Philippians 4:6 is often quoted as encouragement to surrender worry and trust in God. But when interpreted through Neville Goddard’s teachings—where the Bible is read symbolically as a guide to consciousness—it reveals a message about the power of imagination, belief, and inner alignment.
“Have no cares; but in everything by prayer and by asking with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
— Philippians 4:6 (BBE)
This verse outlines a clear process for assumption, pointing to the law by which our inner world shapes our outer experience. Let’s explore each part in that light.
“Have no cares”
To have no cares means to be free from anxiety and fear. Neville taught that worry is simply imagination misused. When we dwell on what we don’t want, we unintentionally energise and prolong that state.
By releasing worry, we stop feeding the unwanted and turn our focus to what we do desire. It is a shift from reacting to appearances to choosing a new internal reality. This is not passivity—it is intentional detachment from the problem so that imagination can work unhindered.
“But in everything by prayer and by asking”
In Neville’s teachings, prayer is not begging—it is the act of feeling the wish fulfilled. Prayer is imagining from the end, occupying the emotional and mental state that would be true if your desire were already realised.
“To ask,” then, is not to request something from outside yourself, but to select a new state of being from within. Asking is inward movement, a quiet assumption that your desire already exists.
“With thanksgiving”
Thanksgiving is essential in Neville’s method because it affirms that the desired outcome is already yours. Gratitude is evidence of belief. It shows that you trust the unseen reality and accept it as true now (as we first discovered through the stories of Abraham).
When you feel thankful before the thing appears in your external world, you are impressing your subconscious with the certainty that it already is—and the subconscious, which accepts feeling as fact, will reflect it into form.
“Let your requests be made known to God”
God, as Neville taught, is your own wonderful human imagination. To “make your requests known to God” is to impress your subconscious with a clearly felt, imagined scene that implies your wish fulfilled.
This is not about verbal requests but vivid inner experience. You do not need to explain or convince—only to imagine and feel. The deeper consciousness knows what to do. You are not informing God; you are aligning with the creative power that brings all things into being.
Grace: The Power to Shift States
Grace, in this context, is not about earning or deserving—it is about allowing. It is the stream of ease that flows when you stop resisting and begin trusting in the power within.
Grace can also be understood as the inner release that enables you to move from one state of consciousness to another. It is forgiveness in its highest form: not moral pardon, but freedom from identification with past limitations.
When you accept a new state as true, grace meets you there. It is not the reward for your effort—it is the effortless response of the law to your alignment.
Praise: The Raised Assumption
Praise, throughout Scripture, appears before the victory—not after. It is the sound of confidence in what is not yet seen. In Neville’s language, praise is the exaltation of assumption—the celebration of your imagined reality. Judah is the figure that teaches the principle of praise in the law of Assumption.
To praise is to emotionally affirm the truth of your desire fulfilled. It lifts the state, intensifies belief, and brings you fully into its atmosphere. Praise focuses attention, sustains feeling, and declares: It is done.
When you praise your desired state, you are not waiting—you are dwelling in it. This helps bridge the inner and outer worlds, hastening manifestation.
Conclusion: A Pattern for Manifestation
Philippians 4:6, when interpreted symbolically, offers a powerful method for spiritual creation:
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Release worry—let go of resistance to your desire.
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Pray through imagination—occupy the state of the wish fulfilled.
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Ask by assuming—claim it within, as already true.
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Give thanks—feel the gratitude that confirms your faith.
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Make your desire known—not by speaking, but by vividly imagining.
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Allow grace—trust in the movement of consciousness.
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Praise your chosen reality—live in the joy of its certainty.
This is not about seeking help from outside, but awakening the divine power within. Imagination is the creative force. Grace is its flow. Praise is its seal.
Through imagination, thanksgiving, grace, and praise, you are not merely hoping—you are creating, and consciously choosing the life you wish to live.