Becoming Strong-Willed for God

We are three-part beings: spirit, soul and body. The soul is then divided into three parts: mind, will and emotions. Of those three, the will is supposed to be the strongest part of the soul. It is important that we strengthen our wills to follow God and not other things… but how?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 6:41-42 (KJV)

First of all, we must be willing; we must want it. If not, our wills remain weak and hold us back. As we are willing, we use our wills to choose God’s will. No one can stop this but us. The more we use our wills to choose God’s will the more willing we become to follow what He wants.

As we make right choices, our wills get stronger, and making right choices gets easier because we have strengthened wills. If we use our wills to do right, our wills are stronger to say no to sin and to the flesh.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:16 (KJV)

Also, as we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit strengthens our wills to do the will of the Father.

He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I Corinthians 4:14 (KJV)

Additionally, God’s Word, which is God’s will, strengthens our wills. As food is to the body, God’s Word is strength to our wills. And using our wills to think right brings our lives into alignment with God’s Word. This is what happens when your will is stronger than your mind- you choose to think like God does.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

When we have strong wills, we can take charge of our emotions. For example, we might not feel like praying, but we can choose to override how we feel and do it anyway.

As I mentioned, God’s Word is His will. His will is stronger than ours, but He will never override our wills. However, He will use the Word and the Holy Spirit to work on our wills to prompt us to choose His will. However, ultimately He will always allow us to make the choice.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV)

Isaiah 1:19 tells us that if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land. It starts with the will, then we must be obedient. In other words, we have to use our wills to do God’s will in order to eat the good of the land.

Using our wills to choose Gods’ will makes us more and more like Him. When we choose His will, we choose to love others just as God chose to love us. We choose to forgive as He has forgiven us. We choose to give. As our wills align with His, we look more and more like Him.

The more we use our wills to choose the Lord and His will, our wills become stronger- in the same way that muscles become bigger and stronger from use. And that’s what we want, wills that are big and strong to follow hard after Him.