Postures of Prayer & Praise are
“outer representations of an inner reality”

Exploring: Hands Raised in Praise, Prayer & Petition

I Kings 8:22-23 – Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”

Solomon is 1^st giving words of praise to God; 2^nd witnessing in front of everyone; and 3^rd remembering God’s covenant of love.

I Timothy 2:8 – Therefore I want people everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

Here we find hands raised in prayer, and note that it is to be without anger or dispute in your heart.

Psalm 28:1-2 – I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands towards your holy sanctuary.

In this prayer, the writer David is petitioning God to hear his prayer with arms reaching. He cries out to God, lifting his hands towards God in heaven.

Putting It Into Practice

This posture can be done standing, seated or kneeling. I like to imagine I am a young child, reaching my arms up to my Father God. As you experiment with lifting hands towards God today, start by letting go of any anger you have towards another. Second, remember scripture says your hands are holy. Next, think about literally lifting your praise towards him, and finally, lift your prayer of petition (request) before him. Might I suggest using Chris Tomlin’s song I Lift My Hands as you do:

EMBODIED :: Postures of Prayer & Praise

In this “Embodied” series, we are exploring postures of prayer and praise, in order to live a more fully embodied life. You can find the full explanation here, as well as links to all postures below:

EMBODIED DAY 1 :: Hands Raised
EMBODIED DAY 2 :: Palms Down
EMBODIED DAY 3 :: Palms Up
EMBODIED DAY 4 :: Hands Together
EMBODIED DAY 5 :: Hands to Heart
EMBODIED DAY 6 :: Hands Flat (Prostrate)
EMBODIED DAY 7 :: Hands Clapping

You can also find the full Embodied feature translated to Spanish here: EMBODIED Spanish Posturas de oración y adoración

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. Also as we journey together, feel free to share your experience by commenting here or Facebook or Instagram. I welcome your thoughts and observations.

Thank you for joining the journey!

Blessings of ARTistry, CREATivity & BEaUty, Jody

(C) 2018 Jody Thomae

______________________

Jody Thomae is the author of God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You and The Creator’s Healing Power—Restoring the Broken to Beautiful, both in-depth, interactive devotional books that are part of the Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Within series and serve as resources for creative Christians, artists, and lovers of beauty and worship. Jody has been involved in worship arts ministry since 1997, serving as worship arts ministry pastor, worship leader and creative arts director. She leads worship at local seminars, retreats and women’s events and is a guest lecturer on creativity, embodiment, and spirituality with Healing Care Ministries and HCM International. Her passion is for the revelation of God to be made more real through the prophetic use of the arts in church and the use of creativity in formational and healing ministry. It is her desire to portray the message of Christ’s desperate and unfailing love for His people to help sustain the hearts of the broken and weary. She is particularly interested in the reclamation of the body in the healing of trauma and works in the area of embodiment with survivors of abuse, addiction, and trauma.

The Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Within series includes her first book, God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You and her new release, The Creator’s Healing Power—Restoring the Broken to Beautiful. Print and digital copies (Kindle) are available through Amazon. Signed print copies are available for purchase through Square where her resources are available most affordably (and in bulk amounts for your creative ministry team or group study). Jody’s devotional CD, Song of the Beloved, is also available through Square, iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, and other music outlets.