The Doorway of Hope Part 2 - the Lifting Up of Holy Hands

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD psalm 134:2

What is the lifting up of hands?

Lifting up of hands in the Bible always resulted in mighty miracles. Moses parting the water Exo 14:26. The battle were Moses had to lift up his hands from morning till sunset Exo 17:11

Body language says a lot. Although the mouth says nothing. Actions speak louder then words.. Everyone knows that, right? When we are open, our arms are open. When we are closed, our arms are folded.

Let me start by sternly saying that people who say they cannot lift up their hands to the Lord are in pride. Pride is evil in the eyes of the Lord. To lift up your hands is the simple action of throwing your hands in the air and holding them there for any length of time during worship, prayer or praise.
Imagine someone who falls into a pit. Its all dark around them. The only light they see is that above them. Will they not lift up their hands when someone stretches forth to pull them out? This is also our state in this world. We live in a dark world and the Lord is stretching forth His hands to lift us up. Will we not also lift up our hands to reach His? With this in mind, I can can also say that people who don't lift up their hands to the Lord, are basically saying that they don't need saving.

Why we should lift up our hands

Lifting up of hands also stands for surrendering. We surrender our life and heart to the Lord .
So when we pray with hands lifted up we surrender the situation to the Lord. Lifting up our hands also shows our longing for the Lord.
With the miracles of Exodus in mind, we can say there is a supernatural meaning behind lifting up our hands.
I once heard in a sermon that when we lift up our hand to the Lord it is also a sign to the angels working on our behalf to go forth for us. This is not a strange thought because we stretch out to the Lords salvation. It is also a sign of trusting in the Lord.

When I lift up my hands to the Lord, I believe my heart is saying to the Lord:

"I love you. I can do nothing without you. From you is my salvation. In you I trust. Help me! I long for you".

The Lord gives so many promises to those who trust in Him, wait on Him, cry out to Him. Because with our hands we lift up our heart. Something supernatural happens when we do this. 

The Apostle Paul is telling us in the letter to Timothy:
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing". 1 Tim 2:8
It comes to mind that when men do this they are pledging allegiance to the Lord with their heart. How many
people pledge allegiance to futile things like a flag. Why is it hard for them to do the same for the Lord? When we lift up our hand to the Lord we should be aware that our heart is praying a different prayer than our mouth is.  With our hands and heart lifted up to the Lord we can easily say, "THANK YOU LORD!!" - an even bigger sign of trusting the Lord.

Psalm 66:16-20
"Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!"

This passage shows the heart of one who was in a deep pit of trouble, and he chose to trust the Lord. This person surrendered to the Lord. He must have lifted up his hands to demonstrate it to the Lord; maybe even cried many tears without saying a word. However God saw his HEART! If he could have spoken beautiful heartfelt words, but cherished unbelief in his heart, God would not have listened. So what better way to speak to the Lord than with our hands lifted up and our heart surrendered?!!

Psalm 66:10-12
"For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance".

Look at the trouble this person went through. One would think he would have every reason not to trust God and even to be angry with Him. But he did what pleased the Lord and so the Lord brought him out. Trusting in God is the place of abundace. The Word tells us "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" Mat 6:33
and also:

"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." ( trusts in God) Mark 9:23 I believe these promises are linked to trusting God with our life, and that without trust we cannot receive anything from the Lord.  So what a difference the small action of lifting up our hands to the Lord, to demonstrate our trust and surrendering to Him, can make in our spiritual growth. If this small action was of no significance, Paul would not have mentioned it. Let me end by challenging all believers to examine their heart when they lift and don't lift up their hands to the Lord. What are you saying with your body language? This will affect your spiritual life. The Doorway of Hope is in front of us, opened. What will we do? Let us allow the Lord to prepare us for the amazing things He has in store for us, by simply lifting up our hands to Him in worship, praise and thanksgiving.

God Bless!!!