The psalms are a wonderful place to find out about worship. In Psalm 50 we read, “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give Me glory.” (Verses 14-15).
In this psalm, we learn something about worship we don’t see in many of our churches today. David prayed, “Accept my prayer as incense offered to You, and my raised hands as an evening offering.” (Verse 2). In both the Tabernacle and the Temple, incense was always burning representing the prayers of the people to God. But what about lifting our hands as we praise and pray to God?
In the era I grew up, we made fun of the “holy rollers”. We would hear stories of their running up and down aisles, shouting, jumping over pews, and other acts disrupting the worship service. We didn’t believe in that type of behavior. We followed Paul’s directive that in church we were to “be sure that everything is done properly and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40). So we became very content to sit in our pews and be quiet and sophisticated.
But later in life, I began thinking about this as I watched contemporary church services and found statements like 1 Timothy 2:8 in the Bible. Paul wrote, “In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” Once, I asked my Sunday School class how they would respond if the person sitting next to them lifted up their hands in praise. One person responded she would be very scared.
David was not afraid to worship emotionally and physically. He needed help because of temptations he was facing. “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.” (Verses 3-4). In verse 5, he even asked that if God chose to have someone rebuke him, he would not refuse it.
When we pray, we should not be timid. We all face trails and temptations. We must be bold in our prayers with hands raised in praise toward heaven and expect answers from God even if it comes through the words of a friend.