The Appropriate Prayer for a New Year

There are many prayers worthy for a new year, but for me, Niebuhr's, Serenity Prayer seems so appropriate as we head into the unknown joys and challenges of 2012. The prayer was first attributed to theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr in a 1943 sermon. It became the official prayer of Alcoholics Anonymous. Most of us know the popular, shorter version:

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.

For lives moving near the speed of light in our daily paces I think the full prayer offered by Niebuhr is the better choice as we begin a new year:

God, give us 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.