In this interview, Life Focus Ministries sits down with The Coopers to discuss the value of Christian upbringing, prayer, and other relevant topics. It’s a 25+ minute interview and well worth the watch. It’s beautiful to see how committed this family is to each other and the Lord.

At a pivotal moment in his life and career, Sheryl refuses to allow Alice to self-destruct. Ultimately, her act of love not only saves his life but leads him to embrace his faith once again.

Despite his past and reputation, Alice was transformed by the Grace, Mercy, and Love of our Lord – becoming a new creation (Galatians 2:20). Someone that has no shame in giving God the glory for his salvation and survival.

There are six topics to focus on in this post. In no particular order, we will discuss the Power of Prayer, Crutches, Intervention, Healing, Putting God First, and Common Denominators.

The Power of Prayer.
The word “pray” is used 313 times in the Bible (KJV), which makes sense if you consider its meaning. The word prayer means an address (or petition) to God in word or thought (but it also means listening for Him to speak as well).  Prayer is a simple, yet complex topic.

In the interview, Sheryl explains that she gave Alice and his addiction up to God in prayer. There is so much power in that mindset.

Two passages do a great job depicting the power and need for prayer. James 5:16-18 says, “the prayer of a righteous man (or woman) is powerful and effective…” going on to describe how when Elijah prayed for rain to cease it did and when he prayed for it to rain it did as well. Then in 1 Timothy 2:1-5, Paul protests that we should pray for all people – including our government officials.

It’s as if God has chosen to let us help Him change the world through our discussions and pleading with Him. But don’t stop there – take time to research and study more about the power of prayer and the prayers spoken in the Bible. Don’t be afraid to quote scripture or reuse the ones spoken in the Word.

For instance, The Lord’s Prayer (spoken by Christ in Matt. 6:9-13) holds so much truth, knowledge, and wisdom on its own – it’s no wonder so many churches recite it weekly during their services.

Crutches.
Alice speaks about a time when he needed to have a drink before almost everything in his life – interviews, stressful events, press conferences, etc.  He needed that drink.

Alice empowered alcohol. He was giving it false characteristics of power, reassurance, and strength.

It was his source of medicine. But the truth is, Christ placed Himself in that role. In 1 Peter 2:24, it reads, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds, you have been healed.”

Instead of turning to that one thing that you think is empowering you, try leaning heavily on Christ instead. Rather than turning to a substance or some other ritual, start replacing those things with prayer and scripture. Look for passages and prayers that provide you with peace and hope.

Start asking for your heart, mind, and soul to move towards allowing His Spirit to become your support and reassurance. Allow Him to be what he wants to be in your life, what He chose to be for you.

Intervention.
Proverbs 19:21 reads, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Think about this verse and soak up its wisdom. In the interview, Sheryl states that she was not going to sit idly by and watch Alice succumb to his own fate.

It was through prayer and loving intervention that Alice’s life was spared by her diligence and the power of our Lord. God does not expect us to allow those we have been given a relationship with to suffer. He expects us to intercede but only with Love and proper Intention.

Judgment and shame are not proper tools for intervention. An open heart and mind show us that all humanity has fallen short and require His intervention. When the Lord is leading you to intervene on someone else’s behalf, be sure you can stand in Righteous Authority on His Word, but remain humbled, slow to judge, yet quick to react.

Place yourself in that person’s shoes while keeping in mind those moments in life when the Lord or someone else intervened for you. If you can’t think of any, think instead of Christ on the cross – the ultimate intervention for the sake of humanity.

Healing. Much like prayer and many other topics in the Word, a whole litany of sermons, messages, and series could be written about healing. There is so much to say. However, it seems healing begins with a willing heart – the understanding that there is a higher purpose, and it starts with a repentant heart.

Jeremiah 3:22 and 30:17 are magnificent depictions of what the prophet foresaw in terms of humanity being healed by its Creator.

In 3:22, Jeremiah predicted a day when sin would be seen for what it is. A day when the Lord would heal those caught in their wicked ways and return them to a state of understanding and love. In 30:17, again, it talks about our health being restored after one allows the Lord to cure them of the disease of sin.

This isn’t to say all infirmity and sickness is linked to sin. But there are specific instances in which it is. In Alice’s case, his addiction to alcohol kept his heart chained to that vice instead of it being surrendered to the Lord.

Putting God First.
As a sobering mind replaced his drunken one, Alice spoke of the urge to rearrange his life. He acknowledged that fact, knowing that his priorities were out of whack.

One of the things he admittedly neglected was his Faith. He had grown up in the church and knew the Truth, but it was time for him to place that as his number one concern.

In John 15:5 it states, “I am the vine, you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” If we are the branches and Christ, through His Spirit, is the vine, our first and number one goal is to remain attached to Him – being cut off from the vine, any branch withers and dies.

Everything else about that branch stems from the vine.  By pulling nourishment from its source, it continues to grow, sprout leaves, produce fruit – all these things are evident based on its connection to the vine.

When we allow God to be our top priority, we start to see other parts of our lives prosper and grow as well. When our fruit starts to ripen, and others begin to see our demeanor and purpose – they too may seek connection to our Lord.

Alice goes on to say that, by excepting Christ, his career should, by all means, be over – a Christian in the world of rock and horror is quite the oxymoron.  However, instead of his faith being a hindrance to his career, it seems it is instead peaking, and he has no plans of calling it quits.

Common Denominators.
We live in divisive times, yet the world has always been somewhat divided. There is nothing new under the sun. After all, the second generation of man brought us Cain and Abel – the story of brother killing brother. But let us not focus on our differences – looking instead at our common denominators.

We all need air, water, shelter, etc. – some basic laws of nature. But yet there is more. We all contain a God-shaped Hole in our hearts as well. That longing to know His Love, to know there’s more to this life.

Alice points out the fact that music is also a common denominator. A universal bridge between age, race, creed, etc. Life has many other bridges that connect us – Sports, Art, Entertainment, History, the list is miles long.

Philippians 2:3 states, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”.  Valuing others and their opinions does not imply that we must agree with or condone their actions.

Instead, it is a much better approach to find common points of interest and build relationships instead of lofting pithy comments and loathing others for their opinions and stances.

Think of Christ. In almost all of his interactions, he bestowed basic human needs upon others with humility – washing feet, healing the sick, providing food, performing miracles. He was willing to connect with others based on what they, as humanity, had in common. Ultimately, laying down His life for ALL humanity.

Concluding this week’s post, there’s a lot to chew on in this interview. Hopefully, you took the time to watch the video. As the “Fridays with Alice” community has grown, so have the questions we’ve received.

Questions like:

Is Alice really a Christian?

Why are his shows still bloody and gruesome?

Why doesn’t he do things differently?

Why is he not a Christian artist?

It’s often interesting to us to see how others question the hearts and minds of others without first examining themselves.

In Alice’s case, if someone was genuinely willing to take the time to explore his transformation. They would find interviews, songs, and albums (especially since The Last Temptation) that display a heart and mind transformed by our Lord.

Take that one step further, and anyone would find a philanthropist willing to give back – ready to make this world a better place.

He also claims that his survival and salvation are attributed to his accepting Christ as his savior. He lightly touches on a song in the interview entitled, “I Am Made of You,” – it’s a masterpiece. The lyrics of that song and the last 20 seconds of the attached interview should leave no question about the heart of Alice Cooper.

We leave you with those last few words from that interview:

“Yes, I’m a Christian. Folks ask me what does that mean? Well, it means I have a relationship with Christ now, I’m a disciple of Him.  I try to live the life He wants me to live. Does that mean I can’t be a singer? No, he made me a singer. He said this is what you were made to do. Go do it!” – Alice Cooper

That’s it for this week, Be well and catch you next Friday.

Until then, Keep Walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ With Alice!