just prolongs the inevitable. 

Sometimes, God gives me an answer to “Why,” but more often for me, I have to accept what doesn’t make sense to me. At least for now.

3. The Courage to change the things I can – I can change some things, and these things are quite powerful. I can change my attitude about what is happening. I find that if I change my attitude about what I am facing, I gain a new perspective about it, and this new perspective can be a powerful blessing to me. I also can change the things in my life that need changing. 

           Am I courageous enough to look in the mirror AT MYSELF, and do the necessary work of change. 

 God will reveal what needs transformation, and God is with me as I allow myself the time and space to acknowledge, process and heal from my painful past. If I am afraid of what I may find, am I willing to “Do It Afraid”? 

 Am I willing to do the hard work of healing even if I feel afraid of what it may reveal? I believe that God has manifold blessings waiting for me beyond that courageous choice to change the things in my life I can change.

What possibilities await me when I muster up the courage to change the things I can!

4. The Wisdom to know the difference – This is a “leaning on God” moment. Am I willing to be still before God and hear His Voice? Am I willing to gain the wisdom to discern the difference between what is God’s business to handle and what business God has given me, with His help, to handle?

Staying out of God’s Business sets me free to focus on my own business.

When I am torn between two decisions or facing a dilemma, I seek God’s guidance through His Word, I seek godly counsel from a friend who walks with God, and at times, I also speak to a godly counselor. In addition, I love to journal and write prayers to God. I believe that the Psalms are really prayers to God. The writer cries out to God in his lament, and he keeps writing until he gets a breakthrough. He writes until he hears from God, and the Psalm almost always ends in a praise! 

I have found that when I really need to hear from God, those moments when I need a special word from my Heavenly Father, I write letters to Him. I share my heart with the Lord. I share my heartaches and struggles, and I share the cries of my heart. I write and write and write, until I get a breakthrough. I write until God speaks to me. 

On those occasions when I have also found that I have made a decision that did not turn out as I would have liked, I can still learn from it and gain wisdom. Sometimes, those painful moments are the wisest teachers.         

5. Living One Day At A Time – In reality today is all we have. We often fool ourselves, thinking we have tomorrow. 

And we delay what we have been called to do today, to a tomorrow that may never come. 

Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-Step groups share with us this powerful truth, “Just for today.” We can start a revolution in our lives if we tell ourselves, “I will eat healthy – Just for Today!” I will exercise – Just for Today!” “I will spend time alone with God – Just for Today!” “I will be happy, or not complain, or ask for or give forgiveness – Just for Today!” 

What could you do – Just For Today, that could change your life? “Just for today,” has revolutionized my life. It helps me to remember, that good habits are formed – one day at a time. And sometimes, one moment at a time.

6. Enjoying One Moment At A Time – Can we truly be present to the gift of the present moment? What a beautiful gift to be able to savor this present moment without dwelling on our past and worrying about our future. There are beautiful treasures in the present moment. The beauty and sounds of nature. The laughter of a child. The peaceful silence of contemplation, of lifting my heart to God.

Can we slow down enough to meet God in the here and now? To tap into the serenity, stillness and peacefulness in our spirit as we pause and take a deep breath? Feel your heartbeat. Be thankful for eyes that see and ears that hear, and a spirit that touches the Spirit of God. 

7. Accepting Hardships As The Pathway To Peace – This is a hard one! Who thought of this one?!?! GOD!!! 

How did God come up with hardship as being the pathway to peace? Hardship points us back to God! We rarely think about God when life is good. We develop a delusion that we are the creators of our good life. I don’t like my pain, but I am grateful for my God who is with me in my pain. 

Hardship wakes me up and makes me run back to my Savior! The prodigal son didn’t think about his father while he was basking in his good times. We rarely seek after God when life is good. Far too often, we think that our good fortune and blessings are a result of our efforts. We believe that we receive good things because we are good, and at some level, we deserve the blessings we receive. Painful life experiences, poverty, lack, and hunger drove the prodigal son home to his true blessings. It usually drives us back to what is truly important as well. Pain does not feel good, but pain is a powerful motivator. It makes me perk up and pay attention. It makes me focus on the true blessings in this life and these blessings are all founded upon my relationship with God. The pain of the prodigal son drove him back to his (Heavenly) Father, and my pain drives me back to mine.

8. Taking As He Did, This Sinful World As It Is, And Not As I Would Have It – The sin and rebellion of humanity did not surprise God. He was prepared for it, even before the foundation of the world. And because of His great love for us, God had a plan to restore and reconcile us to Himself. God gave humanity choice. And, from that freedom to choose God’s way or our own, has come a multitude of evils. The sovereign and all-knowing God loved us enough that despite Him knowing that we would choose our way, He had a plan to bring us back to Himself. 

Jesus endured a horrific death on the cross, because God took this world as it is. God’s plan to redeem humanity came by way of the Cross. God’s plan took us as we were, but didn’t leave us there. God’s plan took us from the Cross to the Crown of Jesus Christ!

And now there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus!!! Those who walk with God and pursue His Spirit! The enemy condemns. The Lord heals, reconciles, and restores us back to Him.

9. Trusting He Will Make All Things Right, If I Surrender To His Will – 

I am guilty of following the maxim, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” This is how we control freaks justify getting into folks’ business. This is how we grasp for every bit of control we can. Yet, this portion of the prayer is challenging my desire to control. It challenges my desire to control the process and the outcome. 

God is inviting me to “Let go and Let God!” God is inviting me to trust that He working all things out for my good and the good of my loved ones, and for His Glory! This portion of the prayer invites me to trust God’s Goodness, even if it seems to be taking too long. It invites me to know God’s ways, not just look for particular outcomes. It reminds me that God is slow to anger and gracious with His mercy. The process just may be taking time because God is doing a work in my loved one, or in me! “My soul waits in silence on God alone; for my hope and my expection is from Him” Ps. 62:5 

I must trust God’s Goodness even in ugly situations. 

This is Faith! Trusting God and trusting God’s process when I cannot fully see. 

Surrender is the ultimate act of ACCEPTANCE. If I know I serve a Good God, a God who is working my situation out for my good and His glory, am I willing to SURRENDER my will to God’s will?

Seeking and surrendering to God’s will for my life keeps me focused on what God has called me to do. I keep my hands off of others so that God can do His work in all of us. God just may be calling me to pray for my loved one and not to interfere with God’s plan for them. My prayer is the most powerful intervention I can do for my loved one. Prayer says, “Lord I trust You and I surrender to Your will.” When I know deep in my being that God is making all things right, I will joyfully accept and surrender to God’s will.

10. So That I May Live Reasonably Happy in This Life – “Reasonably happy” takes into account that life will bring me joy and life will bring me sorrow. These are the givens of life on this earth. There is a time and a season for everything under the sun. This portion of the prayer invites me to find joy and peace despite the ups and downs of this life. It invites me to pause and change my perspective. To see with my eyes on eternity.

This is an ability to hold on to God in the difficult moments of life because our future has already been secured, if we trust in Him. “Lord, You have kept count of my tossing and turning, You hold my tears in Your bottle.” Ps.56:8. “You’ve tuned my mourning into dancing again. You’ve taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.” Ps.30:11 In this life, change and transition is the order of the day. Yet, even in the midst of change and uncertainty we are constantly invited to lift our hearts to and commune with the One who loves us first and who loves us best.

11. And be Supremely Happy With God Forever – We know that heaven is the place is indescribable joy. We will be supremely happy with God in eternity. And I believe that this journey begins here. In the here and now.

 As we gradually let go of the things of this world, we can grow increasingly filled with the Joy of the Lord in this realm. As we grow closer to the Lord in this life, we begin to let go of our idols. These idols are our attachments that, if we are not vigilant, can take the place of God in our lives. My idols can be many things, my family, my possessions, the money I save, my titles, degrees, or status, etc. My supreme happiness occurs when nothing else matters but God. I look forward to this place in my life.

The mystics experienced union with God. They tasted Glory. They tasted complete union with God. It’s not a state that they continuously lived in, because it was too overwhelmingly beautiful for our earthly bodies, but we can taste Heaven right here and now as we let go of earthly things. For me, this is a journey. A journey of letting go of that which is miniscule, in order to grab hold of that which is the Greatest, the One who fills all things with Himself.

The Serenity Prayer is both a psychological and spiritual prayer.

Spiritually, we are called to Look to God in TRUST to supply us with what we need- Serenity and Courage. We are also called to TRUST that His Plans will Prevail, even when the way seems dark, and uncertain. And in this Trusting, we are called to SURRENDER to God’s Will and not our own.

Psychologically, we are invited to ACCEPT!! Accept things we cannot change.  Accept hardships as a way to draw closer to God and as a pathway to peace.

We are called to Accept What Is, and NOT What We Think or Expect Things to Be.

And both spiritually and psychologically, our Happiness and Joy cannot be found in the world’s pleasures, but only in God.

This is the Narrow Gate the Bible speaks of. It is initially a difficult road to take, and we must choose to live into it day by day. 

This journey on the narrow road becomes easier and easier, as we let go of the pull of the world, and give our hearts fully and completely, to God.