United Prayers Across America
A National Prayer Project to Awaken the Sleeping Giant

Conference Call #20

Prayer Works!

John Oldham

May 1, 2006

I am honored to be a part of Philip's prayer condition to Awaken the Sleeping Giant of America. I have known Philip for over 30 years, and the energy of this prayer condition has brought us back together. Philip is a man of great spiritual integrity!

I have been involved with the work of Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God, since 1999. I would like to offer a quote from Walsch's book, Friendship with God: A reminder of Oneness (p 373):

There is only one message that can change the course of human history forever, end torture, and bring you back to God. That message is: We Are One. You will not end the torture of yourselves so long as you imagine yourselves to be merely torturing another. You will only end the torture when you are clear that you are, in fact, torturing yourself. This you can only see when you understand completely that is it impossible to do anything against the will of another. Only in that moment of clarity can you glimpse what you would have thought to be an impossible truth: You are doing all of this to yourselves.

And from p 374:

Teach that what you do for another, you do for your Self, and what you fail to do for another, you fail to do for your Self. Do unto others as you would have it done unto you, because it is being done unto you.

I have been the Missouri State Coordinator for Humanity's Team since 2004. Humanity's Team was established by those of us affected by Conversations with God to set up study groups around the world to get out the message of the New Spirituality, whether it is associated with Conversations with God, The Power of Now, A Course in Miracles, or the thoughts of Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, or others with similar messages.

This past January, I was sharing with the Midwest Regional Coordinator, one of those dear friends with whom I can share my deepest thoughts and feelings. I told her that I wanted to do something to address the issues that are so pressing in the world. Since September 11, 2001, we have entered a time when anything seems possible, and when we turn on the news in the morning, we don't know what to expect.

Since then, we have witnessed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a great Tsunami that killed over 300,000 people in one day. We have seen Hurricane Katrina kill over a thousand people and obliterate most of a major American city, clearly demonstrating the inability of our nation to respond to major disasters, whether caused by nature or terrorist attacks.

We are in tornado season here in the Midwest, and in the last few years, such activity has definitely increased. We never know when a tornado will strike our area. In recent weeks, a close friend’s apartment building was destroyed by a tornado, and he is fortunate to be alive. We are now facing the development of nuclear weapons capacity by Iran and North Korea. Therefore, my question to my Regional Director was, "What can we do to make a difference?"

I came up with my own answer. I suggested that Humanity’s Team start a daily meditation. She agreed and brought it up on the national conference call that night. Our leadership decided to initiate the Oneness Minute, where we meditate each day at 11:11 AM to acknowledge our oneness with everyone and everything. I believe that if we choose to live our lives from this loving energy, our external reality will begin to change; still, a part of me wanted to more directly address the events that are currently happening in our world.

In March, I was sharing about the Oneness Minute with another old friend, and he informed me that Philip Burley was leading a daily meditation for America. This was an answer for what my heart was looking to do, so I have been part of the Awaken the Sleeping Giant program since that time.

It is truly amazing how God works in our lives when we set intentions with the right heart. I know that I have been guided here by unseen forces! I know, also, that when people of loving intent come together and focus on a problem, that problem begins to be resolved. I have witnessed this in my prayer chains on the internet. I listen to a nationwide talk show, The Art Bell Show, where the power of millions of people focusing on affecting an outcome has been clearly demonstrated. This stuff works! I thank each and every one of you for being here, because I don't believe that you have just responded to a website forum. I believe that each one of you would have created something like this to change the world at this time, and this reminds me of my favorite quote by Mahatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see." That's how we change the world.

I know that there are millions of people in America who long to make a difference. Awaken the Sleeping Giant is empowering us to make that difference! Philip has been diligent in laying out the format, and I believe that it's worthwhile to periodically go back and review the information on the website. For example, "To gain results in prayer, it is important to:

Be consistent

1. Surrender your prayer to God
2. Always enter prayer with a positive attitude
3. Look for signs as a result of your prayer

As you commit yourself to this prayer condition, you will find that you are not the same person you were when you started."

In closing, I ask each of you to please be aware of people who would like to join our effort. There is no need to proselytize. There are people who are ready and hungering to help make this nation and world the place we know it can be.

Thank you.

John Oldham has been the Missouri State Coordinator for Humanity's Team for the last two years. He leads a weekly study group focusing on the writings of Neale Donald Walsch in his series, Conversations with God. The study group examines all ideas that are being brought forth as the New Spirituality, whether they come from Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle or others with similar ideas. The focus of Conversations with God is the message, "My way is not a better way; it’s just another way, and we are all One."

Though John was raised as a fundamental Christian in the Church of Christ, his life has been one of finding out which religion is right for him by participating in various spiritual and religious organizations during his college years and beyond. Like all of us, he has had difficulties and blessings in life, and this has led him on the path of seeking answers to personal as well as universal social and spiritual questions.

After John attended a spirit-filled non-denominational church for seven years, he encountered Conversations with God, which has brought everything full circle for him. As a result, he says, "Truly no path is better than another. They are all part of each other and are stepping stones to higher understanding of Love and God." John acknowledges that there is power when people of common intentions join together and focus their prayers; that we can change our future by consciously creating, with the help of God and our spiritual guides, the world we desire to see.