“If more people prayed, we would interrupt the flow of history.”
Marianne Williamson
At some point during the long process of writing my prayer book, I realised that an entire book of just my own stories might give readers the impression that there’s something special about me and my results (there’s not), which would defeat the purpose of this project.
A Grass-Roots Prayer Revolution
My purpose in sharing these personal, and sometimes embarrassing, stories is to inspire a grass-roots prayer revolution. A lofty goal, I know. However, I firmly believe that if more of us prayed not only would our individual lives be happier but we’d truly change our shared experience on this planet. Dare I say: we could change the world!
Yet, how can we start a prayer revolution and change the world if readers (wrongly) believe my own results are somehow unique; interesting, perhaps, but not something that could apply to them?
I felt that was going to be a problem. So, when I realised that a book all about me was not necessarily going to be all that helpful, or interesting, I decided to pray for guidance. How predictable of me!
Starting a Prayer Group
The answer I received was to start a prayer group.
I’d actually already received that particular piece of guidance years earlier, which had prompted me to form the ambitious World Prayer Initiative: a group of dedicated volunteers directing focused prayer energy to the world’s most troubled areas. As much as that was a good idea, it didn’t take off. I dismissed it as a failure and moved on.
However, when I prayed for help with this book the answer was again unmistakable: start a prayer group.
So I dusted off my previous disappointment and decided to try again. Nothing lofty this time; just something super simple that any interested person felt they could do. And no far-off goals of world peace, either. This version would be all about the results people could see in their own lives.
The Prayer Experiment is Born
And so, in February 2015, The Prayer Experiment was born.
With the help of a friend, I got the word out to a small group of volunteers willing to test a few simple prayers and report back their results. I envisioned that each month we’d focus on a different topic – prosperity, health, love, success etc. – but in the end, people seemed to like the prosperity prayers (and results) best, so that’s what we focused on. The experiment lasted one year, minus a month off in December.
Testing Prayers that Transcend any Particular Faith or Belief System
As for the prayers we tested, I knew in my heart that it didn’t really matter. I know all types of prayer “work”. I don’t believe prayer has to look a certain way or conform to a certain format. Prayer, to me, is simply coming into alignment with the Divine. There are a gazillion ways to do that; it’s just a matter of personal preference and cultural tradition.
However, to keep things simple, we tested mainly affirmative-type prayers as they transcend any particular faith or belief system.
So, for example, the first month we tested the following prayer types, focusing on the topic of prosperity:
- Week 1: We tested a single word as a form of prayer mantra – “Prosperity”
- Week 2: We tested an “I am” affirmative prayer – “I am prosperous”
- Week 3: We tested the group version of the previous week’s prayer – “We are prosperous”
- Week 4: We tested a simple thanksgiving prayer – “Thank you!“
I asked the volunteers to focus on each week’s prayer for 10 minutes per day, repeating it either silently or aloud, and to let me know their results.
The Results
And the results were amazing!
The volunteers reported inner shifts as well as tangible manifestations of prosperity.
For example, the most common inner results reported were feelings of peace and relaxation. Stress subsided. People reported feeling joyful, grateful and energized by their daily participation. This is not surprising as the purpose of prayer is to get into alignment with Spirit, and the surest way to know you are in alignment is by the way you feel.
Once people were aligned, the manifestations started showing up. Here are some of the prosperous results the volunteers reported during the first couple of months:
- a spouse won money at a sporting event
- unexpected cheques/checks in the mail (this was the most frequently reported financial result!)
- expired Groupon accepted at full value – grocery bill reduced
- informed that credit card would make 1% on all purchases, not just some
- a business that was abandoned six years previously was restarted with two new clients, one client providing recurring work each week
- medical bill was decreased by $400
- unexpected money on consignment store card
- credit score and credit limit increased
- given free dessert and wine at a restaurant with no prompting
- a new job
- won $80 in drawing
- unexpected babysitting job for a week
- new clients
- received a discount card for medication
- won three door prizes
- more health insurance benefits than expected
- bought a packet of 6 frozen fish fillets, 7 were inside – twice!
- received extra work at an increased rate
- spouse won a prize at the bank, even after answering the prize question wrong.
- 25% discount on Starbucks sandwich
- had a dream about not having enough money, but reached into a pocket and found gold coins, which kept multiplying every time some was spent!
- husband’s name picked from a prize drawing
- sold house
- coupon for 60% off cat’s medicine bill
- got a medium sized soup for the price of a small soup
- unexpected money from a stock portfolio
- bought 3 envelopes for the price of 1
- made $475 at women’s conference when expected to make $200
- received some extreme generosity from family and co-workers
- charge card bill went from 4 figures to 3 figures
- got budget figured out
- got an assistant to help with social media
- two previous students returned
- found out able to work from home
- two job offers
- received delivery of essential oils that had not been ordered; the company said to keep them.
Lives Changed
Each month brought similar reports from the volunteers. I had only one person who wanted to focus on health instead of prosperity, and at the end of their month of testing “I am healthy” they reported a clean bill of health from their doctor, even though they didn’t share with me the health issue that was resolved.
After several months of participation, one regular volunteer reported that she’d paid down a significant amount of debt, was working on her book, and had a new job that provided a regular income but also time and space for her creative work.
One person managed to raise a significant amount of money to support her creative project.
And one volunteer received unexpected retrospective payment for work undertaken for free a year earlier!
See what I mean about a prayer revolution? Do you see how we could change our lives and the world with this stuff?
Well, stay tuned because up next is a kick-ass prayer experiment story that blew my mind.
Louise x
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