KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 2:8 KJV” I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

Apostle Paul keeps instructing Timothy on certain proper behaviours in the church of God. This time, he tells him about a posture in prayer. He tells him how men ought to pray everywhere. This means prayer is not confined to any particular place. I am aware of Jehovah’s Witnesses because of Jesus’ statement in Matt 6, which instructs that, go into your inner chamber and offer your prayers, they are not comfortable praying everywhere. Prayer can be offered everywhere.

Apostle Paul added that when men are praying, they lift up Holy hands. Holiness is a non-negotiable standard of every Christian at all times. Without holiness, you would not have any audience with the Lord. Mat 5:8 KJV “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” This is the reason everyone has to repent of any wrong ways by confessing any known sin as we stand in prayer. Please note that the child of God is not a sinner and must maintain that upright walk. It is wrong for the Christian to have the attitude that he can be committing sin because he is a man. This is a very common deception of the body of Christ. We must always maintain the consciousness that sin is not part of us and has no place in our lives(Rom 6:14, 1 John 3:8,9)

Now, with the attitude of living an upright life, we must pray, lifting up our hands. The hands of any person are the instruments of our actions as well as the means by which we defend ourselves. The hand also stands for our strength. To lift them is a way of surrendering our actions and strength to God. An act that reveals total dependence on God. We have other postures of prayer, like kneeling, lying prostrate on the floor, standing up on our feet or placing the forehead on the ground. All these are ways we pose to pray, and they all show some form of dependence or humility before God.

To lift up hands in prayer was practised under the old covenant and is also acceptable under the new covenant. In Exodus 17, when the Amalekites came to fight the Israelites, Moses went up the mountain and lifted his hands to God. So long as his hands were up, Israel defeated the Amalekites, but when his hands dropped, they were defeated. Lifting his hand without uttering any word was seen before God as a prayer. Psa 141:2 KJV” Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” The psalmist calls it an evening sacrifice. Lifting the hands in prayer is a form of sacrifice. Many times, the hands get weary after a short moment of keeping it up, and so we drop it. Remember Moses’ hands staying up and the outcome. May we be disciplined to keep our hands up during prayers if we choose that posture in prayer.

THOUGHT: LIFTING HANDS BEFORE GOD IS A FORM OF SUPPLICATION, SACRIFICE, AND SURRENDERING UNTO HIM.

FURTHER STUDIES

Exo 17:11 KJV” And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”

Psa 134:2 KJV” Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD