Paths of Faith: Rise for Prayer like There's a Fire...

Why don't we always have a strong enough will?

Because a person is naturally lazy. It's easier and more pleasant to remain in the same state, even at a high cost. To get out of this state, one must strive against our nature and awaken the desire for change and action.

Additionally, sometimes a person doesn't believe enough in their ability and power to change. We must know that anything is possible – 'there is nothing that can stand in the way of will,' a person can change in any area. If they only wish and strive, they will be aided from Above to succeed.

When a person truly desires, they have special powers to succeed

A true story: In a rehabilitation hospital, patients lay for years without the ability to get up. One day, a fire broke out, and suddenly, during this emergency, patients who hadn't risen for years got up and fled! Their atrophied muscles suddenly worked because they understood that if they continued lying in bed, they would burn alive – the power of will activated organs considered atrophied.

The extent to which strong will can awaken strong forces in a person is evident when someone claims they want very much to rise for prayer but can't; if they hear there's a fire, they would jump up immediately and flee....

A person who wants to will make more use of their brain's potential. Studies have revealed that a person utilizes between four and seven percent of their latent potential because they don't want or invest enough, and sometimes because they don't believe in themselves enough.

When a person wants – they receive help from Above to succeed

Our sages say: "One who comes to purify is helped" (Yoma 38b).

Additionally, our sages say: "In the way that a person wishes to go, they are led" (Makkot 10b). Maharsha asks: Why is it written 'they are led' in the plural form? Who are those who lead the person? Maharsha answers that from every desire of a person to do good, angels are created who assist them in fulfilling the commandment (according to Maharsha's Chidushei Agadot, Makkot 10b).

And Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, of blessed memory, writes in his book "Nefesh HaChaim," that every person, even if they haven't yet taken any action but merely desires very much to fulfill a commandment and do the will of Hashem, they are helped with it. The author of "Nefesh HaChaim" explains that from the moment the thought arises in a person's mind to keep a commandment, worlds of holiness are built in heaven from the will alone, and those worlds help them complete the task they have undertaken (according to Nefesh HaChaim, Gate 1).

Maharil Diskin, as a child, was very weak in his studies and did not succeed, but he strongly desired to study and understand. From this strong will, he worked diligently and studied Torah with tremendous effort, and Hashem opened his mind and he rose and excelled.

Heavenly assistance depends on the level of will

The level of will determines the level of assistance a person receives. Thus we see in the words of our sages that we mentioned: "One who comes to purify is helped." The righteous explain: Why does it say "helped" rather than "helped to him"? Rather, the person does not receive external help but is helped – the very desire they activated is increased and strengthened, and thus they succeed.

Everything depends on the main engine – the will that a person activates. If they activate the engine at sixty percent, their will is increased from Above, but it will still remain at a level of sixty percent increased. If they activate the engine at one hundred percent, their will is increased from Above at a level of one hundred percent. The stronger the will, the stronger the action – like a shofar: the strength of the inhalation determines the exhalation.

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