“I gave word in the past of the things which took place; they went out of my mouth, and I made them clear: suddenly they came about.
The word has come to your ears, see it all; and will you not give witness to it? From now I will give word of new things to you, even secret things of which you had no knowledge.
They have come into being only now, and not in the past; before this day you had no knowledge of them; for fear you might say, See, I had knowledge of them.
Truly, you had no word of them, no knowledge of them, your ears were not open to them in the past; for I saw that your behaviour was false, that you did not keep faith with me, and were named a sinner from the first.” — Isaiah 48:3, 6–8
Ask, Believe, Receive — The Hidden Cause
Jesus taught:
“Make a request, and it will be answered; let your search be for a thing, and you will get it; give a knock, and the door will be open.”
— Matthew 7:7
“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
“Up to now you have made no request to God in my name: make a request and you will get it, so that your joy may be full.”
— John 16:24
This law — ask, believe, receive — is the hidden heart of Isaiah 48. What Isaiah dramatises is the inner dialogue that makes this law operative within the self.
Isaiah as the Inner Prophet
Isaiah here is not an external figure but the prophet formed within you. His voice:
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Reminds you of past creations.
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Declares new possibilities.
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Convicts you when the ear remains closed.
He is the witness of your own imagination, the inner voice that interprets your states of consciousness.
Former Things Declared — The Receive
“I gave word in the past of the things which took place … suddenly they came about.” (Isa. 48:3)
The “sudden” fulfilment reflects 'living in the end', the receiving stage: what was asked inwardly has clothed itself in fact. This is memory and manifestation at once. Your past assumptions, declared in imagination, are now reality.
Isaiah as inner prophet reminds you: you have always been receiving, whether consciously or not.
New Things Declared — The Ask
“From now I will give word of new things … even secret things of which you had no knowledge. They have come into being only now, and not in the past.” (Isa. 48:6–7)
This is the asking stage: a fresh desire, a hidden assumption, spoken in the mind, created in the present. Neville Goddard teaches that desire itself is the prophecy of its fulfilment.
The “new things” are created in this moment, not from the past. They call the self to engage with imagination consciously.
Witnessing — Imagining the Word
“Will you not give witness to it?” (Isa. 48:6)
Witnessing is the act of imagining the declared word as real. It is not passive observation, but active inner seeing:
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The prophet has declared new things.
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You must witness: hold them in imagination, take them as already fulfilled.
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This bridges ask and receive: imagining is believing in action.
Faith is therefore not abstract; it is the mind actively participating in what Isaiah has declared. Witnessing is the practical, imaginative expression of belief.
The Closed Ear — The Struggle to Believe
“Your ears were not open to them in the past … your behaviour was false.” (Isa. 48:8)
The closed ear represents resistance: the self clinging to appearances, treacherous to imagination. Without opening the ear — truly believing and witnessing — the word remains unmanifested.
Jesus connects this to faith: “Have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it.” (Mark 11:24)
Belief, then, is the condition that allows the imagined word to become reality.
The Dialogue of Consciousness
Isaiah 48 unfolds the inner rhythm of consciousness:
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Ask — new desires arise; the prophet declares them within.
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Believe / Witness — imagination sees them as true; the ear opens.
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Receive — what is imagined and believed manifests; the “suddenly” occurs.
The inner prophet guides this dialogue, showing you the law in operation.
Conclusion
Isaiah 48:3, 6–8 is a dramatization of Jesus’ teaching on ask, believe, receive:
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Ask — the new things declared in imagination.
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Believe — witness them in the mind’s eye; open the inner ear.
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Receive — the declared word externalises; the past and new become reality.
To hear Isaiah is to hear your own imagination, calling you to participate consciously in the eternal rhythm: “I have declared … I will declare … and it shall come to pass.”