Put Your Hands in the Air Like You Really Do Care

“I desire that in every place the man should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (1Tim 2:8).

What’s the sure sign of a good time? “Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care.” Pop stars have been encouraging us to do this since the ‘80s. Everyone from Cameo and the Backstreet Boys to Outkast and the Black Eyed Peas. For Pete’s sake, Miley Cyrus even named one of her tunes “Hands in the Air.” Here’s the deal. Shouldn’t that be the official sign of the musical apocalypse for this lyric?

A couple of thousand years ago, Paul had a better idea of how we should use our hands. “I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (v8). Men should be VERY intentional about what they’re doing with their hands. Stop duking it out. Start praying it up. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care!

Let’s reset the scene for this letter. God has sent Paul on his next assignment to Macedonia. The apostle installs his spiritual son Timothy as pastor of the church in the Asian port of Ephesus. This letter includes a to-do list to accomplish that’s critical to the health of this growing congregation. At the top of that list is removing the cancer of false teachers who have distracted folks from living and loving like Jesus (1Tim 1:3-7). 

The man from Tarsus knows that a big part of healing in the Ephesian church will come through prayer. He tells Tim to focus on using every form of prayer to pray for every person that comes to mind (1Tim 2:1). That even includes the wicked emperor and other corrupt government officials (1Tim 2:2). The hope is these rulers will not only allow Jesus’ followers to be good citizens but also come to faith in Christ (1Tim 2:3-4). You see, it’s really hard to hate somebody that you’re pleading with God to bless.

It appears that one nasty impact of this false teaching is dissension and fighting among men in the church. Instead of lifting things up to the Lord, dudes are throwing it down. That stops. Right here. Right now. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.

Paul wants guys to not limit where they pray. Do it “in every place” (v8). It wasn’t that long ago, prayer and worship were limited to holy places like the tabernacle and temple. Religious activities used to be a lot like real estate. It was all about location, location, location. But Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice put an end to all that. He told a Samaritan woman no place is more holy than another when it comes to worshiping God (Jn 4:21). Thanks to Jesus, zip code doesn’t matter. We’re able to pray anywhere, anytime.

The apostle tells Tim very specifically “the men should pray” (v8). This is distinct from women in the next verse. That’s not to say women shouldn’t pray. Far from it. As a matter of fact, they are not commanded to pray because they are already doing it! Shoot, this still happens today. Ever been to a prayer meeting? The vast majority of people in attendance are usually the ladies. Boys, prayer is not just “women’s work.” It’s warfare. Spiritual warfare. It’s hard work. It’s heavy lifting. Now it’s time for the guys to put on their big boy pants and pray. Men must step up to be leaders in the local church. Men must to step up to be leaders in prayer. Are we clear?

Paul strongly suggests guys use a prayer posture where they are “lifting holy hands” (v8). You do know that prayer isn’t simply sitting with your head bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded, right? There are many postures of prayer. Lifting your hands is one of them. When it comes to prayer, let’s take a hint from Olivia Newton-John. Let’s get physical. Let’s get our bodies involved. Fully involved. Many times the position of my body in prayer can be a powerful reminder to my heart and soul about what I’m doing and Who I’m praying to.

One common position is on our knees. It’s demonstrates our submission to God’s authority and power. Even the Son of God dropped to His knees before His Heavenly Dad (Lk 22:41-44). Another prayer posture is face down. Some folks call this prostrate (and be careful to include the “r”). It’s the ultimate demonstration of humility and brokenness. Once again, we see our Savior modeling this method in His darkest hour (Mt 26:38-39). You can stand up to pray it up. Believe it or not, this is actually the oldest form of prayer. Take a stab at who’s a great example to follow in standing prayer. You get two guesses and the first two don’t count. You got it. Jesus (Lk 9:28-32; Jn 17:1). When it comes to prayer, let’s get physical.

Specifically, Paul tells men to lift their hands when they pray. Once again, this is nothing new. It’s a favorite form of worship of King David (Ps 63:8; 141:2). We probably ought to take it from the person who has the rep as a man after God’s own heart (1Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). When Jerusalem was under attack from the Babylonians, Jeremiah pleaded with people, “Lift your hands to Him for the lives of the children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street” (Lam 2:19). Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.

Don’t miss what kind of hands we should be extending to heaven. “Holy hands” (v8). The word “holy” (Gr. hosios) literally means unpolluted and unstained by evil. Our hands represent the activity of our lives. That being the case, holy hands equal a holy life. Not perfect. Not sinless. But pursuing holiness. Jesus’ kid brother James said living a righteous life is the secret sauce to answered prayer. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

Just in case you had any question about the need for lifting righteous hands in prayer, Paul bluntly writes how we need to do this “without anger or quarreling” (v8). Use your hands for praying it up, not fighting it out. A hot head and a righteous life are mutually exclusive (James 1:20). God tells Isaiah that He has no use for any prayers offered with hands bloodied from a bare knuckle brawl. “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).

The bottom line. Pray anywhere and anytime. Men should man up and start leading in prayer. Let’s get physical with our prayer life. Start lifting your hands and stop throwing it down. Put your hands in the air like you really DO care.