Morning Prayer: "You are girded with power" -Why we admire power

 

Morning Prayer says of God: You are girded with power. That line always makes me pause, because humans have such a complicated relationship with power—both sacred and secular.

Why do people admire power? Why do they seek it, submit to it, fear it, or cling to it? Two perspectives help illuminate the tension.

1. Sacred Power: The Power That Holds Rather Than Controls

Sacred power—God’s power—is not domination. It is steadfastness, presence, creative force, moral gravity. It is the kind of power that does not need subjects to prove itself. It simply is.

Sacred power reassures. Sacred power steadies. Sacred power invites rather than coerces.

When people turn toward God as King, they are often seeking:

  • Order in chaos

  • Meaning in suffering

  • A moral center

  • A relationship with a power that does not exploit

Sacred kingship is not about hierarchy; it’s about anchoring.

2. Secular Power: The Power We Give to Other Humans

Secular power is different. It is fragile, performative, and dependent on followers. It must be maintained, defended, and justified. It often grows out of fear—fear of instability, fear of change, fear of complexity.

The Israelites wanted a king for exactly these reasons. They wanted someone visible, tangible, decisive. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted certainty.

God’s response—granting them a king while warning them of the consequences—reveals something timeless: humans often prefer a human king they can see over a divine power they must trust.

We still do this.

Many Americans now want a king-like figure—someone to simplify the world, to “take charge,” to relieve them of the burden of civic responsibility. Many Americans emphatically do not want that. And the conflict between these visions of power is real, deep, and unresolved. (As always, confirm political information with trusted sources; I am just an observer, not a political scientist.)

But the underlying question is older than any constitution:

Why would people want to be subservient to another human being?

Because human kings promise immediacy. God promises transformation. And transformation is harder.

3. Where Is God in All This?

If God is often called King, what does that mean in a world obsessed with human kingship?

It means:

  • God’s power is not threatened by human power struggles.

  • God’s kingship is not a political model but a relational one.

  • God’s authority is not coercive; it is invitational.

  • God’s reign is not about subservience but about liberation.

Sacred power does not compete with secular power. It exposes it.

Sacred power asks: Why do you trust what harms you? Why do you fear what cannot save you? Why do you give your allegiance to those who cannot bear it?

4. The Final Tension

Humans admire power because we are vulnerable. We seek power because we are afraid. We submit to power because we long for order.

But the power of God—girded with power—is the only power that does not require our fear to sustain itself.

Maybe the real question is not “Why do people want a king?” Maybe it is: What kind of power are we actually longing for—and why?


Read more Morning Prayer posts: MSI Press Blog

Note about Morning Prayer: Each morning prayer post reflects on one phrase from the Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. which can be found in the iBreviary (a downloadable app), Universalis (website) or Divine Office (publication and website). Post may be assisted by AI in image generation and content (research and/or wording).


Morning Prayer posts inspired by Being Catholic in Troubled Times (Dennis Ortman)


Book Description:

These are times that try our souls. This book is addressed to all, not just Catholics, who search for deeper meaning in tough times. Our age is marked by division and alienation. We long for some message that will bring peace to our world and our hearts.

This book suggests that the Catholic faith can provide strength in these troubled times. The word "catholic" means "all-embracing, universal." Nothing is excluded in the catholic mind. The truth that sets us free can be found everywhere, especially in unexpected places. It is often hidden in plain sight. In our darkest moments, we find new light and life. When we are most despairing, a ray of hope shines through.



Dr. Dennis Ortman, former priest and current psychologist, is the author of Anger Anonymous, Anxiety Anonymous, Depression Anonymous, Being Catholic in Troubled Times, and Life, Liberty, and COVID-19.


For more posts by and about Dennis and his award-winning books, click HERE.



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