Assume The Wish Fulfilled And Dig Your Ditches

Anthony Hopkins – A Student of Neville?

Assuming the wish fulfilled, as Neville Goddard taught, means a complete transformation of the mind. We are also encouraged to metaphorically “dig our ditches.” A few weeks ago, while casually browsing my Instagram feed, a short video featuring the famous actor Anthony Hopkins appeared. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to watch it. In the video, Hopkins spoke about the power of belief and referenced an old biblical allegory from 2 Kings 3:16-19.

As Neville always reminded us, all biblical stories are allegories – psychological dramas containing hidden instructions and meanings. In this particular story, the kings of Edom, Israel, and Judah were leading a campaign to overcome the Moabites, but found themselves in a dry and barren land where they could not water their armies.

The kings approached the prophet Elisha and asked him to pray for them. After praying, Elisha gave them a message to “dig ditches,” even though no clouds could be seen, assuring them that rain would come and fill the land.

The story continues: after a while, the Israelites again grew impatient and asked Elisha when the rain would come. His response was, “If you prayed for rain, why haven’t you dug your ditches?” They went back, dug their ditches, and were soon blessed with rain.

From a metaphysical perspective, this story is about more than history. Elisha, the Hebrews, the Moabites, and the Egyptians all represent states of consciousness. The lesson is clear: if you have prayed for rain, prepare for it. If you desire your manifestation, act as if it’s already on its way.

Digging Ditches Means Acting on Your Belief

Digging ditches means believing enough in a prayer to act on it even when there are no physical signs. Your actions are not governed by your senses. You do not need signs; instead, your actions come from belief in the unseen, in your prayer or imaginal act.

The stories of the Bible are all mystical revelations written in Eastern symbolism, which reveal to the intuitive the secret of creation and the formula for escape. Prayers, to be successful, must be claiming rather than begging. If you would pray for riches, turn from your picture of poverty by denying the very evidence of your senses and assume the nature of being wealthy (Neville Goddard, Freedom For All).

What really surprised me was that Anthony Hopkins, this famous Hollywood actor, whether he stumbled on this or was taught, truly understood the psychological meaning of this story. He even went further to talk about the power of belief combined with a strong imagination – effective prayer in action. I was amazed at how accurate his interpretation was. He could have been quoting directly from a Neville Goddard lecture.

Dig Your Ditches

The message in this allegory really resonated with me. Its lesson is profound and could be the missing key to allowing your manifestation to appear in this 3D world. We know it is already created, right? When Elisha asked the Israelites if they had dug their ditches, he knew this action required faith. They had to act from a belief that their prayer or request had already been answered. In other words, they had to move in consciousness from doubt to expectation, believing the rain was already a fact in the fourth dimension and on its way into the third dimension we call reality.

Praying then is recognizing yourself to be that which you now desire, rather than petitioning a God outside of yourself (Neville Goddard, At Your Command).

We can all listen to Neville Goddard’s lectures and even diligently practice SATS, but unless we assume the consciousness of already having our prayer answered, it will not yield the desired results.

Moving to the Right State of Consciousness

How do you assume the consciousness? You must have an unshakeable belief – belief in I AM. You are already the person or already possess the thing desired. If you start to look for confirmation before you believe, like the Israelites, stop right there and dig your metaphorical ditches. Ask yourself: What would I think, say, or do if my desire were a present fact? Constantly think and act from that state of being. As we go through this journey of awakening, we are constantly challenged to exercise our faith. Faith in what? Faith in I AM that I AM.

In biblical allegories, every miracle or manifestation was always preceded by some act. Frequently, the character had to act as if the request was already granted.

One particular Neville story that illustrates this is when he went to the theater to purchase tickets to Aida (The Duality of Man lecture). Despite being told the show was sold out, he assumed the wish had been fulfilled and acted accordingly. Had Neville not believed in his imaginal act or prayer, he would not have ventured to the theater. This was his version of “digging ditches.”

To learn more about Neville Goddard’s life and complete body of work, read our definitive guide: Neville Goddard — The Complete Guide.

For the complete step-by-step guide to the SATS technique, see: The SATS Technique — Neville Goddard’s Complete Guide.