Weekly Update |   May 9, 2024

Raised Hands During Singing

Dmitriy Zherebnenkov

This article needed to be written eventually. We have a good tradition in Grace Family Church where we can explain and clarify various aspects of church ministries. We definitely want to be transparent, reasonable, and biblical in all aspects of church life. This contributes to a feeling of ownership in every church member.

One of the questions that has come up for me personally in my conversations with church members is the question of raising hands during corporate singing. What is this? Why? How can this be explained from a biblical viewpoint? I will say right away that this is very personal to me because my attitude towards this has changed just a few weeks ago. I’ll first give a personal explanation and then we’ll look at Scripture.

Personal Explanation

The reason I have raised my hands has to do with a decision. I was pushed over the edge towards this decision by one of the hymns that we recently learned, “My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62).” Here is the chorus of the song:

You’re my solid rock and my salvation

My steadfast hope that won’t be shaken

My soul will wait, my soul will wait for You

When we sang this hymn for the first or second time, specifically during the chorus I had a strong urge to somehow emphasize my words to the living God! Since I was not able to sing this part louder as I was already singing my loudest, the only thing I could do was to strengthen the meaning behind these words with my hands. I truly wanted to somehow underline these lines that talk about my soul waiting for the Lord. This line is deep and the words are powerful. It’s impossible to sing this without the heart. Put simply, the raising of hands is a decision to emphasize the meaning of the sung words. This decision comes from a heart that is overflowing with emotions of thankfulness, contrition, and love to the Lord.

Scriptural Explanation

And now a little about what Scripture says about raised hands during worship. Is there a place for this? Answer—yes.

I was recently studying 1 Kings with a group of brothers and in chapter 8 we looked at how Solomon addressed God in prayer:

“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said… Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven.” (1 Kings 8:22, 54)

Even though Solomon was praying and not singing, his raised hands symbolized the direction of his prayer. They expressed his passion toward the Lord. Both how and what he prayed clearly suggest this.

True worship of God happens in truth and Spirit (John 4:23-24). But our body cannot not participate.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom. 12:1)

When our inner man reacts to the truths of God’s Word, it’s inescapable that our body would express these reactions outwardly. For example, we stand during the reading of Scripture and get on our knees for prayer. Why? Because the position of our body shows the desire and aspiration of our heart.

How we worship God has to do with both feelings and a decision. This is clearly portrayed in Psalm 63:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Ps. 63:1-4)

The decision to praise God and raise the hands has to do with what’s going on in the heart. Singing and raising hands is a decision motivated by the heart.

There are further examples in Scripture where people raised their hands during their worship. Besides the texts that were already mentioned, in these other passages we find that it was the practice of many others as well—Ezra 9:5, Nehemiah 8:6, Psalm 28:2; 134:2, 141:2.

When a president arrives to a military parade, the generals and soldiers raise their hands as a sign of honor. No one judges them for this and their behavior does not distract peoples’ attention from the president, rather it enhances his importance, and all the attention, honor, and glory are directed specifically to him. When a person raises his hands during prayer or song, this is not a distraction, but instead an emphasis on the importance of the One to whom the hands are raised.

One important warning—any visible form that is expressed during worship must not be a game before others.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Matt. 6:5)

Any good thing can lose its meaning because of sinful motives. Scripture does not give us even the slightest permission for self-proclamation or for attracting attention to ourselves because of some visible, outward form.

On the other hand, there is an important encouragement. God created us such that we receive encouragement and a boost when we experience the emotions of others. For example, hearing someone tearfully share their testimony of coming to God, you can catch yourself tear up as well. This is not something to be ashamed of. God created us like this. We affect each other. And it’s a good thing if this influence will bring us to fear and reverence in worship:

“My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.” (Ps. 34:2)

There is one New Testament text that gives us a glimpse into the first apostolic church and their corporate life. This text uncovers two problems and gives one component of worship.

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” (1 Tim. 2:8-10)

The two problems are the following: 1) the men are prone toward anger and quarreling, while, 2) the women are prone to attract attention to themselves with various adornments. Both of these things get in the way of worship. Now there’s one important observation to make that when the apostle Paul talks about the men lifting holy hands, he clearly pays attention not to the fact that the hands are raised, but that they ought to be holy. He explains that holy hands means that there’s no anger and quarreling behind them. What’s most interesting though is that the raised hands are something that is expected in this context, and the apostle Paul did not consider it necessary to somehow explain or clarify what must have been quite common. The recipients of this letter knew what Paul was talking about. The important thing, says Paul, is that if the hands are raised, they ought to be holy hands!

Implications

In conclusion, it’s important to note that a raised hand is not somehow more godly or more pleasing to God in worship. Furthermore, it may even be good that most do not raise their hands as that would simply be copying others rather than a personal, independent decision.

There’s another important aspect to this and that is culture. Our culture has previously never had this and we ought to be sensitive to any changes in this sphere. It’s perhaps better to allow this as an exception for a few. This definitely needs to be a conviction of the heart and a special phenomenon. Anything can lose its sharpness and value through overuse. May the Lord give us wisdom in this matter and patience and sensitivity toward others. He who raises his hands, do not judge the one who doesn’t. And he who praises God from his heart without his hands, do not judge the one who raises his hands to heaven. The sincere motive of the one and the other ought to be a genuine desire to praise God!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Continue supporting the churches working among the people who have suffered from the war in
Ukraine: https://gfchurch.com/ukraine/

Below are the services and meetings for this weekend:

• Thursday (6:30 PM) – Kid’s Bible School (open to all but required for parents), followed by Bible Study (Proverbs) for the whole church at 7:30 PM
• Sunday services:
  • Worship Service in Russian at 9:00 AM
  • Worship Service in English at 11:15 AM
  • Evening Service at 6:00 PM – “Mother’s Day”

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