To ask for something means to want something. Will and Faith are closely linked, as the Seed and the Plant that will grow from it.
As the plant /tree is in the seed, Faith is in our Will; and with faith we get the willed thing, as from the plant we get its fruit.
You cannot want and ask for something if you do not have a little faith in what you want. The strength of faith grows from fulfilled will. The more you see that your will is fulfilled, the more the power of your faith grows.
There is a difference between will and desire, like in the parable from the Gospel, between wheat and tares, that are both seeds and give crop, likewise with the Will and Desire, they are almost the same, but the will is something from the heart, sincere, clean, with equal love for you and the others, while desire is from the worldly mind, with a selfish purpose, or from pride, something he desires for himself.
- For example, one person wants to become a medic to make his brother and others healthy, another person wants to become a medic because it`s well paid, prestigious and gains a high social status. They can both become medics, but their motivation determines their road and life, and the faith that each one develops.
I was thinking about these things and to what happens in life; all the things in this life have the same purpose, and help us become (to be) as God created us, like himself (Christ said: " Be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect) God is Love, Peace, Joy, Truth; we all want love, peace of mind and happiness; and to obtain them and manifest them, we must want and believe.
To grow our faith to obtain what we ask for, it is necessary to want that, to have will; as to obtain the fruits of a plant, the seed is necessary.
In my mind i understood that the things that happen to us and the things we do, have as purpose to give strength and to cultivate our will, so that we can then have faith.
A lot of different things with apparently a different purpose, such as self-education, meditation, fasting, doing a good thing, have as first and last purpose the training and strengthening of our will. For example, when we meditate, or keep a diet/ fasting, by fulfilling it we actually train and strengthen the power of our will, which in turn supports us in that realization.
Our conscience is like a trainer or guide, it tells us what to do, but more important than the thing we do and the visible effect obtained, it is the initial and primary purpose that is behind our urges, namenly the power of will.
Our conscience can also tell us to be silent in different situations, or so eat/ drink less, or other things, and trying to do what the conscience from our heart tells us, we first manifest our will. If initially it seems difficult to listen to our conscience, by trying to accomplish it, we strengthen our will, and so gradually it becomes easier, that shows that the power in us has grown, it was strengthened.
It is not important the thing we did, its aspect or form, but the will within us to realize that thing.
I understood this well by likening it to the training from sports. The Athlete uses different weights, exercises, but they all aim at strengthening the body.
In the same way, God gives us different tasks in our life, the path that takes us to him; different temptations and trails puts our wills to the test. As such everything that happens is for the good and the self within us, to realize the true will and the faith that is within us.
The more we surpass the trials of life, our confidence grows, that gives us strength to fulfill other trials of our conscience, which will then strengthen our will even more, which will help us pass trials/ temptations. The manifested and realized will grows our faith within us.
I thought now that each one, the conscience (the voice of our inner self) and the power of will can be likened to a student, his teacher and the teachings he receives. Doing his assigned exercises, going to competitions that, by winning or not, gains experience, gradually his teachings grow and he can easily solve problems that seemed difficult. The same way it is with the Will, it`s trained by all the good things we do, resisting or at least trying to resist temptations/ problems we gain experience and trust, which will grow the faith in us and miracles will be made.
Life is the path, and the path is the life that takes us to God, each of us creates it with our wills and thoughts. The will from the heart which is from the love for our peers, for the life and ourselves, following the voice of our conscience, of the Holy Spirit, creates an easier and pleasant road.
- As an Athlete is given adversaries that are at his level, or to a student is given exercises at his level, just like that in life, the temptations, problems, are made to our level. If we are humble, without pride, the adversaries/ trials will come for someone considered weak. And so, one that is humble goes through life easier, hidden from the world, but inside he has a great will and power of faith (because he listens to the voice of God) which he manifests when it is need, his will becoming reality.
A simple and easy exercise can be to observe and harmonize your breathing for 5, 10 or 15 minutes every morning before getting out of the bed and at night when going to sleep. Besides the benefits of calming and cleaning the mind, you obtain the training of your will because this exercise require your own will. With a little perseverance, or just the simple availability to try, the power of your own will is manifested.
Another useful exercise: when you are alone, or in a serene atmosphere, try to feel the energy of your body, to be aware of yourself, the self within you; being only present and observant to the thoughts, senses and moods that appear, to observe them from outside, like if you were a dreamer conscious in his own dream.
If you frequently do such exercises that use a little will, and observe that after a time they become easier, it is evident that the power of your will has grown, that will help you and you will succeed in situations in life that require to use will, like giving up a vice, or following an urge from your conscience. Like an athlete trains on the stadium, the physical condition he obtains is useful in situations from life as well.