what does it mean when christians put their hands up in church?

Question

i'm not religous so i don't have a clue. my friend brought me along to his church on sunday and so many people did this. why?

Answer 1

Lifting up their hands in praise.....

Answer 2

Raising hands is more common in Pentacostal/ Charasmatic/ Word-of-Faith churches than in other Christian denominations (like Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, etc.) If you haven't grown up around or see it often, it can seem unusual; however, there's certainly nothing Biblically wrong with it! Quite to the contrary.

Some Christians do this to express praise God. Some Christians believe lifting hands is a way for God's Spirit to flow through them. Some people also believe that it's an act of submission to God.

Here are a few passages from the Bible which talk a bit about hand-raising.

Nehemiah 8:6 (GW):
"Ezra thanked the LORD, the great God. All the people responded, "Amen! Amen!" as they raised their hands and then bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the LORD."

Lamentations 3:40-41:
"Let us look closely at our ways and examine them and then return to the LORD. Let us raise our hearts and hands to God in heaven."

Psalms 63:4:
"I will give you thanks as long as I live; I will raise my hands to you in prayer."

Psalms 134:2:
Raise your hands in prayer in the Temple, and praise the LORD!

Psalms 68:31:
"Ambassadors will come from Egypt; the Ethiopians will raise their hands in prayer to God."

1 Timothy 2:8:
"I want men to offer prayers everywhere. They should raise their hands in prayer after putting aside their anger and any quarrels they have with anyone."

It's also important to know that raising your hand was also used when giving an oath (swearing to tell the truth) much like it's done in American courts today. Raising the hand, therefore, may have been an outward expression of commitment to God and truth as well.

Example:
Genesis 14:22-23:
"But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I now raise my hand and solemnly swear to the LORD God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I won't take a thread or a sandal strap. I won't take anything that is yours so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'"

And...sometimes raised hands were used in blessings:
Luke 24:50:
"Then Jesus took them to a place near Bethany. There he raised his hands and blessed them."

I hope this helps clarify this topic a bit.

Love in Christ,
T

Answer 3

It's older than any of the answerers suspect. The custom comes from ancient times when the palms and head were raised towards god/heaven so that he (and the congregation) could see that no part of the sacrifice had been taken by a priest.

This later became the default stance for prayer in many societies with the other default being prostration in a simulation of subjugation. Raising your hands is a remnant of the former, bowing your heads is a remnant of the latter.

Answer 4

You know when I first started going to my church and people did this, I was freaked. I've now been going to this same church, and studying the bible for ten years. It just comes naturally, to raise my hands in worship, sometimes. That's what I'm doing.

Answer 5

Has anyone seen the Songs4Worship TV ad where they show people at a Christian rock concert doing this while singing along? It's side-splittingly funny at first, then it becomes acutely embarrassing.

Answer 6

it can mean many different things such as reaching out/up to God
they are praising God
like a child who holds up his hand(s) to be held or picked up people sometimes raise their hands to symbolically be held or lifted up by God
those are just 3 of the many reasons.
I hope you enjoyed your visit to your friends church and will return :-)

Answer 7

its not like some cultish act. Its an act of worship to the one who saved you, and for me personally, its a sign of surrendering my life to the Creator and saying, you know what, ive made a mess of my life, and your the only one who can fix it Lord. So i surrender my life to you and lay it at your cross.

Answer 8

Calling down the dark demons of the sky crypt Taurus

Answer 9

Worship, and also an outward display of love and fearless adoration for God, when I say fearless I mean no fear/worry of being jeered at or sneered at.

Answer 10

it says in the bible "sing unto the Lord and lift Holy hands unto him"
it is a form of worship.

Answer 11

I think it's their way of showing that they're accepting Christ into their hearts. But that's just a guess.