Thoughts for another day

September 9, 2008.

Today's verse: Lam. 3:41. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Is there a thing of worry we have? Then let us lift up our hands and our hearts to the God of the Heavens and leave the worrying into His hands. If there are thorns in our paths, again let us lift our hands and pray to our God. In any kind of situation that seems to stump our abilities, let us lift our hands and our hearts to God.

You may be wondering what this thing is, of lifting up of hands isn’t it. Besides, many of us hardly pray, so lifting up of hands may not be the right dose; nevertheless, we all need to know that lifting up of hands and hearts in prayer is a posture appropriate before the Almighty. In Ex. 17:8 ff, we see the Amalekites coming to war with the Israelites. We read that as long as Moses’ hands were raised the Israelites had the upper hand in the battle, but when he put them down, the Amalekites won! Why would this be? The answer can be found perhaps in the fact that God notices our body language and He answers accordingly.

They say, the strongest prayer is when the lips hardly move. Because at this time, only the being, the deepest self of man, prays. Similarly, when we lift our hands and our hearts up to the Lord in prayer, we are telling Him that all we have is He and that without Him we are nothing and we are lifting them to Him as a mark of our absolute surrender. God beholds this situation as most beautiful and comes to our aid.

In prayer, a posture of surrender is apt. Many will say, it doesn’t matter how you pray but remember, the posture greatly contributes to how you pray. Can you imagine a man sitting comfortably on a chair, one leg on the other, really being humble before God? But, picture a person kneeling with hands raised and face contorted. Wouldn’t you say this man is praying? Friends, in my prayer life, I am most at prayer when I am prostrate before God. Yes, it’s a great thing to be prostrate before God and lifting hands and heart to Him. That’s what I say is delight in the Lord. And as you know His Word says, ‘Delight in the Lord and He will grant you your heart’s desires.’