Why Raising Your Hands Makes You A Charismatic
“So let me see by a show of hands,” I once asked when leading worship, “how many of you have never raised your hands in worship before?”
(now that wasn’t so bad, was it?)
It’s so funny that we tend to see the lifting of our hands in worship as a “charismatic” thing. Far from it, really.
In the scriptures, when we’re given the command to “praise,” it can be one of seven Hebrew words with different meanings. But in our bibles, it’s been translated to a single word, “praise.”
The meanings include singing, playing music, shouting, kneeling, boasting foolishly, and two that mean raising our hands.
One of them (YADAH) means to worship with the extended hand rather than complaining or wringing your hands in worry. It shows surrender, trust, and a longing to be picked up, like a tired 4-year-old. We read it in Psalm 145:10, “All You have made will praise (YADAH) You, O Lord, Your saints will extol You.”
The other one (TODAH) means extending the hands in adoration or thanksgiving, like you’re giving something – a sacrifice, offering, or gift. It’s like giving a flower to someone you love. We find an example in Psalm 50:14, “Offer unto God praise (TODAH) and pay your vows to the Most High.”
I hope that understanding brings meaning to using your hands in worship, and I hope what I said sounds like freedom to you.
As I’ve been led in worship, I’ve experienced that what I do with my body really matters. I can activate my emotions by merely activating my body. Sometimes I have trouble “entering in,” “sensing God’s presence,” “affirming with my heart what I’m stating with my mouth,” or even “enjoying worshiping in song together.”
Sometimes all it takes to get my head and heart engaged is to activate my body – simply raising my hands (as an earnest, yet emotionless action) when I’m not feeling it, can get me there. Then suddenly, I’m worshiping “in spirit and truth,” loving God with all my “heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
So, okay, full disclosure. Raising your hands doesn’t make you a charismatic; it makes you a biblical worshiper. Well, so long as you don’t sway. Swaying AND raising your hands…now that’s just grounds for certain charismatic cardholder status. (and further full disclosure, by most definitions, I am a charismatic. Hopefully not too weird, but empowered by the Spirit.) So here’s to raising our hands in worship!
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
Why Raising Your Hands Makes You A Charismatic (Nº 37)
