Mensa Otabil - Praying With Uplifted Hands
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We’ve been talking about prayer from 1 Timothy chapter 2, and Paul’s instruction to the church tells them what to pray for, whom to pray for, and how we should pray to one God as Jesus, the mediator. Now he talks about the attitude of prayer in verse 8. 1 Timothy 2:8 states, " I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.» I will be taking this verse for today and tomorrow, so I will use the same verse for tomorrow.
The first part I want to talk about is praying with uplifted hands, lifting holy hands. Most of us are familiar with that concept, especially if you’re Pentecostal. You go to church, and you would hear someone say, «Lift up your hands and let’s pray,» or «Lift up your hands and worship.» The act of lifting up hands in prayer was an Old Testament practice that was affirmed in the New Testament. This is one of the situations where something that happened in the Old Testament still occurs in the New Testament; it is affirmed. The early church continued lifting up hands when they prayed.
In this particular instance, Paul is talking, and if you pay attention, he says «the men.» This does not mean that this instruction is only to men, but at that time, men led prayer. He says that when you are leading prayer, this is what you should do. However, if the leader is lifting up holy hands, it means that the whole congregation also lifts up holy hands in prayer.
So, what does it mean when we lift up our hands in prayer? Three things: First, when we lift up our hands in prayer, we are saying, «Lord, my life is open before you. I stand before you open; there is nothing to hide, no secret, no hypocrisy. I come to you just as I am.» This is what it meant in the Old Testament when they lifted up their hands; it signifies a state of openness. It’s almost as if we are receiving from God, and whatever God has for me, I am ready for it. So we say, «I am open to you, O Lord.»
Secondly, when we lift up holy hands, remember he says the hands must be holy. We are also asking God to cleanse us from every sin, from everything that is wrong. When we stand before God, we want to stand as cleansed people-people who have been washed by the blood of Jesus, people who have been made clean before the Lord and who can stand before Him without fear and condemnation. So, he says, when we’re praying, that should be our posture: we come to you, Lord, as we are; we humbly come before you, and Lord, cleanse us, wash us from all sin and everything that disrupts our relationship with you.
The third reason why we lift up holy hands is as a sign of surrender. Normally, even in general usage, when people want to surrender, they lift up their hands. In a war, you lift up your hands and say, «Game closed, I’ve surrendered; I’ve lost, and you can take me now.» So, when we lift up holy hands, that’s essentially what we are saying to God: «I surrender; I am yours; I belong to you. There is nothing about me that is only for me. My life is in your hands; my future is in your hands; my destiny is in your hands. Everything I have is in your hands.» It is a posture of prayer.
When we pray, although we pray for our needs and come specifically to say, «Lord, I want this, and I want that,» at the end, we also say, «Lord, I’m in your hands.» You know, it’s not my will, but your will be done. That’s what Christ taught us in the Garden of Gethsemane. Although we pray for our will, we are also surrendered to God’s will. Everybody who prays knows that we don’t have 100% of our prayers answered; there is sovereignty in God’s answer to prayer where He does what He sees fit.
So, Paul says, when you pray, lift up your holy hands to God, and any time you do that, remember that you are saying, «Lord, I’m open to you; Lord, cleanse me; Lord, I am surrendered to you.» Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before you. In Jesus' name, Amen.