- Mar 28, 2005
- 21,968
- 10,838
- 77
- Country
- New Zealand
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Charismatic
- Marital Status
- Married
If Jesus is living in our hearts by faith, how is it that people look up and raise their hands in worship, as if God is somewhere above them? If people really believed that Jesus is living inside of them, as the Scripture clearly points out, then they might not feel the need to lift their hands and look up to the ceiling.
It has been said that people lifting their hands are like those who like to pray on street corners in order to receive the praises of others. Drawing attention to themselves to show everyone how devoted they are in worship is a great way of demonstrating how spiritual they are. Perhaps the positive response from others may be all the reward they are going to get. It is the same with praying in tongues out loud in a meeting to show everyone he or she is filled with the Spirit, liking the attention that he or she brings to self. Maybe the Scripture, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble". The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Gatherer can apply here as well. The Pharisee prays loudly all his religious observances to show how dedicated he is to God, while the Tax Gatherer won't even lift his eyes off the floor and quietly prays "Lord, forgive me, a sinner". Jesus lets His listeners guess which one will leave justified by the Lord.
It has been said that people lifting their hands are like those who like to pray on street corners in order to receive the praises of others. Drawing attention to themselves to show everyone how devoted they are in worship is a great way of demonstrating how spiritual they are. Perhaps the positive response from others may be all the reward they are going to get. It is the same with praying in tongues out loud in a meeting to show everyone he or she is filled with the Spirit, liking the attention that he or she brings to self. Maybe the Scripture, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble". The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Gatherer can apply here as well. The Pharisee prays loudly all his religious observances to show how dedicated he is to God, while the Tax Gatherer won't even lift his eyes off the floor and quietly prays "Lord, forgive me, a sinner". Jesus lets His listeners guess which one will leave justified by the Lord.
