Joel gave several beautiful classes on world work and topics related to world work. Since Joel’s recordings are still under copy protection, we have obtained permission to post these recordings for your online or telephone listening. Each recording will be available for listening at any time for one month after it is posted. There is a list of previously posted recordings at the bottom of this page.
To hear the recording by telephone, call
1-641-715-3900, and enter the extension number 828754, followed by the pound sign (#). After you enter the extension number, the introduction to the recording will begin, followed by the recording itself. The telephone number and the extension number will always be the same, even as we change the recording each month. Depending on your telephone calling plan, the call may or may not incur a charge, so it is a good idea to check whether your plan covers calls to the 641 area code. Even if you usually participate in the tape group by computer, the telephone option is convenient when you would like to listen to the recording but for some reason do not have access to your computer.
You can listen to this recording from the Sanctuary page. To listen by telephone, call 1-641-715-3900 and enter 828754#.
This month’s recording, 341A, “Understanding God and Prayer,” is from the 1960 Holland Open Class. It was not used as source material for any book.
Preview of the Class
We know that what we might call “formal” world work entails the three daily meditations, but we can also look at our daily lives to see whether we are living in alignment with the world we hope to reveal through our world work. Are we doing our part to prepare for that transition in consciousness? In this recording, Joel provides some ideas to consider.
Joel begins the class by saying that even in what we like to consider an enlightened age, we have not yet agreed that there is a single, universal God. If we could agree on that, we would be far along on the path to world peace. We would recognize that since we are all manifestations of the one God, we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of religion or race, and bias, prejudice, and bigotry would break down. So acknowledging one universal God is the first step toward solving world problems.
There is a second step, too, and that is making contact with God, which can be done only through prayer. Yet, when it comes to prayer, most people have never left paganism. They still pray as if a god could destroy some of us and leave others; they pray for homes, automobiles, safety, and security. They pray selfishly for “me,” or “my family,” or “my nation.” Such prayer reveals an ignorance of the nature of God, and it has never brought the fruitage of peace on earth, goodwill toward men, or abundance for all.
To bring the grace of God into our experience, individually or collectively, we must learn how to pray aright, and that requires a higher concept of God, an awareness of the God that really is. Joel explains what he means by “a higher concept of God” and uses the Bible to show how the nature of prayer will change as our concept of God changes.
He says, “This isn’t the first time in history that a civilization stood on the brink. Each time, civilizations have been threatened or wiped out. But always, a remnant has come from the destruction and formed the start of a new, improved civilization.” Looking at the troubling events of his day, he said, “It looks very much as if an infinite power has hit up against an irresistible barrier. There isn’t a human solution; there just isn’t! . . But there is a spiritual solution, and there always has been. The question is, will mankind avail itself of that spiritual influence and receive a spiritual solution?”
Throughout all ages, those who found the kingdom of God revealed that the kingdom of God is within you. But when you acknowledge this, you must acknowledge it as a universal truth, true not only of yourself, but of every other individual. When we acknowledge the universal nature of God and our universal brotherhood, and when we pray accordingly, peace and abundance become available through the spirit of love. It all comes down to “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The recording will be available for listening through May 31, 2026.
April 1-30, 2026
Recording 55B: 1953 Second New York Practitioner Class
“Isaiah’s Nature and Fulfillment of Christ”
March 1-31, 2026
Recording 506A: 1962 Cape Town Class
“Past and Present Civilizations”
February 1-28, 2026
Recording 8804: 1956 Holland Closed Class
“The Word Made Flesh”
January 1-31, 2026
Recording 507B: 1962-63 Princess Kaiulani Open Class
“1963 New Year’s Message”
To view recordings posted in 2025, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2024, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2023, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2022, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2021, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2020, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2019, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2018, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2017, click/tap here.
To view recordings posted in 2016, click/tap here.