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

Exploring: Hands Clapping – Restoration & Victory

Psalm 47:1-3 – Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.

Christ the King is our victory. As we shout praises and clap our hands, he stands up against injustice and rights the wrongs in our lives. Let us use a voice of triumph — one that speaks truth, victory, restoration and freedom — even in places of our lives that do not appear victorious. God is in control. Christ is on His throne.

Jeremiah 31 –  ⁴ I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. … ¹² They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD… ¹³ Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

As God redeems, rebuilds, and restores all the broken and wounded places in our lives, we will take up our tambourines, our instruments of praise, in order to dance with joyful celebration. He promises joy for our sorrow.

Putting It Into Practice

Jesus came as our Restorer and Redeemer. Take some time remembering all he has done for you. Also think about the answers to prayer you are still in need of. Sometimes clapping in victory before we are actually victorious can bring about the change in the spiritual climate we need to have our prayers answered. In every situation, we clap and celebrate his goodness!!

You can clap your hands anytime, anywhere and any way you’d like (well, except maybe in a library, but you get my point). If you’d like you can clap along with today’s worship song and clap your hands, all ye people, as we celebrate his resurrection power!

EMBODIED :: Postures of Prayer & Praise

This series explored postures of prayer and praise, with the purpose of living a more fully embodied life. With weekly postures of prayer and praise, scriptural references, and ideas for exploration, we spent time embodying our prayers and worship. If you are just now finding this series (with the 7th and final post), you can find the full explanation here, as well as links to all postures below. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. Also please feel free to share your experience by commenting here or on Instagram or Facebook. I welcome your thoughts and observations.

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

Thank you for joining the journey! I pray you can incorporate these ideas into your daily or weekly prayer life on a regular basis.

Live the embodied life! Eternal life!!

Blessings of ARTistry, CREATivity & BEaUty, Jody

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(C) 2018 Jody Thomae

Jody Thomae is the author of God’s Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You, a devotional book with Bible studies to nurture the creative spirit within and to serve as a resource for creative Christians, artists, musicians and worshippers. She has been involved in worship arts ministry since 1997, coordinating artistic involvement in church services and regional worship events through dance, drama, poetry and fine arts. She performs, choreographs, preaches, leads worship, teaches, coordinates and leads workshops in the area of creativity, spirituality and embodied prayer. She has also released a devotional CD, Song of the Beloved. Her passion is for the revelation of God to be made more real through the prophetic use of the arts in church and formational 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. Life scriptures include Psalm 27; Isaiah 50:4-7; and Zephaniah 3:14-17.