55 - Hands Raised

Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalms 63:4 NKJV

Hands raised to Heaven, toward God, are a gesture as old as humanity itself, one of which the Bible is full. Raising one’s hands to God is not a modern invention; it has always been the body language of prayer. I like to begin by recalling that it is the spontaneous gesture of a child who, not yet able to speak, raises his arms to his parent, communicating: “Pick me up. I can’t do this on my own. I want to be with you.” And it is the same for adults: when you raise your hands, you are confessing your dependence. Our hands are the tools of our work, of our defense, and of our abilities. By raising them, you say: I stop acting, I stop defending myself; I entrust myself to you. It is a voluntary surrender. Psalm 143 declares in verse 6: “I lift up my hands to you.” Today more than ever, I want to surrender to my God—holy, merciful, and full of compassion—asking to be held in His arms. In the Old Testament, hands were also raised over the offering as a sign of identification with it. This morning I do not (and no longer need to!) present myself with an animal to be sacrificed, upon which to lay my sins. Jesus has atoned for my sin, and I raise my hands to God to say: “Here I am; I am the offering. I do not bring something; I bring myself. Take me.” Paul puts it this way in Romans 12:1: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Raised hands are the body becoming an altar.

In Exodus 17:11, we see an image of spiritual battle: Moses raises his hands on the mountain while Joshua fights in the valley. When Moses raised his hands, Israel prevailed. When he lowered them from exhaustion, Israel lost, so much so that Aaron and Hur had to hold them up for him. Thus, raising one’s hands means entering into spiritual battle, calling upon divine intervention. It is not a display of authority, but intercession, supplication. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:8, “I want men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or quarreling.” Even today, I want to lift up pure hands—an expression of a life consistent with the faith I have received and put into practice. I don’t need any theatrical gestures: God knows the heart. This certainty then allows me to lift up my hands as a gesture of victory and praise, according to the psalmist’s invitation: “Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord!” (Psalm 134:2). In sports, when your team scores or wins, what do you do? You raise your hands spontaneously. Praise leads to raised hands. When you realize that you have been forgiven, that the blood of Christ has covered you, that the banquet is prepared for you as well, your hands rise of their own accord: you have won! There are moments when raising your hands is almost inevitable.

If you raise your hands only when you feel an emotion, you’re being controlled by that emotion. If you never raise your hands because you’re afraid of what people think, you’re being guided by the opinions of others. If, on the other hand, you raise your hands to get noticed, you’re feeding your pride. The right gesture comes from within. There are moments when your hands rise in faith even when your heart is heavy, and the gesture lifts your heart and propels your prayer. Remember that raising your hands isn’t required to be spiritual, but doing so is biblical: Moses, David, Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, and Jesus Himself on the mountain as He blessed His disciples (Luke 24:50). Let’s ask ourselves together to whom we’re raising our hands. Are we openly surrendering to what troubles and overwhelms us daily? Only to then, in a gesture of discouragement, lower them and say, “I’ll do it on my own.” If, on the other hand, your hands are raised to God, they’re saying: “I need You, I surrender to You, I fight with You, I rejoice in You.”

Today I’m raising my hands again, keeping my palms open to represent a number as well: 55. Yes, today is my birthday, and I’m not lowering my hands. I want to raise them to God to thank Him for every day He has given me so far, for those He has placed by my side, and to offer myself once more for His service.

Weekly Bible Reading Plan #40

September 28, Isaiah 5–6; Ephesians 1

September 29, Isaiah 7–8; Ephesians 2

September 30, Isaiah 9–10; Ephesians 3

October 01, Isaiah 11–13; Ephesians 4

October 02, Isaiah 14–16; Ephesians 5:1–16

October 03, Isaiah 17–19; Ephesians 5:17–33

October 04, Isaiah 20–22; Ephesians 6