A New Version of the Serenity Prayer

Last week I shared the words and the origin of the famous Serenity Prayer. This week I am sharing another Serenity Prayer that I received in the mail. Upon reading it I found myself, my flaws, my ego, in the petitions expressed. Sometimes I find myself wanting to be God without the benefit of God's infinite wisdom and perfect love. (Lord, have mercy!) Perhaps you will find this prayer insightful and thought provoking, also.

The New Serenity Prayer

from America Media - a Jesuit Ministry

God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, which is pretty much everyone, since I'm clearly not you, God. At least not the last time I checked. And while you're at it, God, please give me the courage to change what I need to change about myself, which is frankly a lot, since, once again, I'm not you, which means I'm not perfect. It's better for me to focus on changing myself than to worry about changing other people, who, as you'll no doubt remember me saying, I can't change anyway. Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up whenever I think that I'm clearly smarter than everyone else in the room, that no one knows what they're talking about except me, or that I alone have all the answers. Basically God, grant me the wisdom to remember that I'm not you. Amen.

Pastor Joanne