When we were kids my Dad would put his hand on our heads and pray for us every night when we went to bed. We love to tease him now about how he would punctuate his prayers by pushing our heads into the pillow. It would go something like this, "I thank you, Lord (push), for Michelle (push). I pray that you will bless her (push) and give her a good night's sleep (push). In the name (push) of Jesus (push), Amen (push!)! I couldn't go to sleep without it. Our kids love when we reenact this for them and my dad mutters something about "trying to knock some sense into you".
Now when I'm having a challenging day, I go to my husband and place his hand on my head. He knows exactly what I'm asking for and, though he doesn't use many words or any pushes, his prayers are very effective.
Could be why I love this verse: "You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!"
His hand of blessing.
On my head.
Oh, how I need it there! Just pausing and thinking about it does wonder for the contents of my head!
I need that hand of blessing to fill me with joy in this gloomy day...to fill me with strength for the duties of the day...to fill my mind with thoughts of blessing for those who may be annoying or even offensive...to fill me with awareness of His grace for me when I'm the one being a twit...to make me alert to His thoughts about the people and situations around me...to make me aware of the many blessings He's placed in my life... And it does! His hand of blessing contains everything we need.
May you sense His hand of blessing on your head today!
Psalm 139:5-6
Showing posts with label hands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hands. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, September 25, 2009
Raise Your Hands If...
Raising or lifting of hands is pretty much universally accepted as a form of worship. It can signify surrender to or exaltation of the one to whom the hands are raised. Remote and uncivilized tribes do it. People of every religion known to man do it. It's a little less common in North America where things that can't be measured scientifically are regarded with a bit of skepticism. It's pretty abstract and mystical to raise your hands to someone or something that can't be seen.
The Bible mentions lifting hands to God seven times. In all but one, it's mentioned as, "I will," or "Let us lift...". Only once is it stated in the imperative: "Lift your hands in holiness, and bless the Lord." (Ps. 134:2) Now, I'm not about to make a doctrine of raising hands: Thou shalt raise thy hands lest thou be considered carnal. No way! I just want to tell you a story.
I like raising my hands to God. In the same way that bursting out laughing feels better than choking it down, raising my hands in worship feels like a release. Somehow having the posture of my body reflect the attitude of my heart is a feeling of alignment. I do try to control this impulse when it might make people uncomfortable. Like, you know, when you're in the bank and you find out you have more money than you thought you did. I've been known to forget a time or two when I'm out for a walk (a really good time for conversations with God), but the men in white jackets haven't come for me yet, so perhaps it just looked like I was waving at someone?
I also love discovering what I call the "mysteries of God". Nature reflects God in a million different ways. From simple things like the way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly to really complex things that I'm not smart enough to explain, we find demonstrations of who God is. The story of His love is reflected in a thousand different facets. Every time I encounter another one of these treasures I get so excited!
So, one day I was listening to the radio and they were doing a talk show about breast cancer (in men and women, just in case any of you guys were about to stop reading). According to the doctor they were interviewing, maintaining healthy lymph glands in your underarm area is a really important part of prevention. It seems that the ones in the underarm area don't drain very well on their own, but there are two things we can do to help. The first mentioned was the action of jumping up and down--thus the rebounder craze. The second?? Lifting your arms. I didn't hear the rest of the program. All I could think was, "Wow, God!! You mean when I lift my hands in praise to You, not only is my spirit lifted, but my body is made healthier too? Body, soul, and spirit, I'm detoxified by the act of praising You? Wow! Wow! Wow!!" And I feel like my Daddy is chuckling because He's made those little surprises for us and He's delighted when we discover them.
The Bible mentions lifting hands to God seven times. In all but one, it's mentioned as, "I will," or "Let us lift...". Only once is it stated in the imperative: "Lift your hands in holiness, and bless the Lord." (Ps. 134:2) Now, I'm not about to make a doctrine of raising hands: Thou shalt raise thy hands lest thou be considered carnal. No way! I just want to tell you a story.
I like raising my hands to God. In the same way that bursting out laughing feels better than choking it down, raising my hands in worship feels like a release. Somehow having the posture of my body reflect the attitude of my heart is a feeling of alignment. I do try to control this impulse when it might make people uncomfortable. Like, you know, when you're in the bank and you find out you have more money than you thought you did. I've been known to forget a time or two when I'm out for a walk (a really good time for conversations with God), but the men in white jackets haven't come for me yet, so perhaps it just looked like I was waving at someone?
I also love discovering what I call the "mysteries of God". Nature reflects God in a million different ways. From simple things like the way a caterpillar turns into a butterfly to really complex things that I'm not smart enough to explain, we find demonstrations of who God is. The story of His love is reflected in a thousand different facets. Every time I encounter another one of these treasures I get so excited!
So, one day I was listening to the radio and they were doing a talk show about breast cancer (in men and women, just in case any of you guys were about to stop reading). According to the doctor they were interviewing, maintaining healthy lymph glands in your underarm area is a really important part of prevention. It seems that the ones in the underarm area don't drain very well on their own, but there are two things we can do to help. The first mentioned was the action of jumping up and down--thus the rebounder craze. The second?? Lifting your arms. I didn't hear the rest of the program. All I could think was, "Wow, God!! You mean when I lift my hands in praise to You, not only is my spirit lifted, but my body is made healthier too? Body, soul, and spirit, I'm detoxified by the act of praising You? Wow! Wow! Wow!!" And I feel like my Daddy is chuckling because He's made those little surprises for us and He's delighted when we discover them.
Why are thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
(Psalm 43:5 KJV)
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
(Psalm 43:5 KJV)
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