“1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (I Timothy 2:1-8).

     I have been frequently asked over the years whether the raising of hands in church services is justifiable according to Scripture. My answer has always been that hand raising is not only justifiable Scripturally, it is God’s will that we do it. The questions must be raised, what is the purpose of lifting up hands, is doing so intended to be the literal lifting up of hands or is the phrase used figuratively, and if someone literally lifts up his hands in a worship service, what is he communicating by doing so? However, without understanding the backdrop of God’s command, hand raising in church services is nothing more than an empty expression. The answer to the questions must delve into the depth of the spiritual precedents that lay the foundation for the raising of hands.

     Paul’s instruction in I Timothy chapter two is regarding prayer and the spiritual foundations necessary to expectations of answered prayer. Understanding these spiritual foundations connect us to Old Testament practices. In order to understand what “lifting up holy hands” means, we must begin by understanding the Old Testament practices and bring that understanding into the New Covenant.

     The lifting up of hands was primarily connected with prayer.

“1 A Psalm of David. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle {referring to the place where God hears prayer; in the Temple in the O.T. or at least praying in the direction of the Temple; see Exodus 25:22, Numbers 7:80 and Psalm 5:7}” (Psalm 28:1-2).

“1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name” (Psalm 63:1-4).

“1 A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:1-2).

     King Solomon lifted up his hands to God in the prayer of dedication of the Temple.

“And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: (I Kings 8:22; see also verse 38 and 54).

     The lifting up of hands signified the cleansing of the heart, confession of sin and purity before God BEFORE worship was offered. Therefore, the lifting up of hands is practically connected with practical sanctification. Lifting up hands is an external expression in the belief that the person doing so is right with God, living separated from worldliness and consecrated to God in doing the “work of the ministry. If this is not the case, the outward expression is both vain and nothing more than dead religious externalism and a show of false piety.

     The Old Covenant priests were required by the Law to wash there hands and feet before they ministered before God in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.

“17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations” (Exodus 30:17-21).

     It is interesting to note the seriousness of this necessity. God’s Word said, “that they die not.” In other words, if there hands and feet were not properly washed from the water of the Laver, God would take their lives. It was much more than an external ritual. I am sure the priesthood understood (at least originally) that this was an external expression of an inward reality.

     The Laver containing the water that the priests were to wash with was made from the polished brass mirrors of the ladies of Israel. Obviously, God’s intent in this ritual is about self-examination. The believer’s life must be right before God before prayer can be answered, before sacrifices can be accepted by God and, before God can bless the ministry of that individual.

“And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation” (Exodus 38:8).

     The epistle of James gives us a similar admonition regarding this self-examination using the looking glass as a metaphor for holding how we live our lives up to comparison to the Word of God.

“22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:22-25).

     Holiness must precede God’s rewards or blessings.

“21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. 24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. 25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. 26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. 27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. 28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down” (II Samuel 22:21-28).

     Lifting up hands is connected with the purity of the heart. The purity of heart signifies purity of motives and practices. This involves genuine repentance of sin (turning from sinful practices), confession and cleansing. This restores the sinning believer to a right relationship with God. Apart from this, lifting up hands would have been considered a blasphemous act of hypocrisy.

“3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob” (Psalm 24:3-6).

     The intent of lifting up hands was to “bless the Lord” for His cleansing of sin and His reconciliation to fellowship with Him through that cleansing.

“1 A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. 3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion” (Psalm 134:1-3).

     The word “bless” is from the Hebrew word barak (baw-rak') referring to an act of adoration or praise primarily for the cleansing that brings restoration. Therefore, the act of lifting up of hands should be done after the fact of repentance, confession, forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with God. If we are to understand the significance of someone raising his hands in a worship service, we should assume he has just repented of some sin, confessed that sin to God, and is praising God for His forgiveness, the cleansing of the “blood of Christ” (I John 1:7-9), and for restoration to “fellowship” with God. With this in mind, asking someone to raise his hand during the invitation time of a church service is appropriate if done in this context.

     The lifting up of hands signified a deep longing for fellowship with God. If that longing for fellowship with God is not a reality, lifting up of hands is an expression of serious hypocrisy.

“5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. 6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. 7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee” (Psalm 143:5-8).

     Without the reality of genuine repentance, confession and cleansing of sin, lifting up of hands was condemned of God and considered vanity.

“10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:10-18).

     I Timothy 2:8 is the ONLY reference in the New Testament talking about lifting up hands. It should be clearly understood that the emphasis of the admonition is not upon the literal raising of hands in a church service or in prayer. Paul is using the raising of hands FIGURATIVELY. James uses a similar expression figuratively.

“6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:6-10).

     The word “holy” is a qualifying precedent for lifting up of hands. The lifting of hands is merely figurative of the inward reality of a life that is right with God. The word “holy” is from the Greek word hosios (hos'-ee-os) referring to “hands which have committed no impiety, and observed every sacred duty” (Jameson, Faussett and Brown Commentary). This was a prerequisite to answered prayer. The presence of “wrath” or “doubting” (disputing about the will of God) would quench the possibility for answered prayer.

     The subject of I Timothy 2:1-8 is the matter of public prayer in the assembly of believers. The admonition is not about lifting up of hands. The admonition is about the QUALIFICATION of individuals offering public prayer in the assembly. “The point here is that only men should lead in public prayer who can lift up ‘clean hands’ (morally and spiritually clean)” (A.T. Robertson’s Word Pictures).