How marvelous is God’s love and kindness. He always treats us better than we deserve. He is kind and compassionate. This is one of many reasons we praise Him. But there are 4 reasons I lift my hands in praise.
“For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself. How I love and praise You, God! Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart. My arms will wave to you like banners of praise. I overflow with praise when I come before you, for the anointing of your presence satisfied me like nothing else. You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul. ” Psalm 63:3-5 TPT
1. We lift our hands in praise because we know the answer
Why exactly do we lift our hand in praise? I remember raising my hand in school when I knew the answer. We raise our hands to acknowledge He is the answer to every problem. Through our relationship with jesus we have access to every solution. We are given the gift of prayer (which He hears and answers) and also the name of Jesus to speak to things
2. We lift our hands to draw close to our Heavenly Father
I have grandkids now. When I greet them they hold up their hands because they want a hug or to be picked up to be close. It absolutely melts my heart. Now think about your Heavenly Father being greeted by you that way. It pleases Him that you want to draw close. Lifting hands is an endearment to the relationship and our desire to be intimate.
3. We lift our hands to focus the attention on God not us
Whether we are singing a song or praying, when we lift our hands we are pointing to Him. We acknowledge He is Creator, Savior, Deliverer. Clapping is for man, but raising hands is for God. So when we raise our hands we acknowledge Him.
4. We raise our hands to receive from God
Finally, we lift our hands to symbolically receive from God. It is an outward expression of our heart receiving from Him. When we pray and ask, we also receive. Sometimes the raised hand helps us have a point of contact to receive right now. It is an act of faith.
Lifting hands to accompany praise is the way our bodies and minds help connect to our heart which is expressing in words our love to God.
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