--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Prayer is taking a chance that against…" description: "\"“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.”\" — A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png" --- # Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past… ![“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.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png) > ““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.”” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prayer is an act of faith that we are worthy despite imperfections, trusting love and purpose. **In simple terms:** Prayer trusts love despite flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace faith, not perfection. Themes faith trust self‑acceptance Mood hopeful reassuring Type inspirational spiritual When to use this quote - daily meditation - times of crisis - making big decisions Key Concepts spirituality vulnerability Questions to Reflect On - Do I need to be perfect to be loved? - How does faith change my self‑worth? A Different Perspective faith may feel risky when doubts dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Taking a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-a-chance/) ## Related quotes > [Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union, even if we are bitter or insane or broken. (In fact, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/prayer-is-talking-to-something-or-anything-with-which-we-seek-union/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“My past was and is who I am. What I am. You can’t just forget the very thing that molded you and gave you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-grey/my-past-was-and-is-who-i-am-what-i-am-you-can-t-just-forget-the-very/) Autumn Grey > [It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-all-part-of-taking-a-chance-and-expanding-man-s-horizons-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I think it's a dying thing these days, taking a chance. People don't always do it because they have comfort. And, you know, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johny-hendricks/i-think-it-s-a-dying-thing-these-days-taking-a-chance-people-don-t/) [Johny Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johny-hendricks/) > [If we choose to walk into a forest where a tiger lives, we are taking a chance. If we swim in a river where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-we-choose-to-walk-into-a-forest-where-a-tiger-lives-we-are-taking/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Ultimately, at the end of the day, taking a chance on 'Power' is taking a chance on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-a-kemp/ultimately-at-the-end-of-the-day-taking-a-chance-on-power-is-taking-a/) [Courtney A. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-a-kemp/) > [As soon as I was obedient to just taking a chance on God, all of these things that you're seeing - 'Black Panther' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-wright/as-soon-as-i-was-obedient-to-just-taking-a-chance-on-god-all-of-these/) [Letitia Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-wright/) > [“It’s about finding your own twisted perfection, letting yourself fall too far and taking a chance. If you’ve done all that. You have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/it-s-about-finding-your-own-twisted-perfection-letting-yourself-fall/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [But you can't get to the place you most want to be without taking a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/but-you-can-t-get-to-the-place-you-most-want-to-be-without-taking-a/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [“What I wanted was to let her know there's no right way to do things, no certain path you can take when you meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steph-campbell/what-i-wanted-was-to-let-her-know-there-s-no-right-way-to-do-things/) [Steph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steph-campbell/) > [“No successful business was ever made without someone taking a chance, no successful person got to where they are without taking risks, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/no-successful-business-was-ever-made-without-someone-taking-a-chance/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“A life without risk is one where I tell myself I'm not worthy of taking a chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-milan/a-life-without-risk-is-one-where-i-tell-myself-i-m-not-worthy-of/) [Courtney Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-milan/) > [“...isn't it worth taking a chance? I never thought so in the past, but i can honestly say now that i'd rather have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-raye/isn-t-it-worth-taking-a-chance-i-never-thought-so-in-the-past-but-i/) [Kimberly Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-raye/) > [You are right; taking a chance can be frightening. You may fail or worse yet, get hurt (physically or emotionally), however, something drove you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-m-mckinnon/you-are-right-taking-a-chance-can-be-frightening-you-may-fail-or/) [Kristi M McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-m-mckinnon/) > [“They have to take a chance, everything they do is taking a chance, but they feel so much safer when they take it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/they-have-to-take-a-chance-everything-they-do-is-taking-a-chance-but/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Chosen quotes > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) God > [I would have let you shoot me without further ado! But it is not possible to hang the German Reichsmarschall! I cannot permit this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/i-would-have-let-you-shoot-me-without-further-ado-but-it-is-not/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [People have a whole lot more choices than they've had in the past, and I have only earned the right to be considered -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/people-have-a-whole-lot-more-choices-than-they-ve-had-in-the-past-and/) [Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/) > [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/) [Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/) > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [It seems that the whole world is beginning to decay, and that its putrefaction has chosen to spread outward from here, from the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/it-seems-that-the-whole-world-is-beginning-to-decay-and-that-its/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-mazzini/love-your-country-your-country-is-the-land-where-your-parents-sleep/) [Giuseppe Mazzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-mazzini/) > [You'd chosen to be an upright biped on the surface of a small planet of a minor sun on the edge of a minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-d-chosen-to-be-an-upright-biped-on-the-surface-of-a-small-planet/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-republicans-have-chosen-to-neglect-young-americans-who-need/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [When adults come together to form an intimate relationship, each person releases into it unresolved issues from their trans-generational pool of unconscious fantasies. Partners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-raphael-leff/when-adults-come-together-to-form-an-intimate-relationship-each/) [Joan Raphael-Leff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-raphael-leff/) > [Here's my advice to you: don't marry until you can tell yourself that you've done all you could, and until you've stopped loving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/here-s-my-advice-to-you-don-t-marry-until-you-can-tell-yourself-that/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I am responsible. Yes, I have chosen to be single.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadya-suleman/i-am-responsible-yes-i-have-chosen-to-be-single/) [Nadya Suleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadya-suleman/) Browse all 1,955 Chosen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-all-odds-and-past-history-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chosen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-all-odds-and-past-history-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/anne-lamott-188_chosen_prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-a_212666.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Lamott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Prayer is taking a chance that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-all-odds-and-past-history-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/prayer-is-taking-a-chance-that-against-all-odds-and-past-history-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```