Lift Up Hands

Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:8, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

I didn't understand how those several respectable people I knew had lifted up their hands in the church so often without offending anyone. I grew up in a home where my dad used to lift up his hands in order to act holy to stump us intentionally. He would then say something like, "Praise Lord, praise Lord!" It hurts so much that I grew up disliking the idea of lifting up my hands. I even observed that few Christians lift up their hands nearby the faces. Oh my, those persons seem to lose the desire to worship due to whoever stood between them with the hands in their faces. So much for insensitiveness and politeness.

I usually lifted up my hands when everyone else are doing it together- only on a few occassions. It just felt so right because everyone were comfortable with it. Well, that was what I thought. Until a few years ago, I was shocked to find myself lifting up my hands in private a bit often. I love worshipping God, yet I thought that I dislike what I am doing. I guess it is where God had healed my inner wounds. I would lock the door to be sure not to offend anyone unintentionally. After few years of worshipping in private and observing those respectable people lifting up their hands publically, I began to yearn to worship in public when it is proper as I do in private to bless Him.

Last night I attended NCC's Prayer and Praise- the kickoff for the 21 Day Prayer Challenge- which had turned to be one of the best nights in my life. After an hour or so of singing in the church, I finally lifted up my hands in an open space with such length of time . Yet when my hand felt the wind of the people passing me, I moved a bit to the left to give them the room without ceasing to praise Him. Then I realized that its a blessing to be able to bless the Lord yet offend no one. I believe that lifting up our hands is one of our way to love the Lord with all our strength. It felt great to my shoulders ache a bit from worshipping and they even felt uncomfortable in bed all night long.

It's not about whether we offended someone but whether we authentically blessed the Lord. A change in our perspective.

Psalm 134:2, "Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!"