By the Power of Prayer
Somewhere in my mom’s collection, there is a photo of five-year-old me in the backyard of my childhood home dressed in nothing but a He-Man shield and sword. Yes, nothing else! I am very sorry but even though the shield and sword cover what needs to be covered in that photo, it will not be shared in this blog post. I do, however, want to share with you my fascination with He-Man as a child. For those that do not know what I am talking about, let me share briefly who He-Man was.
In the early ’80s, He-Man and The Masters of the Universe was a toy line and comic book series by Mattel that eventually became a Saturday morning cartoon series (I sure do miss Saturday morning cartoons!). He-Man was also known by his alter-ego, Prince Adam of Eternia. His archnemesis was a villain with blue skin and a yellow skull for a head, cleverly named Skeletor. Skeletor was skilled in black magic and was very cunning and intelligent. Skeletor’s goal was to steal the kingdom of Eternia away from Prince Adam and his parent’s (King Randor of Eternia and Queen Marlena, an earthling). Prince Adam was half Eternian and half earthling and received his power from Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. When Prince Adam wanted to become He-Man he would raise his Power Sword and say, “By the power of Grayskull…” and then after the transformation was complete, “…I have the power!” He would then have the ability to defeat Skeletor and all his evil minions. He-Man was mostly non-violent despite his superhuman strength and would rely on his genius-level intellect to outsmart his foes. The cartoon show would always end with a moral of the story, that would explain to children how they have the power to defeat evil in their world.
I was fascinated by the thought that a normal person could have the ability to defeat evil if given the power to do so. So as a child, I would take my sword and shield and remove my clothing to look much more like He-Man. Then I would raise the sword in the air and shout, “By the power of Grayskull…” and after imagining that I had transformed I’d continue, “…I have the power!”
Hopefully, you have begun to make the intended spiritual connection of this blog post to the power of prayer. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we too have the ability and power to resist and defeat evil. The power that prayer has, is that it transforms our mind and spirit to be able to endure some of the most difficult situations in life. Prayer isn’t a magic power that suddenly enters our being, but a communication tool between us and the Triune God that enables a power that God has already instilled within us.
This Sunday, August 21st, we will continue this discussion the power of prayer. Join us for worship at 8:30 and 10:45 AM as we begin this prayer journey together.
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
