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Anne Lamott Quotes about Prayer

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Again and again I tell God I need help, and God says, 'Well, isn't that fabulous? Because I need help too. So you go get that old woman over there some water, and I'll figure out what we're going to do about your stuff.

Again and again I tell God I need help, and God says, 'Well, isn't that fabulous? Because I need help too. So you go get that old woman over there some water, and I'll figure out what we're going to do about your stuff.

God, Prayer, Water

Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p.108, Anchor

It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.

Prayer, Honesty, Kids

Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p.92, Anchor

Here are the two best prayers I know: 'Help me, help me, help me' and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Prayer, Two, Helping

Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p.75, Anchor

Prayer means that, in some unique way, we believe we're invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.

Prayer, Believe, Mean

Anne Lamott (2012). “Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers”, p.7, Penguin

Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors.

Prayer, Car, Church

Anne Lamott (2006). “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”, p.37, Penguin

Help" is a prayer that is always answered. It doesn't matter how you pray--with your head bowed in silence, or crying out in grief, or dancing. Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors. Years ago I wrote an essay that began, "Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.

Prayer, Grief, Believe

Anne Lamott (2006). “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”, p.37, Penguin

What’s the difference between you and God? God never thinks he’s you.

Prayer, Thinking, Light

"Help, Thanks, Wow". Book by Anne Lamott, June 20, 2013.

I do not know much about God and prayer, but I have come to believe over the last twenty-five years, that there's something to be said about keeping prayer simple. Help, Thanks, Wow.

Prayer, Believe, Simple

"Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers". Book by Anne Lamott, November 13, 2012.

A nun I know once told me she kept begging God to take her character defects away from her. After years of this prayer, God finally got back to her: I'm not going to take anything away from you, you have to give it to Me.

Prayer, Character, Years

Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union, even if we are bitter or insane or broken. (In fact, these are probably the best possible conditions under which to pray.) Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up.

Prayer, Past, Odds

Anne Lamott (2013). “Help, Thanks, Wow”, p.8, Hachette UK

Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.

Prayer, Hate, Real

Anne Lamott (2013). “Help, Thanks, Wow”, p.7, Hachette UK

The reason 'help' is such a great prayer is that God is the gift of desperation. When you're in despair, you're teachable.

Prayer, Despair, Helping

'Help' is a prayer that is always answered.

Prayer, Helping, Answered Prayers

Anne Lamott (2006). “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”, p.37, Penguin

I've seen prayers answered. But often, in my experiences, if you get what you pray for, you've really shortchanged yourself.

Prayer, Praying, Ifs

Anything you say from your heart to God is a prayer. But "why" is rarely a useful question. When Job keeps asking God why he has had such loss and suffering, God says, "You wouldn't understand." I always want to know why, and I almost never have a good answer.

Jobs, Prayer, Heart

"Interview with Anne Lamott, Author of Help, Thanks, Wow". Interview with Jana Llewellyn, www.friendsjournal.org. January 30, 2013.

Anything you say from your heart to God is a prayer.

Prayer, Heart

"Interview with Anne Lamott, Author of Help, Thanks, Wow". Interview with Jana Llewellyn, www.friendsjournal.org. January 30, 2013.

Here are the two best prayers I know: 'Help me, help me, help me,' and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.' A woman I know says, for her morning prayer, 'Whatever,' and then for the evening, 'Oh, well,' but has conceded that these prayers are more palatable for people without children.

Morning, Prayer, Children

Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p.75, Anchor

Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.

Prayer, Wow, Essentials

Anne Lamott (2014). “Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace”, p.1, Penguin

Quiet, deep breath after any prayer is another form of Amen.

Prayer, Quiet, Form

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