09/02/2026
Ruth Bell Graham was not a woman who prayed casually. She was married to Billy Graham. She raised five children, two of whom wandered far from faith. She knew what it was to pray with tears, to pray with desperation, to pray the same prayer so many times the words wore grooves in her heart.
And yet one night, awake and worried about one of her prodigals, she realized something had been missing from her prayers all along.
Thanksgiving.
Not thanksgiving for the situation. Not gratitude for the pain. But thanksgiving for who God is. His character. His faithfulness. His sovereignty. His love that does not quit even when the person being loved has walked away from everything they were taught.
She put her Bible down and simply worshipped. And something shifted.
I think most of us who pray for our adult children know what it feels like to pray from a place of fear. Our prayers become a list of everything we need God to fix. And there is nothing wrong with bringing those requests to Him. He invites that.
But Ruth discovered something that changed the way she prayed for the rest of her life: when you begin with who God is instead of what you need Him to do, everything changes. Your perspective shifts. Your anxiety loosens. Your faith finds something solid to stand on that is bigger than the situation in front of you.
Worship covers more territory than any request ever could. Because worship reminds you that the God you are talking to is bigger than the problem you are bringing Him.
Try it today. Before you ask Him for anything, thank Him for who He is. Then watch what happens inside you.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6
What would change in your prayer life if you started every prayer for your adult child with thanksgiving for who God is before asking Him for what you need?
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