Acceptance Prayer
Acceptance is the answer
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
From Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), page 417. Quoted with attribution. © A.A. World Services, Inc.
From the Recovery Prayers on Colors in Recoveryhttps://colorsinrecovery.com/prayers/acceptance-prayer/© 2026 Colors in Recovery / JC M. All rights reserved. The prayer’s wording belongs to its source above.
“God” can mean whatever higher power you are working with. Take your time. There is no right way to say it.
If this stirs up more than you can sit with, see the crisis and recovery resources, or Urge Help if an urge is close.