But,” you ask, “what if the manifestation just doesn’t happen?” That’s not the point. The point is, have you come to see that faith is always consummated in our word of faith? All of life is catching on to the mind of God through our minds in a particular situation and replacing our negative thinking, then boiling it down to a clear specific objective, then stating that objective in its direct practical form by our word of faith, and then believing that it is already in existence, because there is no time factor past, present or future in God’s “fourth dimension.” So we also, as He, call the things that be not as though they are.
Having done that by our word of faith, we never repeat it again in the form of a request; we don’t ask, we thank. We may continue repeating our “thank you” in our inner recognition of what is coming, for our faith has within it a “sense” of the thing anticipated. We already “see” in faith as well as speak that word of faith.
Then never, of all things, do we ask, “Why hasn’t it happened?” We surely give ourselves totally away if, when the answer has not yet come or cannot ever come (since the time for the answer has passed with no answer), we then say, “He hasn’t done what I believed for. It hasn’t happened. Faith doesn’t work.” By that we have implied that the answer depended on our faith, and this has failed, or we have believed amiss, or something. But it was His faith expressed by us, and we were saying He has done it. Not we, but He. Therefore, if it is a done thing by the word of faith, we never say it hasn’t been done. Never, for our word of faith means that we have said it has happened in the Spirit. It has happened, and if we don’t see it happened, we still say it has happened. God will fulfill His own word. It was He who told us to say to that mountain, “Be gone!” and to believe that when we prayed we received. So it has happened. Hold on! It has happened even if we don’t see it except on the other side of the grave, for it was said of the men of faith in Hebrews, “These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them and embraced them.” But even if they did not receive the fulness, they did have a good slice of the cake en route! I believed God for a solution to a problem in our missionary work forty years ago. I expected the answer which did not come, and was tempted to say, “No answer. I must have been mistaken.” But just now the answer is appearing.