The Serenity Prayer is one of the key spiritual tools used by virtually all12-step recovery support groups.
Today, it is often recited at both the beginning and end of every meeting.
It is also often recited again at the end of the meeting.
Tom Merton / Getty Images
Examples of these 12-step groups include:
Many other support groups utilize the prayer as well.
The prayer emphasizes the need to practice acceptance, even when working toward making a change.
The prayer also acts as a mantra.
Research supports the idea that using mantras can have beneficial effects on psychological well-being.
Tools such as the Serenity Prayer may help promote wisdom over the course of a 12-step recovery program.
Researchers suggest that such wisdom might help people become better at managing their lives through personal insights and reflection.
Are There Any Downsides to the Prayer?
While many people do find the Serenity Prayer helpful, that does not mean that it works for everyone.
The prayer presents challenges for non-spiritual individuals.
The prayer proposes that problems can either be changed or accepted, without considering any potential middle ground.
This directive to either accept or change situations can leave some people in recovery feeling powerless and discouraged.
Accepting that some things cannot be changedquicklyoreasilymight be a more helpful approach.
It can be empowering to recognize that there are steps a person can take to make a situation better.
For people who do not respond to this approach,other treatment optionsmight be more workable and effective.
If you don’t find the prayer helpful, remember that there are other options.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Alcoholic Anonymous.Origin of the Serenity Prayer: A historical paper.
Lolla A.Mantras help the general psychological well-being of college students: A pilot study.J Relig Health.
Reviewed July 30, 2009.
Brown, RN, ed.The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; 1987.
Shapiro FR.Who wrote the Serenity Prayer?The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Published April 28, 2014.
