By 1950, the serenity prayer had become so well-known that people went searching for its author. The prayer was also shipped overseas during World War II and used in devotionals for American servicemen. In 1941, some AA members decided to have it printed up on cards that fellow members could carry in their wallets. the co-founder of AA said about the prayer. Serenity to accept what cannot be helped,Īnd insight to know the one from the other.īy the early 1940s, versions of the serenity prayer were beloved enough to be included in printed obituaries, which is where the AA first found it in the New York Herald Tribune. O God, give us courage to change what must be altered, Part of what we're seeing in Niebuhr's original version of the prayer is, what are we doing as a group? He was very concerned with what human groups could accomplish." "What we see in the AA formulation is the individualized version of the prayer for when we're dealing with stuff personally. "There are certain things in life that are moral imperatives and even if we can't change them in our moment, we're still called to work for those changes," says Sabella. Niebuhr's daughter, the literary editor and publisher Elisabeth Sifton, wrote a book about her father's prayer and believed that the original version went beyond asking what the individual "can" do to address what society as a whole must do in the name of justice. "In a single sentence, he's compacting grace, serenity, courage, wisdom and connecting it to one of the central conundrums of life: What can we shape and what can't we? When do we push ahead and when do we just accept where we're at?" says Sabella.Īlso significant is that Niebuhr's original version asks for the courage to change the things that "should" be changed, not the things that "can" be changed.
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