Lift Up Holy Hands In Prayer

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

February 13, 2023

Lift Up Holy Hands In Prayer

May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,

    bless you from Jerusalem

Psalm 134:3

Psalm 134 was written to encourage the priests on night watch in the Temple. The priests were in the Temple to serve the Lord 24/7. During the times of festivals, the Israelites would also be in the Temple during the night, and they would join in worship of the Lord. However, often the priest would be alone in the Temple. Nighttime can be scary, especially if we are alone. The psalmist is encouraging the priests to continually “Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord” (v.2). Psalm 134 was good counsel for the priests then, and it is good counsel for us today.

We all go through periods of darkness, sometimes literally, and sometimes the sense of darkness is brought on by great emotional distress. Praising God through the darkness will help us hold on to the truth of God’s faithfulness. In the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians, the Apostle Paul teaches us that the gift of God’s presence in our lives is a great treasure hidden within our mortal bodies, or as he refers to them, clay pots: “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

There are times when we are so distressed, we do not know how to pray. In those times, we remember “the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26b-27).

My Takeaway: In times of distress, I often go here for hope and comfort:

God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 (NRSV)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.