Ask, Believe, Receive: The Faith of Abraham and Jesus in Action

Ask, Believe, Receive: The Oldest Law in Scripture

The principle behind “ask, believe, receive” is not a new-age discovery. It’s as old as the scriptures themselves—a golden thread woven from the life of Abraham in Genesis to the words of Jesus in the Gospels. Though the language evolves, the inner law remains unchanged: your belief is the seed of your reality.

Abraham: The Original Example of Inner Agreement

In Genesis 15, the Lord appears to Abram in a vision and makes him a promise: though he has no heir and is advanced in years, he will become the father of a great people. Abram doesn’t question. He doesn’t resist. Instead:

“And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.”
(Genesis 15:6, BBE)

This simple but profound response is the heart of what later becomes Jesus’ teaching. Abram does not wait for the evidence before he believes—he believes, and then the evidence follows. Neville Goddard would call this assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled.

Faith, in this context, is not passive. It is an inner alignment with the unseen. Abram enters into agreement with the promise, and it is this agreement that brings the promise to life.

Jesus: The Fulfilment and Expression of the Same Law

Fast forward to the Gospels, and we find Jesus repeating the same principle—not in theory, but in practice. Those who receive healing, peace, and answers to prayer are those who first believe inwardly.

“Make your request, and it will be answered; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you.”
(Matthew 7:7, BBE)

“For this reason I say to you, Whatever you make a request for in prayer, have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it.”
(Mark 11:24, BBE)

“Then he put his hand on their eyes, saying, As your faith is, let it be done to you.”
(Matthew 9:29, BBE)

In every case, the power is not in the words spoken, but in the state of inner conviction. Belief is the bridge between desire and fulfilment.

Belief as Emotional Union: The Song of Songs

This “belief” is not mere mental agreement. The biblical idea of faith includes emotional absorption—the feeling of having already received. This is where the Song of Songs becomes deeply relevant.

Though often read as romantic poetry, The Song of Songs offers profound insight into what belief feels like on a spiritual level. It paints a picture of intimate union, of one who does not hope to be loved someday but knows they already are:

“I AM my beloved’s and my beloved is MINE.”
(Song of Songs 6:3 YLT)

“My loved one is MINE, and I AM his: he takes his food among the flowers.”
(Song of Songs 2:16 YLT)

These are not lines of longing—they are declarations of possession. They evoke the emotional certainty Neville Goddard spoke of when he said, “You must feel the wish fulfilled.”

To believe in the biblical sense is to enter into this kind of emotional marriage with your desire. Just as the beloved in the Song of Songs rests in the joy of union, so too must one who prays rest in the felt knowing that their desire is already theirs.

Faith Is Creation in Motion

Faith is not a virtue to be admired; it is creation in motion. Abraham’s righteousness was not in ritual, but in his belief. Jesus praised no man for outward piety—He praised faith, because faith is what creates.

The pattern is always the same:

• Ask – Identify your desire.

• Believe – Emotionally claim it. Feel it as already yours.

• Receive – Watch your inner conviction shape outer reality.

One Unified Message

From Genesis to the Gospels, and echoed poetically in the Song of Songs, the message is clear: your world is shaped not by what you say, but by what you accept as real within. Abraham believed—and received. The healed in the Gospels believed—and were made whole. The beloved in the Song of Songs claimed love—not as a future hope, but as a present fact.

“And all things, whatever you make a request for in prayer, having faith, you will get.”
(Matthew 21:22, BBE)

“I AM my beloved’s and my beloved is MINE.”
(Song of Songs 6:3 YLT)

Let this truth settle deeply: What you inwardly accept as true—what you feel as already yours—you outwardly express as reality.