“While heretofore, suggestions have been given that cover the subject of this chapter and those following, yet, as they are associated with thoughts of greater or less magnitude, new to the majority of thinkers, they may have been overlooked. If we were going to ascend a ladder we should place one foot upon the first rung and then the other foot upon the next rung, and so on; we could not begin at the middle, try as we would. So in all that we do, we must begin at the beginning and work up gradually. There are many in the world who began at the beginning and they began well, but through the deceitfulness of the world, through lack of knowledge on the part of the teachers, through many doctrines being thrown upon the world, they are lost, bewildered, and do not know what to do in order to attain this divine ultimate.
First of all, it is necessary that we be rational. The doctrines set forth in this work are destined to bring our minds out of the old mythical ideals – the dream-condition of the past – and to place us upon a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding, that we may obtain the power designed for us in the beginning. In the past, prayer has been a vague ideal. Men have prayed. Prayed to whom, to what? They have been, as Jesus said, like the Gentiles who “think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Ministers stand in the pulpit and pray for everything; but if they really believed that one-half of what they asked for would be granted them, they would be frightened.
When the Lord Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find”, he referred to something just as practical, as direct and positive, as if you were going out into the business world to transact affairs of the material life. You could not be induced to ask a favor of anyone in the material interests of this world, unless you really felt the need of that favor, and then you would think over the matter wisely and well and consider who would be most likely to grant the favor; and when you asked, you would have confidence, reasonable belief, that you would receive that which you asked for. In other words, you would have faith that you would receive that which you asked for. And if you go to God, the Cause and Source of all things, in the same way, you will find that the word of the Lord Christ is a great truth: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.”
In this work, two phases of the God manifestation have been brought to your mind: (1) Yahveh, the universal and all-pervading Mind and Will of the Universe, and (2) the manifestation of Yahveh in Elohim. We have to do directly with Yahveh the Universal Mind, the Fountain of Life, from which we were organized, the Fountain of Life from which all things come. In that Fountain of Life is everything that is. What did the apostle mean when he said: “But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, (that is, to bring Christ down), or, Who shall descend into the abyss, (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) But what saith it, The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith which we preach.” (Romans 10:6-8)
There are many at the present time who are looking for that same Jesus to come in the clouds of heaven with power and great material glory; but we are told, that Christ will come as a thief in the night. How can we harmonize these two passages of Scripture? In this way: We see from the foregoing quotation, the Christ “is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart”; if you have faith in God and in that divine sonship that we have herein set forth, you will be a partaker of that passover lamb that was all eaten, that paschal lamb that enters into and finds expression in the inner life of the partaker, and causes you to become a member of the Body of the Christ. When the Body is organized in harmony with the Divine Purpose, then this Body of the Christ, referred to in the chapter “The Image and the Likeness”, will be manifest to the world with great power and glory.
Therefore, cease to say in your heart, “Who shall ascend into heaven to bring Christ down from above?”, but remember it is the word of faith, not blind, unreasoning faith, but a faith that is born of knowledge and of experience by the indwelling Spirit. And how is this experience to be obtained? This is the all-important question.”
Hiram Butler
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 