Marilla wants Anne to have a firm moral grounding, which in those days meant being brought up as a good Christian. Marilla is determined that Anne will learn morally uplifting stories from the Bible that will provide her with a worldview appropriate for a respectable young lady.

She also wants Anne to say her prayers, as any self-respecting Christian would. But there's just one problem: Anne doesn't know how to pray; what's more, she's never prayed once in her whole life. Marilla is astonished to hear this and cannot possibly conceive how such an appalling situation has come to pass. It's not that Anne is some kind of die-hard atheist; it's simply that she's never had much in the way of religious instruction throughout her short life.

And besides, Anne has a particular reason for her lack of devotion to the Almighty. She says that Mrs. Thomas once told her that God gave her red hair on purpose, presumably as some kind of divine punishment. Anne clearly feels that her hair color, which has been the butt of so many cruel jokes, is some kind of curse sent down by the Almighty. That being so, it's not surprising that she should've been so reluctant to pray to him all these years.

What excuse does Anne give for not saying prayers?

Marilla is keen to ensure that Anne receives what was generally considered at the time to be appropriate moral instruction. Primarily, this meant encouraging children to pray an awful lot and read the Bible.

However, Marillia soon discovers that she has her work cut out with Anne. For one thing, the young lady has never said a prayer in her whole life and, what's more, doesn't know how to pray. But she's willing to learn, despite the fact that she's always rejected God because Mrs. Thomas once told her that the Almighty gave her red hair on purpose.

It's fair to say that Marilla has never come across anyone like this before, and she immediately sets out to instruct Anne in the ways of prayer. Instead of getting Anne to follow a set rubric, she wisely allows her to make up a prayer of her own. Anne opts for a saccharine little number thanking God for Bonny the geranium and the White Way of Delight, which is her name for the main road of Avonlea. Marilla still has an awfully long way to go to turn Anne into a devout, God-fearing child, but at least she's made a start, and that's progress of a sort.