--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God, give us the grace to accept with…" description: "\"God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.\" — Reinhold Niebuhr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accept_god-give-us-the-grace-to-accept-with-ser_2026893.png" --- # God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things… ![“God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.” quote by Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accept_god-give-us-the-grace-to-accept-with-ser_2026893.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accept_god-give-us-the-grace-to-accept-with-ser_2026893.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accept_god-give-us-the-grace-to-accept-with-ser_2026893.png) > “God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.” [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Asking for calm acceptance of unchangeable circumstances **In simple terms:** Accept what cannot be changed calmly Key Takeaway Cultivate serenity in adversity Themes acceptance serenity faith Mood reflective calm Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - personal loss - health crisis - relationship conflict - career setback Key Concepts spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - What can you control in this situation? - How does serenity affect your response? A Different Perspective Acceptance may hinder proactive change when needed ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) ## Related quotes > [God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-give-me-grace-to-accept-with-serenity-the-things-that-cannot-be/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-give-us-grace-to-accept-with-serenity-the-things-that-cannot-be-3/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that can be changed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-give-us-grace-to-accept-with-serenity-the-things-that-cannot-be-2/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-give-us-grace-to-accept-with-serenity-the-things-that-cannot-be/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [For relationships, too, must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/for-relationships-too-must-be-like-islands-one-must-accept-them-for/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-the-strength-to-change-the-things-i-can-the-grace-to-accept/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-grant-me-the-serenity-to-accept-the-things-i-cannot-change/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“Grace, you can accept my secrets, my horrors and my friendship but not a simple dress?" Robert asked, hearing my thoughts. - Falling From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-naeole/grace-you-can-accept-my-secrets-my-horrors-and-my-friendship-but-not/) [S.L. Naeole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-naeole/) > [If God were willing to sell His grace, we would accept it more quickly and gladly than when He offers it for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-god-were-willing-to-sell-his-grace-we-would-accept-it-more-quickly/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [God's grace is the oil that fills the lamp of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/god-s-grace-is-the-oil-that-fills-the-lamp-of-love/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [It has been great journey from where I have started to where I am today. I am really blessed with God's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhanush/it-has-been-great-journey-from-where-i-have-started-to-where-i-am/) [Dhanush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhanush/) > [No matter how good you are, you still need grace to get out of the material world. You can be a yogi or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/no-matter-how-good-you-are-you-still-need-grace-to-get-out-of-the/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [“The mercy of God's grace guides me in the right path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-mercy-of-god-s-grace-guides-me-in-the-right-path/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [frustration, complication and misery are available in abundance, but so is God's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/frustration-complication-and-misery-are-available-in-abundance-but-so/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“In this life, only one thing is needful ; God's grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-this-life-only-one-thing-is-needful-god-s-grace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Reinhold Niebuhr > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attributed to a defect in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-essence-of-man-is-his-freedom-sin-is-committed-in-that-freedom/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/human-beings-are-endowed-by-nature-with-both-selfish-and-unselfish/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-historic-situations-in-which-refusal-to-defend-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-grant-me-the-serenity-to-accept-the-things-i-cannot-change/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Freedom is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary for the individual, because the individual, no matter how good the society is, every individual has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/freedom-is-necessary-for-two-reasons-it-s-necessary-for-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The pretensions of final truth are always partlyan effort to obscure a darkly felt consciousness of the limits of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-pretensions-of-final-truth-are-always-partlyan-effort-to-obscure/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/all-social-cooperation-on-a-larger-scale-than-the-most-intimate/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Man is always worse than most people suspect, but also generally better than most people dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-is-always-worse-than-most-people-suspect-but-also-generally/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [When a church reaches up beyond its group and tries to enforce its standards upon a society that doesn't accept these standards, and perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/when-a-church-reaches-up-beyond-its-group-and-tries-to-enforce-its/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [...(I)ndividual selfhood is expressed in the self's capacity for self-transcendence and not in its rational capacity for conceptual and analytic procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/i-ndividual-selfhood-is-expressed-in-the-self-s-capacity-for-self/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-whole-art-of-politics-consists-in-directing-rationally-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/religion-is-so-frequently-a-source-of-confusion-in-political-life-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) [Explore all 200 Reinhold Niebuhr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## More Accept quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [The fans can accept a poor performance, but they won't take it when you choose not to put in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/the-fans-can-accept-a-poor-performance-but-they-won-t-take-it-when/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [“See, I know what they think about me. That I’m some project. And, yeah, I’ll accept their help. But I’m gonna pay my way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-eagar/see-i-know-what-they-think-about-me-that-i-m-some-project-and-yeah-i/) [Kirsty Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-eagar/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Things don't go on forever, and the quicker you accept that change is inevitable, the happier you're gonna be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-anastasio/things-don-t-go-on-forever-and-the-quicker-you-accept-that-change-is/) [Trey Anastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-anastasio/) > [It's very important to me that people accept me as a transgendered female. But it's ridiculous to a lot of people and I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-arquette/it-s-very-important-to-me-that-people-accept-me-as-a-transgendered/) [Alexis Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-arquette/) > [I've always taken care of myself, and I'm a non-conformist, so I don't accept the negativity that comes with birthdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-van-dam/i-ve-always-taken-care-of-myself-and-i-m-a-non-conformist-so-i-don-t/) [Rob Van Dam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-van-dam/) > [Not harder than it should be, no. We're about the business, we're about the work. It's all about the work, always. We have fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fuqua/not-harder-than-it-should-be-no-we-re-about-the-business-we-re-about/) [Antoine Fuqua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-fuqua/) > [I wish I could just accept that I'm not that good and not be shy about the fact that I'm not that professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-gainsbourg/i-wish-i-could-just-accept-that-i-m-not-that-good-and-not-be-shy/) [Charlotte Gainsbourg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-gainsbourg/) > [I cannot accept being silent in the face of injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-crockett/i-cannot-accept-being-silent-in-the-face-of-injustice/) [Jasmine Crockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-crockett/) > [“I hope there is less stigma and judgment against working moms and childless career women. 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