When you pray, what do you do with your hands? Do your fold your hands like this:
Or like this:
When we lived overseas, we observed people praying with their hands open, facing up towards heaven.
Why would people pray with their hands facing up? They prayed, asking for God’s blessing, and when they said “amen,”they would wipe the blessing on their faces. Praying with open hands ready to receive God’s blessing – I like that idea.
I am part Pennsylvania German, or Pennsylvania Dutch, as we say around here. As a child growing up on a farm, I quickly learned how to work hard. I pulled weeds, milked the cows by hand, stacked bales of hay, husked mountains of corn, and picked buckets and buckets of beans. I was taught to keep my hands busy.
Sometimes my strong work ethic creeps into my relationship with God. If I read my Bible, pray without ceasing, and go to church, will that make God love me more?
What if, instead, I start my prayer time with open hands, ready to receive? What if I remember that all my good works will not impact God’s love for me?
What if, instead of asking God to bless my to-do list, I sit with open hands and just listen?
Psalm 63: 4-8
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Good Morning Father God,
Today we sit with open hands and open hearts, ready to receive. Fill our open hands with your grace and mercy to meet whatever challenges await us.
In your presence is fullness of joy – joy that is deeper than our sorrows; joy that is wider than our difficult circumstances.
In your presence there is peace – peace that persists through our pain; peace that flows like a river into our troubled souls.
What a privilege it is to sit in your holy presence and receive with open hands these precious gifts.
Amen
As you listen to this song, open your hands and prepare your heart for what God wants to share with you.
Tina Kramer and Laura Nelson singing together. I am so thankful for Laura bringing music back into my life.
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