Ever looked out a church and wondered why people were lifting their arms and hands during worship? Seems a little strange, right? Are they just making a spectacle of themselves or is there something here that perhaps some of us are missing? Ever thought, ‘that’s fine for those charismatic types, but definitely not for me’? Let’s dig into this a bit. Here are 5 reasons why you might want to change your mind.
1. It’s Biblical
The scriptures are full of examples and exhortations of lifting hands in worship and prayer (Psalm 63:4, 28:2, 119:48, 134:2, 141:2, 1 Tim 2:8, Lam 3:41). It’s trendy in modern Christian circles to say things like, “worship is an act of the heart and isn’t about outward acts like hand clapping and hand raising,” or “everyone worships differently”. While this is partly true, what God says trumps all of what we want or think is cool. Worship begins and overflows from the heart, but our bodies can and should be involved in the process. God clearly intends for the raising of our hands to be used in worship. It’s included throughout the Bible, both old and new testaments.
2. It’s Natural
This one may seem strange to you initially. You may think that it would feel more awkward than natural to lift your hands in worship. But let’s think about the rest of life. How do we celebrate? How do we unconsciously express joy? Usually it involves throwing our hands in the air and cheering. When you think about it, people do this unconsciously all the time at concerts, sporting events, anything that we are passionately excited about. As Micah Lang says, “When we understand the greatness of God, the stability of His character, the perfection of His justice, the depth of His grace, the limitless nature of His love, the wonder of His holiness, and the sacrifice of His Son, it should not be difficult for us to be moved greatly in our desire to worship God, and worship Him passionately.” Raising our hands is a natural response to passionate celebration. And what are our church services about if not celebrations of Jesus’ victory over death, and the grave? If we can’t be passionate in our worship of God, than we need to be reminded of who truly God is and what he has done for us.
3. It Raises our Hearts
In spite of this, there will be times where it will not feel natural to worship. The temptation will be to say things like, “Well, when I feel that passionate feeling I’ll do it. But until then…” Worship often begins in a choice. Choosing faith over feeling. Lifting your hands when you want to collapse on the floor. It is not about suppressing the feelings of doubt – it is about choosing faith over feeling. We know it’s true, therefore we worship. The good news is that God meets us in our worship and lifts us out of our brokenness. When we lift our hands, it also lifts our hearts. “Let us lift up our hearts and hand to God in heaven.” Lam 3:41. I believe God designed us this way. Physical acts affect the climate of our heart. Choosing to exercise our bodies, exhilarates our hearts. Choosing an act of love, births more love in our hearts. In the same way, there is something in the act of lifting our hands to the heavens, that raise our hearts to God’s throne. There isn’t something mystical about this, it is just the way God designed us.
4. It’s Traditional
If you’re a traditionalist, you may think that hand-raising is just for charismatics and modern worship, but in reality it has its roots in ancient Jewish and Christian tradition. Did you know that the earliest form of worship — prayer — was always with arms raised? In the New Testament, the book of Timothy speaks about ‘raising holy hands in prayer’. Nicky Gumbel says, “All early worship, all prayer, was with hands raised. That was the normal form of prayer. So if you go into a church and you see everybody with their arms in the air, just say: `I have come to a very traditional church going back to first-century worship!’”
5. It Requires Boldness
Let’s be honest. A lot of us don’t like the idea of hand-raising because of what and who we associate it with. We picture happy-clappy christians, with hands raised to the skies, who, in our “enlightened” minds, are more concerned with putting on a show, than truly worshipping. But even if that’s true, are we not doing the same thing? Are we not just as concerned with how we look, and thus perhaps falling into the same sin? Worshipping God takes boldness. We must worship in the face of persecution, periods of despair, and embarrassment. Raising our hands, in our minds, might make us look ridiculous. But if God tells us to, isn’t that a good thing? King David certainly didn’t mind looking like a fool for God (2 Sam 6:20-23). We need more boldness. We need opportunities to choose God above our own comfort and pride. Raising our hands is one small way of making this choice.
“We need opportunities to choose God above our own comfort and pride. Raising our hands is one small way of making this choice.”
Worship is not about clapping, kneeling, or raising your hands, but God calls us to worship with our whole being including our body. Yes, the Lord despises when we worship Him outwardly, and not inwardly, but the answer is not to quit worshipping Him outwardly. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Our bodies affect our hearts. And what do you have to lose, anyway? God is why we worship – why we exist, why not take a chance and learn to worship him more completely.
