#33. Singing with our hands raised.
Feb 3rd by Jon
There are few things we like as much as raising our hands during the middle of worship. Second only to this move is singing with your eyes closed. I don’t regularly do either but I can understand someone getting caught up in the moment and enjoying themselves. My friend Meghan says that her mom used to make a runway for God to land on. And I think that’s an amazing way to look at it. But to tell you the truth, I would much rather someone raise their hands and close their eyes instead of seeing people dance next to me. There’s nothing that snaps me out of the worship zone faster than seeing a middle aged soccer mom grooving along to a praise song as if she was at a Bonnie Raitt concert. There’s no call for that. Please stop.
Comments
Interesting views, considering #29
FOR REAL Andrea!
@Jon your being a little hypocritical here. what about David!? I hope you don't sing the worship songs that talk about dancing before the Lord.
Why do you care if someone is dancing next to you. If it gets you out of "the mood" then you've got your priorities messed up. It isn't about you and what you are comfortable with. It is about worshiping God —in fact I think He would want that person next to you just to get you out of your comfort zone.
That person next to you is worshiping God, let her praise the Lord how she wants! David did. If it really bugs you that much, go stand in the back.
I think dancing, like anything else, is beautiful in the right context. And I’m not sure doing the robot next to me at church to a Steve Fee song is the right context. But you’re right, I can’t have it both ways, so people at church in my row, feel free to dance it up.
The Robot is never acceptable. Anywhere. ;]
I think this is one of those things that is bad if it’s for show, or because everyone else is doing it, but if it really helps you worship to raise your hands, or dance, or whatever, I think you should do it. Now, obviously, if your dancing is so obvious that you’re keeping others from their worship, you should perhaps take it down a notch or two, but otherwise, I think it has its place.
How bout you close your eyes and let soccer mom do her thang?? LOL! Oh, the Robot? Never mind. As usual, I agree with Bethany.
I always thought there was one kind of hands-raising till I went to a Third Day concert.
For instance:
“I want to lift you up.”
“Lord, please fill my cup.”
“Daddy, pick me up!”
“Jesus, I’m fed up.” <— I kid.
but dancing like David did in his undies is definitely OK…
1. Gotta differ with you on the soccer mom at Bonnie Raitt comment. The church we’ve started to go to ENCOURAGES people to move. The place is wide open with bad dancers, modern dancers, hand shakers, head bobbers, hand raisers, scarves waving, a flag…it’s like a concert. And the energy is amazing! We go for 45 minutes and I’ve never felt so much like worship was happening.
2. Why oh why do we have songs that practically MAKE us raise our hands??? “We raise our hands to you, oh God” “I fall on my knees”, etc. I don’t raise my hands and usually don’t fall on my knees when I sing that so I feel like a liar who’s going to Hell after the lightning strikes.
David was cool with it.
“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.”
Psalm 134:2
Paul to.
“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”
1 Timothy 2:8
I like to lift my hands and close my eyes. I imagine the there is no roof and I am before the throne of God. He is smiling.
My mother was very self conscious to lift her hands.
One day she felt God say to her “Am I not Worthy?”
She raises her hands in worship ever since.
Oh, only hand raising in certain churches. There are still plenty of us stuffy ones that sing things like “we bow down” or “we lift our hands” when we do neither and would never dream of it! Haha! Sad.
Topic suggestion: Address the differences in hand-raising/dancing/eyes-closing worship practices among denomination.
Example: Nazarenes are famous for one-hand-only. Only one. Two is too much. I didn’t know this until I went to college and went to a Vineyard church where people do whatever they want – frequently both hands – and then I heard a joke about it back home. Sometimes I raise both hands at my Nazarene home church just to make a point.
Funny thing: no one raises their hands to hymns.
I was at a church a few weeks ago where they did “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”. The congregation would sing the AG part like it was an obligation in order to get to the chorus, then: “My chains are” BOOM! everyone’s hands are up!
I am one of those (albeit non-soccer*) dancing moms. I had no idea this worship style bothered anyone but my own (mortified) teen-age children. Not that I care…that’s between me and my God.
Oh well, at least I’m not in my underwear (ala King David). evil laughter
*enter annoying book recommendation mode*
Chapter 14 of Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience” totally challenged my views on this.
The gist being that we can control our bodies even when we can’t necessarily control our hearts / minds some times.
I’ve been a Christian for 19 years, and I have yet to feel the need to do the Holy Bench Press.
For other people it’s fine, but I just don’t get it.
And I’ll become even more undignified than this…
So I tried to hold my hands up once. I couldn’t do it. My arms just get too tired. I did try the half raised thing where I’m one hand clap away from praying.
Yeah, and I don’t know if what I do is called dancing but sometimes I feel like I need to be really close to the pew in front of me and I kind of rock forward and back again. Anyone else do this?
I think we may be the same person ha! I do the exact same thing!
“There’s no call for that. Please stop.” – so funny
also, i think it’s annoying when the sang says “we lift our hands”,”we raise our hands”, etc. and everyone does it. i mean, come on.
i do close my eyes a lot, but mostly it is so i can focus and not be distracted by all the shenanigans going one around me
Oh my, your comment cracked me up because I agree completely! I love all the peer pressure that happens during church..
Such sincere worship.
basically, raising your hands is lifting up the words as well as your hearts to God in reverance. Not a necessity but definitely a humble position before God to say that this is all lifted to You for Your glory and no one else’s
Ha ha! There's a woman at my church who gets so worked up during praise that she simply CANNOT contain herself and must periodically break loose from her pew and run around the church waving her scarf. It is hilarious. We also had a woman get so "invested" in the praise and worship that she brought her own tamborine to "contribute."
Wait, seriously? Every church I've ever been to tries so hard to make the environment one that fosters more people who will get their groove on during worship. And, I love it!
Except if you're an Australian baptist…they hate it and give weird looks to people who do it
That was a joke btw – I'm actually an Australian baptist and we're not quite that bad, but let's say it's not something we love. We do often joke about it though. Personally I don't mind how people worship as long as it feels right to them.
We like to see everyone dancing at Church!
This bugs the hell out of me. On one hand, I move to the music in concerts if I want to, but I've yet to feel that moved by Our God is an Awesome God at 10 am on a sunday. Plus, it's hard to not assume that the hand raisers are just doing it to show off. Pharisees
A lot of times, I feel like it's mostly for show…especially if there are a lot of people and everybody's raising their hands and then you feel pressured to join in, even if you don't want to. At the same time, there are some people I know that raise their hands in worship, but are totally focused on God and don't care what's going on around them. I occasionally raise my hands, but I always check my motives first, because I'm good at "going along with the crowd."
More often, I'll hold my hands out in front of me a bit ("God, thank you"/"God, I need you."), so it's just between me and God. The raising hands is more of a public "Praise God!" for me. I almost always close my eyes — I just find it easier to focus on God that way. Like it's just me and Him.
what do you do when someone points a gun at you? you stick your hands up. why? Because we are surrendering to the one that has the gun.
Raising your hands is a universal sign of surrender. It's a motion understood everywhere.
That how i always saw it. It's not a landing stip for God, but a way of demonstrating the heart condition of surrender…
what do you do when someone points a gun at you? you stick your hands up. why? Because we are surrendering to the one that has the gun.
It's all about the heart. Period.
OH my, we’ve had some laughs when we should’ve been worshipping, I’ll admit it. Pure comedy–can it be helped?