Lift holy hands in prayer. Read 1 Timothy 2:1-8. As a child, I grew up worshiping with my family at Corydon United Methodist Church. We greeted one another. We sang. We prayed. We read Scripture. We heard the sermon. We took communion quarterly. We shook hands. We left. There was never one time that I can remember when someone lifted their hands when they prayed or sang. We folded our hands, bowed our heads, and closed our eyes during prayer. When I went to church with my Grandma and Grandpa Alstott, the whole service seemed different. They sang songs, prayed, read Scripture, and heard a sermon just like we did. However, they weren’t just idle worshipers. They were participating with the pastor. When the pastor prayed, some of the people prayed out loud, but they prayed different words than the pastor. When the pastor gave the sermon, they shouted, “Amen” and other things. As United Methodists, we are still a little reserved, but we have learned that it is OK to lift our hands during a song or respond out loud to the sermon. The Apostle Paul wrote this section to Timothy about prayer. "We are to pray for all people everywhere. We are to pray for all the leaders of all nations. We are to pray for what is pleasing to God. We are to lift holy hands in prayer." Wait a second. Do we have holy hands? What makes our hands holy? According to Paul’s letter, our hands are holy when we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, trust Jesus as Savior, and have been forgiven of our sins. Holiness is not about what he has done, but what God has done for us through Jesus. Today, when you pray by yourself, maybe you can lift your hands to God. There is something about our posture that creates us to be more receptive to God. 

God of all people, we lift our hands to you in praise of what you have done for us. Purify us with the blood of Jesus and keep our hands, hearts, and minds holy for you. Amen.