The Simple Power Of Prayer - Part 2

The Twelve Steps, the Serenity Prayer and Global Impact

The first 4 lines regularly used within Twelve step prayer is an excerpt from the longer prayer above, usually attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. Despite the fact that its origins are a somewhat unclear, its global impacts aren't. The serenity prayer serves as a focal point for the very spirit of the twelve step movement, anchoring its individuals to its profound teachings about Acceptance and Surrender as the path to peace and restoration.

Members in the twelve step movement have enthusiastically embraced this prayer—referred to as the serenity prayer—almost from the moment they saw it. In fact, these 25 words are heard in most every twelve step assembly held globally and broadly taken as a succinct statement of a journey to sanity and sobriety.

The serenity prayer merges flawlessly with the spirituality of the twelve steps. And, even though the foundation is thought to be Christian, the serenity prayer is relevant on your daily life irrespective of religion or religious beliefs. There are several versions of the serenity prayer, every with barely one-of-a-kind wording that assist groups have adopted. The whole serenity prayer text has stronger non-secular overtones.

History

There are conflicting views about the origins of the prayer's foundation. The serenity prayer has been variously attributed to an historic Sanskrit text, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi and others.

Many AA members had been first exposed to the prayer in 1948, when it became quoted in the grapevine, an AA periodical. There it became credited to American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971). The serenity prayer spread both via Niebuhr’s sermons and church companies in the Nineteen Thirties and Nineteen Forties, and became popularized through alcoholics anonymous and other twelve step applications.

Living the Serenity Prayer in Recovery from Alcohol and other Addictions and Chronic Life Issues

“For many, the first verse of the Serenity Prayer serves as a daily touchstone, reminding us that to achieve serenity, we must approach each moment with wisdom and courage. The Serenity Prayer accurately expresses a central problem of addiction and prescribes a timeless solution.”

And of course of greatest importance is the invitation in the Serenity Prayer that points us to the Source of Power, God, who is beyond us but within our grasp.

“The prayer’s message about acceptance echoes insights from Bill W., cofounder of AA. In the book Alcoholics Anonymous (published by AA World Services), Bill described the core trait of alcoholics as self-centeredness—something he called "self-will run riot." He further described the alcoholic as "an actor who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way." Bill's solution: "First of all, we had to quit playing God.

What blocks some alcoholics and addicts from achieving serenity is their intense desire to achieve a sense of absolute control - one this is simply not possible for humans. This need to manage and control their “world” has two factors.

• First is an attempt to control the conduct of others, an approach that addicts cling to regardless of its repeated failure.
• Second is the try to control feelings by means of medicating them with mood-altering chemicals. This strategy, too, is doomed to failure."

An addict’s quest for absolute control will cause distress, which may additionally contribute to the ongoing cycle of substance abuse.

Paradoxically, the need to control in this way, may also be a response to the unmanageability resulting from their out-of-control use of drugs. And the vicious cycle continues until the addict accepts that there will constantly be external circumstances that we can't control.

The prayer as an alternative way for us to examine our internal life: we cannot immediately manipulate our emotions nor people around us. But, we can have an impact on our feelings thru what we can control—our thinking and our actions.

“By focusing on those two factors, we can attain the final quality promised by the Serenity Prayer: courage.

The Serenity Prayer is a wide door, one that's open to people of all faiths and backgrounds. It speaks wisdom to addicts and non-addicts alike. People who live this prayer discover how to strike a dynamic balance between acceptance and change. This gift is precious, and it's one that we can enjoy for a lifetime of serenity.”

This article is edited from the following source: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: www.hazeldenbettyford.org/articles/the-serenity-prayer