Article May 5, 2003 Issue

God answers 'prayers from the heart'

By Noel Fischer

I had a humbling lesson to learn . Every year, I have the privilege of teaching a class on prayer. However, in the past whenever I got to one section in the curriculum, I would skim over the part about the prayer of petition—the prayer of just asking God for something. I was more interested in talking about other ways to pray.

On the Saturday before I was set to teach this class one year, I went down to my office to work for a few hours. When I left our house, my wife was out running an errand, so I didn't have the opportunity to tell her where I was going.

It was very hot, in the mid-90s, so after I finished my work, I decided to stay in the air conditioning by walking through the lobby of the very large building where my office is located. I knew I could get to my car by exiting out the far side of the building.