Is it appropriate to raise our hands in worship?

“The National Congregations Study of Expressive Worship,” in cooperation with Duke University, published some interesting research findings about American worship. In summary, worship has become more expressive in recent years.

 Those who raise their hands in the worship of God (churches, synagogues and mosques) are numbered in more than 62 percent of our congregations, up from around 25 percent in 1998.

I can’t remember people raising their hands in my boyhood church, or in most of the churches I’ve attended since, but we see this more commonly in evangelical churches, certainly in most of the services broadcast nationally. And there’s nothing wrong with raising hands in prayer and praise.

The Apostle Paul wrote about men “lifting holy hands” in prayer in 1 Timothy 2. Typically the Jewish male would stand, bow his head, lift his arms and turn his palms upward in prayer. This is what Paul was schooled in, but I don’t believe he was emphasizing the verb, “lift,” as much as the adjective, “holy.”

The hands we raise in prayer are to be “holy hands” without “anger or dissension” (v. 8).

It’s apparent the writer is describing an attitude more than a practice; that is, when we pray, we also ask God to cleanse our hands of anything dishonoring to him.

A murderous man with drawn sword chased his enemy through the desert. Suddenly the call sounded for prayer. The man lay down his sword, spread his mat and prayed. Then when he finished, he picked up his sword and continued his pursuit. Obviously, his prayer and his heart had a disconnect.

Praying with holy hands means that we examine the things in our hands and ask ourselves whether they’re holy, be they relationships, books, TV remotes, checkbooks or computer keyboards.

In this same passage Paul explained that women in worship don’t find their ultimate worth in jewelry or hairstyles, but in modesty. This means they don’t worship in order to display their wealth or physique. Both women and men must worship with hearts given to humility and holiness.

Another part of proper prayer is praying for political leaders (vs. 1-2).

The late Richard Halverson, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said failing to offer prayer for our leaders is among the greatest sins of the modern church.

It’s noteworthy that the world ruler at the time Paul wrote was Nero, one of the vilest men who ever sat on the Roman throne. If Paul prayed for Nero, surely we can pray for our leaders, especially in this political season. And praying for our leaders will guide us to be less critical of them.

God invites all people to pray, but he also expects us to pray with holy hands.

Reflections is a weekly faith column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church, Alabaster, Alabama. The church’s website is siluriabaptist.com.