Source: View original Google Doc Converted: 2026-04-22
Introduction
Why do we so often do what we do not want to do — and fail to do what we want to do? This is not a modern problem. St. Paul described it as the fundamental crisis of fallen human nature:
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” — Romans 7:19
This lesson explores the nature of the human will, why it is weak, and how it can be strengthened through the grace of God.
What Is Will?
The will is not simply a preference. It is the faculty of determined intention — the capacity to commit, to act, and to persist. Understanding its structure helps us understand why it fails.
The Four Stages of Will
- Dream — the first stage: a vague, pleasant thought of a desired outcome. “It would be nice to pray more.”
- Desire — the thought becomes a felt want. “I really want to pray more.” But the desire is not yet a decision.
- Convincing — the person talks themselves into commitment. “I should do this. I will try.” But this is still not full will.
- Will — the decision becomes firm, specific, and implemented. “I will pray the Agpeya at 6:00 AM, starting tomorrow.” This is the will.
Most people live between stages 1 and 3. Very few make it to stage 4 — and fewer sustain it.
The Will of God for Us
Before we discuss strengthening our will, we must understand what God wills for us:
“God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” — 1 Timothy 2:3–4
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” — Matthew 23:37
God’s will is our salvation, our flourishing, our return to Him. The tragedy of Matthew 23:37 is the opposition of wills: God would — humanity would not. His will is clear. Our will is weak and disordered.
Why the Human Will Is Weak
1. Laziness (Acedia)
Laziness is not simply physical inactivity. It is the spiritual laziness of the soul that does not want to be moved — that prefers the comfort of inertia to the effort of growth.
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber.” — Proverbs 6:10–11
Spiritual poverty accumulates the same way. “A little more scrolling, a little more sleeping in, a little more putting off…“
2. Company and Peer Pressure
“Bad company ruins good morals.” — 1 Corinthians 15:33
The people we spend time with shape our will. Their values become ambient. Their habits become normative. Their compromises become our own.
A will that might be strong in isolation becomes weak in certain company — not through explicit pressure, but through slow absorption.
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” — Proverbs 13:20
3. Leniency and the Undisciplined Appetite
When we give in to small desires habitually — comfort, extra food, one more episode, one more minute of sleep — we are training the will to yield rather than to hold. The will is a muscle: what you exercise grows; what you do not exercise atrophies.
Leniency toward oneself in small things produces leniency toward oneself in large things.
4. Despair
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” — Proverbs 13:12
When we have tried and failed many times, the will loses confidence in itself. Despair says: “It’s no use trying. I’ll just fail again.” This is one of the enemy’s most effective tools — he uses our past failures as arguments against future effort.
5. Entitlement
The entitled person believes they deserve rest, comfort, and pleasure as a default — and must be motivated by something extraordinary to make an effort. This inverts the proper ordering: effort is the default; rest is the reward.
Practical Steps for Strengthening the Will
1. Strict Boundaries Before Temptation
The strongest moment of the will is before temptation arrives — when you are calm, clear-headed, and motivated. Set the rule then.
Odysseus tied himself to the mast before the Sirens, not while he was hearing them. If he had waited until he could hear them, he would not have been able to resist.
Set your limits before you are tested. “I will not check my phone during family dinner.” Not “I will try not to check my phone during family dinner.” Set the boundary, and hold it.
2. Start Small — Build on Success
A vow to pray three hours daily from someone who currently prays zero minutes is not ambitious — it is destined to fail, and the failure will weaken the will further.
Start where you can actually succeed. One decade of the rosary is better than a failed hour of prayer. One day of fasting kept is better than a week of fasting attempted and abandoned.
Success builds the will. Failure weakens it. Structure your goals so that you are building toward success, not accumulating failure.
3. Gradual Improvements
“Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control…” — 2 Peter 1:5–6
The growth Peter describes is sequential and cumulative. Each virtue makes the next possible. Gradual, sustained growth is more valuable than dramatic but unsustained commitment.
10% better this year than last year. Compounded over a decade, this is transformation.
4. Accountability
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” — Proverbs 27:17
Tell someone your commitment. Ask them to hold you accountable. The social dimension of the will is real — public commitments are harder to break than private ones.
An accountability friend is not a judge — they are a companion on the same road, who will notice when you wander and ask what happened.
5. Confess Your Weakness to God
The most important step: admit to God that your will is weak and you need His grace.
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13
This is not a promise of superhuman strength for ambitious projects. It is Paul’s testimony that in every circumstance — including weakness — Christ’s strength is available. The condition is the union: “through him.”
The person who tries to strengthen their will through sheer self-discipline alone will exhaust themselves. The person who brings their weak will to God in prayer and confession, and asks for His grace, will find that “his strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
Conclusion
The goal is not a will of iron — it is a will aligned with God’s will. The fully aligned will is not strong by human standards; it is surrendered. Mary’s fiat — “let it be to me according to your word” — is the model of the Christian will: not passive, not broken, but fully surrendered to the One who wills our good.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:10
We pray this not because God’s will needs our assistance, but because we are asking God to align our will with His — to overcome the gap between Romans 7:19 and the life He intends for us.