Enter any Apostolic Pentecostal church during praise and worship and you will see lifted hands all across the sanctuary. It is a staple of the service whether in times or prayer, during the worship, and even as the preacher is preaching. Hands will continuously be lifted to God. Yet, step out of the Apostolic movement and this act is rarely seen. Which causes many to question if it is biblical to lift your hands? And beyond that leaves many wondering what the significance is. Why even lift your hands in the first place?
Is It Biblical?
To even question if lifted hands in prayer and worship are biblical is a rather silly question. As we see examples and instructions for believers to do this very thing all throughout Scripture. In fact, Kind David who was used by God to teach us much of what we know today about how to pray and praise God. Wrote many times about lifting hands to God.
Psalm 28:2 (ESV)
2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.
Psalm 119:48–49 (ESV)
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Zayin
Psalm 134:2 (ESV)
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord!
Psalm 141:2 (ESV)
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
David did not simply speak of lifting his hands in his writings. Nor did he only do it occasionally as a form of prayer and worship. We can safely assume that this was a regular part of David’s life. As we later see his son Solomon lifting his hands to God as he blesses the temple. Following the example set forth by his father and passing this act on to the next generations.
1 Kings 8:22 (ESV)
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,
David and Solomon are not the only ones who lifted their hands to God in the Old Testament. The writer of Lamentations gave instructions for those in his day to lift their hands to God. As they cried out in re[pentance for their actions. The profit Isaiah speaks of lifted hands and Ezra is recorded as lifting his hands to his creator.
Lamentations 2:19 (ESV)
19 “Arise, cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the night watches!
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint for hunger
at the head of every street.”
Isaiah 1:15 (ESV)
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Ezra 9:5 (ESV)
5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God,
Now, of course, there are those who would argue that prayer and worship in such a way was only meant for those in the Old Covenant. Because they believe that when Jesus enacted the New Covenant not everything came forward. Which is simply false doctrine and not the case when it comes to prayer and worship. This is evident when you see that Paul calls for all men everywhere to pray will hand lifted.
1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
Please, note that this is not limiting the act of raising hands to God to only men. I imagine Paul pointed out this statement at men because men are not as open to lifting hands as women often are. Experiences prove that men are often the ones who need a little more nudging to let go and lift hands to God. Also, according to the Bible, the man is the head of the household and meant to be an example to the rest of his family. To instruct the man and the rest of the family should follow suit. In this case with hands lifted to God.
Why lift Hands?
So it is clear that lifting hands is as biblical as any other form of prayer and worship. And that we are still called to this act today. But that still leaves us wondering why we should lift our hands to the Lord. What does it mean and why is it significant?
Of course, the first and possibly most important reason to raise your hands us because as we have already seen it is scriptural. The Bible is an example of the Christian on how to live. Because we see such great mean of God praying and praising with lifted hands we should want to do the same. Plus we know that scripture is not the word of man but God’s very own word. Meant to teach and instruct us.
1 Corinthians 10:11 (ESV)
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
With that Christians should lift hands to God because of what it represents. Lifting hands is a sign of submission. As we know from the Scripture Christians are called to be submitted to God.
James 4:7 (ESV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:6 (ESV)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
Ephesians 5:24 (ESV)
24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
We are often so quick to say that we are submitted to God but we really do not every prove it in any way. If we never show it how can we really prove our submission? The simple act of lifting hands indicates you are in submission to God. While also saying you are weak and in need of God for your strength.
By lifting hands we are saying so much then we could often say with words. It is not just a church tradition passed down over the years for no reason. Every time hands go up it sends a direct message to God. Which it should be mentioned that this is not something confined to the walls of the church. It should be a habit of every Christian to lift their hands in prayer and worship no matter where they find themselves. I must agree with the Apostle Paul that all people everywhere should be praying with lifted hands to God!
Don’t see it strange when you see someone with their hands raised in submission to the Lord. Instead, make that same statement with them and submit yourself to God. Don’t speak idle words but live out your faith in a real tangible way.
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