Feed the Will

Lately, I have been giving thought to trying to understand will power. Here is what I have considered so far:

The Will Fuels Our Desires
We have all heard about the importance of having will power. The will is the powerhouse behind our desires and actions. The will is a source of inner strength that when reinforced compels us to actively pursue what we desire. When we weigh the costs or benefits of some endeavor we determine its worth and utilize the will (strength) to pursue what we consider desirable.

Will Power is not a Sudden Burst of Energy
In a moment of desparation have you ever cried out, "Lord give me strength?" Indeed, there are times when it feels as though we have no will power to overcome temptations and we quickly find ourselves in trouble. It is as if though the strength to resist is simply not there and we fall into the hands of the enemy. In times like these I have discovered that in vain I call out to God to give me the will to do at that moment, expecting God to grant me a sudden burst of energy or power to overcome. But God's power does not come in bursts of energy, He wants our will to constantly be His will and our strength to be His strength. If you experience this despair on a frequent basis God may be alerting you to a problem of the will.

The Will To Do Good Requires Patience
If there is one thing that I have learned about God is that He rarely responds to requests for immediate gratification or relief. If patience is His virtue He expects it to be ours as well. Therefore, patience is what is required to maintain the boundaries necessary to keep the will in proper balance and in touch with pure desires. If God delivered us every time out of every trouble with the least amount of effort on our part it would not help the development of our will and our desires to have an intimate relationship of trust and understanding with God would be diluted to simply having divine aid at our disposal. Impatience and intemperance can be destructive to maintaining the will power necessary for directing ones desires in the right direction. Ever seen an impatient person will to do good for himself or anyone else?

A Duty to Feed the Will
The will is always present, it is there whether we feel strong or not. We have a moral duty to exercise the will and nurture it. But how many people think of nurturing the will? It sounds strange but if we do not think about the will as being something that needs reinforcing and nurturing then it will become weak and apathetic; it will seem that you have lost power. So how do we feed the will? Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread along but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God." It is through God alone that we will maintain a strong will to pursue the purest desires and the highest standards. It is by gathering daily spiritual information through communion with God and keeping our senses balanced that we will have the oneness in Christ that He requires of us.