The words serenity, hope and faith keep coming to me over and over again lately. Even last night while I was sleeping and dreaming over and over again...serenity, hope, faith. So, today I decided to examine what this all means. First, let's look at their basic definitions.
Serenity...the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.
Hope...to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true. Hope is a feeling of optimism that something will change. Embedded in hope is faith.
Faith...belief, trust, and loyalty to a person or thing.
The word serenity for a lot of us brings to mind the serenity prayer. I decided to look up the serenity prayer and to examine it more closely and it's meaning to me.
The Serenity Prayer is one of the most widely known prayers. It was written and published by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951.
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. Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the 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;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Be calm...Grant me peace and calm to accept the things I cannot change. To be grateful, to let go and to surrender.
Be courageous...The courage to change the things I can. Living with courage, being brave versus living with fear and being fearful. Being brave enough to be me, to be vulnerable, to step into the arena of life and dare to be great. Having hope and faith.
Be still...Wisdom to know the difference. How do we know the difference? By being still. By praying and asking and then being still to hear the answer. By paying attention to the signs. By listening to your intuition. So often we seek, but we do not stop to be still or to pay attention.
Be present...Living one day at a time. Being present with the here and now. Not ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Enjoying one moment at a time. Cherishing the present, so as to not miss out on life. Being mindful of today and of this moment with hope and faith.
Be aware...Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. Seeing the hardships and the challenges as learning and growing opportunities. Opportunities to explore who I am, to see my shadow and to determine what I desire to embody. Having hope and faith.
Be faith...Having belief, trust and loyalty in a greater plan. Having hope and faith.
And so be it...Amen means “so be it”. Every time you say “amen” at the end of your prayers you are saying “so be it”. Another way I like to end my prayers is with the words "and so it is". Amen is truth. Amen is a solemn affirmation. When we say, “Amen” we are saying, "Yes before God I agree with that; I believe that to be true; I want that to be so". When you end your prayer with amen, mean what you say because you are asking God to let things be done that you have prayed for.
I'm going to start praying the Serenity Prayer as part of my daily prayer and meditation time. It embodies a lot of practices that I believe to be important. Peace, courage, stillness, awareness, presence, faith...Serenity, Hope, Faith.
I hope this served you too!
Serenity...the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.
Hope...to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true. Hope is a feeling of optimism that something will change. Embedded in hope is faith.
Faith...belief, trust, and loyalty to a person or thing.
The word serenity for a lot of us brings to mind the serenity prayer. I decided to look up the serenity prayer and to examine it more closely and it's meaning to me.
The Serenity Prayer is one of the most widely known prayers. It was written and published by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951.
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. Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the 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;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Be calm...Grant me peace and calm to accept the things I cannot change. To be grateful, to let go and to surrender.
Be courageous...The courage to change the things I can. Living with courage, being brave versus living with fear and being fearful. Being brave enough to be me, to be vulnerable, to step into the arena of life and dare to be great. Having hope and faith.
Be still...Wisdom to know the difference. How do we know the difference? By being still. By praying and asking and then being still to hear the answer. By paying attention to the signs. By listening to your intuition. So often we seek, but we do not stop to be still or to pay attention.
Be present...Living one day at a time. Being present with the here and now. Not ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Enjoying one moment at a time. Cherishing the present, so as to not miss out on life. Being mindful of today and of this moment with hope and faith.
Be aware...Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. Seeing the hardships and the challenges as learning and growing opportunities. Opportunities to explore who I am, to see my shadow and to determine what I desire to embody. Having hope and faith.
Be faith...Having belief, trust and loyalty in a greater plan. Having hope and faith.
And so be it...Amen means “so be it”. Every time you say “amen” at the end of your prayers you are saying “so be it”. Another way I like to end my prayers is with the words "and so it is". Amen is truth. Amen is a solemn affirmation. When we say, “Amen” we are saying, "Yes before God I agree with that; I believe that to be true; I want that to be so". When you end your prayer with amen, mean what you say because you are asking God to let things be done that you have prayed for.
I'm going to start praying the Serenity Prayer as part of my daily prayer and meditation time. It embodies a lot of practices that I believe to be important. Peace, courage, stillness, awareness, presence, faith...Serenity, Hope, Faith.
I hope this served you too!
RSS Feed
