<P> God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference . </P> <P> Niebuhr, who first wrote the prayer for a sermon at Heath Evangelical Union Church in Heath, Massachusetts, used it widely in sermons as early as 1934 and first published it in 1951 in a magazine column . The prayer spread through Niebuhr's sermons and church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve - step programs . </P> <P> The prayer has appeared in many versions . Reinhold Niebuhr's versions of the prayer were always printed as a single prose sentence; printings that set out the prayer as three lines of verse modify the author's original version . The most well - known form is a late version, as it includes a reference to grace not found before 1951: </P> <P> God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other . Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next . Amen . </P>

God give me the grace to accept with serenity