Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 1 Timothy 2:8
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:4
Failing to trust God has an impact on the way we express ourselves in prayer and worship. Jesus says, “… true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
We all have different levels of discomfort in expressing affection and offering intimacy. How does God want us to express ourselves to Him? Does He tell us in the Bible?
As a small child I was trained to behave in church. I remember at age seven, sitting in a meeting and silently gazing upward counting lightbulbs in the ceiling, because the guest preacher did not enthrall me. I was told in a forceful whisper, “Don’t do that!”
I tried to obey but pretty soon my mind was wandering again and I resumed my mathematical calculations. Again, my dad whispered, “Don’t do that!” The third time Dad had to correct me, he appealed to my insecurities, “People will think something’s wrong with you.”
The message communicated was that in church, you must sit with your hands by your side and look directly at the speaker. I became good at this. My mind could be a million miles away, but my hands were at my sides and my eyes were aimed toward the speaker.
Then, when I was a teen I got around some people who worshiped God differently. Instead of a hymnal, they sang songs straight out of the Bible. One of their favorites was, “Thy lovingkindness is better than life. My lips will praise thee, thus will I bless thee. I will lift up my hands unto thy name.” When they sang this song, they would actually do what the Scripture says and lift their hands to the Lord. I was completely uncomfortable as they did this. To me, it seemed very strange.
Looking back, I realize that all over America, when little children approach their mom or dad wanting a hug, they instinctively lift their hands in the air. If we go to the other side of the world, when we see children approaching their parents wanting affection, they will be lifting their hands in the air. Universally, children lift their hands in the air.
When a gun is pointed at someone, they will lift their hands in the air. This is a universal, instinctive symbol for surrender. People don’t have to be taught to do this. It comes naturally.
The reason we don’t raise our hands in praise to God is because we’ve been taught not to do it. When we were little children, we would have had no problem with biblical worship, including hand clapping, joyful noises, and raising our hands. But we got older, smarter, sophisticated and uptight. We spent our childhood around role models who had the same problem. We are more concerned about what the people around us think than about what God thinks, so we keep our hands at our sides and our thoughts are often self-conscious rather than God-conscious.
After hearing the song several times, I remember the first time I was willing to turn my palms over in my lap as I sang, “Thy lovingkindness is better than life… I will lift up my hands unto thy name.” They were sweaty palms, but because I had turned them over in my lap, I felt like I was really growing in grace. And, I was. After several weeks, I was able to bend my elbows. Eventually, I could raise my hands in true praise and worship.
Meanwhile, I had studied the Scriptures to be sure this wasn’t some weird or obsolete Old Testament thing I was getting myself into. I found that Paul says in the New Testament, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” I was convicted that what God wants is not necessarily what I felt comfortable doing. Paul isn’t simply giving permission to worshippers to lift hands to the Lord; he is encouraging this posture. If you can’t show your intimate love for God in public, you need to press in closely to Him in private and learn to express your love. Learn to raise your hands to the Lord in the privacy of your bedroom, shower or closet. We need to overcome our inhibitions as we bring our Father the sacrifice of praise He desires and that only He deserves. He is worthy of honor and adoration.
Start doing what God says He would like for His children to do. Raise your hands in the air privately and call Him, “Daddy!” Eventually, it will seem natural in public worship. Your heavenly Daddy loves you. He loves you more than you can imagine. He wants you to trust Him completely. He wants you to learn to express elation as you respond to His love. There isn’t just one biblical posture for praise, but we need to practice the whole range of physical expressions commanded in Scripture: silence and shouting, clapping and outstretched hands, kneeling and bowing and standing in the presence of the ONE who is worthy. Do you want to offer God the kind of worship Jesus says the Father is seeking? Are you ready to practice?
