Search
The will is also a part of the soul. We have already covered the matter concerning the mind and the emotion of the soul. With the mind, the emphasis is on the comprehension and understanding of the soul concerning matters or things; with the emotion, the emphasis is on the likes and dislikes of the soul; and with the will, the emphasis is on the decisions and determinations of the soul. For example, with regard to a certain matter or thing, whether or not you decide to have it, to choose it, or to refuse it, these judgments and decisions are the functions of the will. Although the mind occupies a very great part of the soul, it is not the governing organ. The governing organ, the presiding part of the soul, is the will. Determining whether one likes a certain thing or not is the function of one’s emotion. His comprehension concerning a certain matter and his understanding regarding a certain thing are the faculties of his mind. Having comprehended and understood it, he likes or dislikes it, but will he choose it or refuse it? This will be decided by the will. Hence, the final deciding organ is the will. In a proper man the will should rank higher than the mind and the emotion. It should stand in the highest place.
In a normal situation a man would use his mind to understand and comprehend and his emotion to desire or hate, but the final deciding and determining function belongs to the will. Let us consider someone who comes to listen to the gospel. The first organ he uses is the mind. He listens, understands, and comprehends with his mind. Having understood and comprehended, he uses the next organ, which is the emotion. After his mind is touched, the Holy Spirit penetrating through his mind touches his conscience. Once his conscience is in operation, his emotion is influenced, and he wants to believe in the Lord. Thus, he feels sorry about his past life, and his heart begins to incline toward God. At that moment he needs to exercise his will to decide and determine to believe in the Lord. Hence, it is the will that presides in man. It serves as the presiding organ and decides matters. Although his mind understands something, and his emotion likes it, he is helpless if his will does not choose it. The will is the final deciding organ.
There are many people who act as if they do not have a will. There are also many who act as if they do not use their will. They put their will in subjection to their emotion and also allow it to be obliterated by their mind. Such men are not proper. One who is without a will or who does not use his will is just like a ship without a rudder. Suppose a ship has no rudder or does not use the one that it has. That ship will go wherever the wind blows and will thus be without direction. People who act entirely according to the impulse of their emotion, without any control, are just like a ship without a rudder or a car without a brake. This is very dangerous.
The will should be the controlling organ in our soul. The reason someone loses his temper in a fierce way or commits a crime is because his emotion is too active while his will lacks the controlling power. The reason that someone can become so exhilarated that he is beside himself and goes beyond the bounds of normal behavior is also due to the lack of a controlling will. The prayer life of such a one fluctuates with the blowing of the wind. When there is some kind of atmosphere carrying him, he prays; otherwise, he does not pray. His will does not have the controlling strength. This is true both with his personal prayers and his prayers in the meetings. When his emotion is aroused, he will just pray his own prayers according to his own feelings with no concern for the flow of the meeting. However, if his emotion is not aroused, he will not pray at all. Both his public and private prayer life are altogether subject to the stirrings of his emotion and are not under the control of his will. This kind of person cannot be a man of prayer.
The will, subject to the control of the spirit, should be the presiding part of the soul. This is the position of the will.
Man’s will needs to be strong. The emotion should be soft, but the will should not. To have a soft will is equivalent to having no will. Please consider: if the brake is soft, how can you stop the car? If the rudder of a ship is made of paper, it cannot function as a rudder. It is imperative that the rudder be hard and strong. Likewise, one’s will cannot effectively function as a will unless it is strong.
Anyone who follows the Lord faithfully and maintains his standing unchanged until death is a person with a strong will. Every martyr is a man with a firm, strong will. Consider Martin Luther and John Wycliffe. They were people with a strong, resolute will. Again, look at the three friends of Daniel. The trial of the fiery furnace showed that they truly had strong, firm wills. Similarly, our prayer cannot last long unless we have a strong, firm will. The Lord Jesus said that we should watch and pray and always pray. We need a strong, firm will in order to be able to watch and be constant in prayer. One who is a jellyfish can never be watchful. He can only pray sometimes. He cannot endure in prayer. Although prayer is a refined matter, it requires a resolute will. From the first day that Daniel prayed for his people, his words were heard by God, and God sent an angel to answer his prayer. However, the angel met the resistance of an evil prince in the air and fought for three weeks before he could get to the earth. During that time Daniel, who was on earth, needed a resolute will to persist in prayer for the three weeks. None of those who know how to pray properly and constantly have a weak will. Rather, each one has a will that is strong.
Fallen people have many abnormal conditions, such as: the will needs to be strong, yet it is not; the mind needs to be sober, yet it is not; and the emotion needs to be in abundance, yet it is not. But with a spiritual man, his mind is sober and rich, his emotion is certainly abundant and moderate, and his will is definitely strong and firm. We often say that one needs to be bold. But one who has a weak will can never be bold. All the bold ones are men who have a strong will. The three friends of Daniel were really bold when they were there by the furnace, because their wills were really strong. That boldness came from the strength of their will. Some are very weak and can be easily frightened by one little threatening word. Because their will is not resolute, they become afraid. Such a man cannot pray. Satan will use all kinds of methods to torture, destroy, and obliterate the life of prayer that is in man. Therefore, unless man has a strong will, his prayer life will be torn down. Hence, it is necessary to have a strong will in order to maintain the prayer life.
To be strong is one thing, but to be pliable is another thing. To be strong yet not pliable is to be stubborn. To be strong is proper, but to be stubborn is not proper. Everyone who learns how to pray should have a will that is strong but not stubborn. The will should be pliable. This pliability can be illustrated by the spring in a watch. You may say that the spring is hard, but you may also say that it is pliable. Because the spring is strong yet pliable, it can serve as a motivating power.
To be strong means that I reject everything that is negative. To be pliable means that I receive and yield myself to everything that is positive. I exercise a strong will to deal with everything that is from Satan, but I exercise a pliable will to receive everything that is from God. In our prayers, many times when we have barely touched the presence of God, we soon lose it. The main reason is that we are not pliable enough. In our prayer God’s feeling has taken a turn, yet we do not turn. We insist on praying as before. To have such an insistence is not to be properly strong but to be headstrong.
The day that Peter went up on the housetop to pray and saw the vision of the great sheet, his will was firm but not stubborn — it was pliable. The record in Acts 10 says that while he was praying, he became hungry. Then he saw a certain vessel like a great sheet descending, in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of heaven. And there came a voice to him, saying, “Rise up, Peter; slay and eat” (v. 13). But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common and unclean” (v. 14). This shows his resoluteness. But God spoke to him three times, and during the last time, some men were calling for him at the gate. The Spirit told him to go down to meet them. Once he went down, his attitude was changed, and he immediately agreed to go with those Gentiles. Here you can see that Peter’s will was very pliable and not stubborn. To be stubborn means to be hard. If he had insisted that regardless of anything he would not communicate with the Gentiles or touch anything that was common and unclean, he would have been a stubborn, hard person.
Many times we are unable to follow the move of the Spirit in our prayers because we are strong to the extent that we become hard. This is a very great problem of ours. The problem arises not only with regard to prayer but in many other matters also. Sometimes when we need to be strong, we are not. At other times, in being strong, we go too far and become hard. Hence, we cannot see the light, touch the presence of God, or have spiritual growth. At the same time, we are not able to endure in prayer. The firmness of our will needs the corresponding pliability. The pliability must balance the firmness if the will is to be suitable for prayer. Satan always utilizes men, things, and outside activities to consume, extinguish, and obliterate our prayer life. Hence, we need to exercise our will in order to stand fast. At the same time, in our prayers, our will should at all times be able to submit and turn according to the consciousness in our spirit.
Consider how soft the spring in a clock or watch is. Yet once it has been wound and starts to move the hands of the clock, it will not yield or be subdued — that is its firmness. Once they have been disturbed by some trivial matter, some are not able to pray. This shows that their will is not firm enough. On the other hand, there are some who are very strong and who insist on praying for a certain matter. They do not know how to turn and follow the move of the Spirit in them. This shows that they are not pliable enough. Many have a will that is either too soft or too hard. But neither softness nor hardness is desirable. The kind of will we need is one that is strong yet not hard and pliable yet not soft.
The ruling of the will means that the will is in control. It is not the will that is being ruled; rather, it is the will that is ruling, controlling the other parts of the soul. In the chapter concerning the emotion we said that the emotion should be controlled by the will. That day when the two sons of Aaron violated the holiness of God and were struck dead, Aaron did not weep. If he had not exercised his will, he would surely have wailed and wept bitterly. But because he exercised his will to rule over his emotion, he was able to completely obey Moses’ word and show no sign of mourning. That was not an easy thing to do. The will cannot rule in this way unless it has been exercised to the extent that its firmness and pliability are in full cooperation with one another.
Ephesians 4 tells us, “Be angry, yet do not sin” (v. 26). Being angry is a matter of the emotion, but to not sin is a matter of the ruling of the will. The verse goes on to say, “Do not let the sun go down on your indignation.” Once the sun sets, your anger has to disappear with it. The question is, how can you dispel your anger? This can be done only through the controlling of the will. But with some, once they are angry, their anger remains; once they are offended by others, they will not forgive them during their entire lifetime. Please remember, such a situation indicates that the will is not in control; the will is not able to rule over the emotion. To be a Christian who is able to pray, one’s will must be able to dominate the emotion. Regardless how much a brother has provoked you to anger, your anger must be dispelled with the going down of the sun. One whose will has been exercised and subjected to the rule of the spirit is able to be angry for one minute and to dispel his anger the next.
I have heard it said, “This person or that thing has made me so angry that I cannot pray anymore.” It is true that you cannot pray if you are angry. If you want to pray, you need to dispel your anger. But in order to dissipate your anger, you need your will to rule over your emotion. It is possible that a brother really has done something wrong that made you angry. But please remember, a half minute later your anger should cool down. Otherwise, you will not be able to pray.
It is not only anger that makes one unable to pray. Even joy can prevent one from praying. Someone may be so excited over his son’s passing an examination for studying abroad that he cannot pray. He really wants to give thanks to God, but because he cannot pray, he has no way to give thanks. This proves that his will is not in control.
In the normal condition, neither happiness nor anger will render you unable to pray. Rather, when it is time to pray, your will is able to apply the brake to your emotion. At such a time, the qualities of the emotion will demonstrate soundness, tranquility, temperance, and restraint, because the emotion is being regulated by the will. Unless the will has been adjusted properly, the emotion will never be normal, because they are connected to one another. Someone may ask, “Why do you bring out these complicated matters when speaking of prayer?” Keep in mind that prayer involves human beings performing a task, and within this human machine there are many complicated things. If there is something wrong with any part of a car, the car cannot be driven and will require some repair work. In like manner, if any part within you goes wrong, you will not be able to pray. Hence, to pray competently, the parts of one’s being need to be proper.
The will not only needs to control the emotion; it also needs to control the mind. Some always have vain imaginations in their mind. The moment they kneel down to pray, their mind begins to travel around the world. In less than two or three minutes they may have circled around the world twice. This shows that they have not practiced using their will to control their mind. You may say, “This is the disobedience of my mind.” Whether your mind is obedient or disobedient is another matter. You still need to exercise your will. It is imperative that your will be the ruling organ in your being. It should not follow that you would hit someone simply because you are angry now. This cannot be. It is the will, not the emotion, that should rule. Neither should you go ahead with a certain matter simply because your mind is clear about it. Even when you are clear, you should still wait for the will to make a decision before you make a move to do anything. It is the will, not the mind, that should rule.
A ship is secure if it can depend on its rudder to determine its direction. If a car can depend on its brakes to control its speed, that car is definitely safe. But if the direction of the ship is not determined by its rudder, and the speed of the car is not controlled by its brakes, both the ship and the car are very dangerous. Likewise, in both our walk and our prayer we must allow our will to rule over our emotion and mind. Thus, we can be proper humans. To behave according to an undisciplined mind and emotion is dangerous. A child who always plays but is not willing to study surely has a weak will. If his will is strong and is being used properly, it will restrict him from playing when he should be studying. Therefore, learn to exercise the will so that it will be strong yet pliable. Learn also to allow the will to rule, to take the lead, controlling the mind and the emotion. Thus, you can be a proper man. When this condition exists, you can pray.
The function of the mind is to understand the consciousness in the spirit. The function of the emotion is to enable the spirit to be expressed. But without the decision of the will, even though the mind has understood something and the emotion is able to express it, such understanding and expression are useless. For example, your mind has understood that the sense within your spirit is directing you to pray. Your emotion is also able to express the feeling of the spirit. However, your will is not taking a stand or making a decision. In such a case you are still unable to pray. Let us illustrate in this way: Suppose that at the Lord’s table someone really has an inspiration. His mind understands the inspiration as being a sense of the Lord’s glory. His emotion feels the Lord’s glory to the extent that the joy almost moves him to tears. But at this time he remains indecisive and is not willing to pray because of various considerations. Why is this so? This shows a lack in the will. The will is not cooperating with the spirit. While he is considering this and thinking about that, another brother calls out a hymn. Following the singing of the hymn, he is still hesitating. In the meantime, another brother offers a prayer. Thus, his indecisiveness has quenched his inspiration. After the meeting he goes home and is restless the whole night. He definitely had an inspiration, but it was not expressed. It was not because his mind was not able to understand it; neither was it because he did not have the emotion to express it. It was simply because his will was not decisive enough to execute it. Since his will was weak and unable to make a decision, he became timid. He should have exercised his will to immediately make a decision and burst forth with a prayer. Then that which was in his spirit would have been released. This is the function of the will in relation to the spirit.
Unless one has a sober mind and a moderate emotion, he cannot pray effective prayers. Similarly, unless one has a strong yet pliable will, he is unable to pray properly. Hence, there is a very close relationship between the will and prayer. Every spiritual matter, no matter what it is, requires the proper exercise of the will. The same applies even to the time when one initially is stirred to believe in the Lord. Someone may be touched in the gospel-preaching meeting and may even be weeping. But if you ask him to stand up and receive the Lord, he may refuse to make a decision with his will. He may say that he will think it over or that he will go home to talk it over with his wife, etc. He has understood and is touched. Both his mind and his emotion are in function. But since he refuses to use his will, there is no way for him to be saved. The same principle operates in the relationship between the will and prayer. It is absolutely necessary to exercise the will properly in order to pray effectively.
We often think that prayer is a matter entirely related to the spirit. This is correct. But many times there is no inspiration. Should we then give up praying? No. In such times you must learn to pray with your will first. By praying with the will first, you can easily usher in the inspiration. It is like driving a car. The initial step is not to apply the gas but to turn on the ignition. Once the ignition is on, it immediately causes the combustion of the gasoline. Many times you may want to pray, yet your spirit is unmoved. If you keep waiting until your spirit is moved, you may not pray for the entire day. Suppose as you rise in the morning, your spirit is unmoved, so you do not pray. After waiting for two hours, there is still no movement in your spirit, and you still do not pray. Today there is no inspiration, so there is no prayer. Tomorrow there is still no inspiration, so there is still no prayer. Perhaps for one whole week there is no inspiration and, therefore, no prayer. It is very dangerous to keep on waiting until you are moved in your spirit in order to pray. Hence, you need to learn to pray with your will in order to usher in the inspiration.
The same situation may occur in the meetings. Yes, when we meet together, we should wait for inspiration and pray by inspiration. But many times it is not right, especially for some brothers who are in a leading position to help the meeting, to simply sit there, stiffly and passively, waiting for the so-called inspiration. Sometimes there is the inspiration so that there is no need for you to take the initiative. The Holy Spirit is initiating, and all you need to do is pray according to the Spirit. But there are other times when there is no clear indication of the Spirit’s initiation. Of course, you must first be purified, forgiven, looking to the Lord, and in fellowship with Him. Then, when you know there is a need to pray in the meeting, you should exercise your will to release the meeting. Once you exercise your will to open your mouth and pray, in less than two sentences you can cause your spirit to rise up. On some special occasion a brother might be asked to offer a prayer. He may not have any inspiration at that particular moment, but since he was asked, he has to exercise his will and pray. If he is one who fears God, has fellowship with Him, has his spirit exercised, and has touched the spirit, in less than three to five sentences his spirit comes into function. This prayer of his will, like turning the ignition on when driving a car, immediately activates the spirit, causing it to rise up. This is called the prayer of the will.
Furthermore, sometimes it seems that while praying, your inspiration has been interrupted, yet you feel that you have not discharged the burden of your prayer. At such a time, you need to sustain that prayer with your will. After sustaining it for one or two minutes, you will see that the inspiration returns. The will is a very useful faculty. Whenever the spirit falls short, you need to fill in with the will. Learn to exercise your will in cooperation with your spirit, but do not use your will apart from the spirit. The function of the will is to cooperate with the spirit and to fill in for the spirit. Before the spirit is stirred up, you may start with your will. While the spirit seems to be resting, you should also fill in with your will. These initiating or filling-in prayers are called the prayers of the will.
Furthermore, when the Bible says “pray,” “be watchful,” “unceasingly pray,” “pray in spirit,” etc., these imperatives are commands directed at our will. All require the function of the will. Only the functioning of the will can maintain the life of prayer.
Daniel 9:2-3 says, “I, Daniel, understood by means of the Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. So I set my face toward the Lord God to seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” This shows that Daniel’s prayer was altogether an action of his will. His prayer was not initiated by the spirit but by the will. But when you proceed to read the words after Daniel 9:3, you will notice that although in the beginning it was Daniel who set himself to pray according to his will, after a few sentences his spirit was stirred up. When you read the prayer in Daniel 9, you can realize that it was entirely in the spirit. With his will he initiated that prayer and moved his spirit — he substituted his will in the place of his spirit, and he used his will to set his spirit on fire. Hence, we see that the will is extremely important to prayer. The will not only has to move the spirit to pray, but if necessary, it has to pray in place of the spirit. This is the prayer of the will.
