For convenience she tells the reader she will refer to the recipient of prayers as “God.”

In order to keep the reader from getting distracted from her lessons about prayer, Lamott indicates it does not matter to whom or to what a person chooses to pray. She indicates that prayer is a word or words of truth spoken to a greater force that is willing to deal with humans even though they may not yet have their lives completely together. Lamott begins the book by giving her own definition of prayer. In the book, which is not only a memoir of Lamott’s spiritual life but is also a guide to teach others the benefits of prayer, Lamott discusses how simple and heartfelt prayer can be. Lamott relates the story of her own damaging childhood in which she and her siblings were encouraged not to pray. In the scope of simple prayers, Lamott believes that seeking help, giving thanks, and expressing awe are the basic three purposes of prayer. In fact, she encourages the reader to not even concern himself too much with the force to which he prays. Lamott tells her readers that prayer should be kept simple. Three basic themes in prayer - “help,” “thanks,” and “wow” - are discussed by Anne Lamott in her nonfiction essay collection and spiritual guidebook Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Insightful and honest as only Anne Lamott can be, Help, Thanks, Wow is the everyday faith book that new Lamott readers will love and longtime Lamott fans will treasure.NOTE: This study guide is based on the Kindle version of Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, published November 13, 2012. In Help, Thanks, Wow, Lamott recounts how she came to these insights, explains what they mean to her and how they have helped, and explores how others have embraced these same ideas. It is these three prayers – asking for assistance from a higher power, appreciating what we have that is good, and feeling awe at the world around us – that can get us through the day and can show us the way forward. And in her new book, Help, Thanks, Wow, she has coalesced everything she knows about prayer to these fundamentals. Readers of all ages have followed and cherished Anne Lamott’s funny and perceptive writing about her own faith through decades of trial and error.

A New York Times bestseller from the author of Dusk, Night Dawn, Hallelujah Anyway, Bird by Bird, and Almost Everything.Īuthor Anne Lamott writes about the three simple prayers essential to coming through tough times, difficult days and the hardships of daily life.

Anne lamott thanks help wow