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Jesus Christ commands every Christian to pray. He Himself prayed always and taught His disciples how to pray. He warns us to watch and pray to avoid falling into temptations (Matthew 26:41).
But how should true Christians pray? Shall we pray with our hands lifted up or we should clap our hands in prayer?
Christians must understand how to pray. You can stand, sit or kneel down to pray. Essentially, we must follow the examples of Jesus and the earliest apostles in prayer. We will continue to waste our time in prayer if we do not follow them.
You know about a strange teaching about prayer that has been introduced into the Body of Christ in Ghana and elsewhere these days. Pastors tell believers to aggressively clap their hands when praying. According to them, praying in this manner motivates them to pray fervently. But this is strange.
We disciples of Jesus Christ are not instructed anywhere in Scripture to clap our hands in prayer. Have you read anywhere in the Bible where Jesus Christ, His Apostles or any member of the earliest Church clapped their hands while praying?
No, you will never see it! Clapping of hands in prayer is just a nuisance. Pastors who ask Christians to do this commonly quote and twist Ezekiel 6:11. In this Scripture, Ezekiel was not praying but prophesying. He was preaching against Israelites’ sin of idolatry. You may take your Bible and read Ezekiel Chapter 6 for yourself.
However, Paul and the Psalmist taught the true children of God to lift up holy hands in prayer, and not clap their hands.
“I will therefore that men pray every where, LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2: 8, KJV).
“Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help. When I LIFT UP MY HANDS towards Your holy sanctuary” (Psalm 28: 2, NIV).
“May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS as the evening offering” (Psalm 141: 2, NIV).
The verses of Scripture above teach us to lift up our hands in prayer; they do not tell us to clap in prayer. Again, they do not instruct us to lift up our hands and clap.
The early sons and daughters of God simply lifted up their hands in prayer, and that is what we must learn to do.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called upon to study the Bible, follow the Lord and adhere to sound doctrine.
By James Quansah
