11. “Let’s Fold Our Hands, Bow Our Heads, Close Our Eyes, and Pray”
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“Let’s Fold Our Hands, Bow Our Heads, Close Our Eyes, and Pray”
If you’re teaching little children in a Bible class, or if you’re praying for God to bless a meal, this is a safe plan to follow. Children with bowed heads and closed eyes can’t see opportunities for mischief, and if their hands are folded, they can’t indulge in those opportunities. But as for adults, I don’t find any such instructions in the Word of God.
In spite of the beautiful and inspiring “praying hands” paintings, God’s people in the Bible didn’t fold their hands when they prayed. Quite the contrary, they lifted their open hands toward heaven because they expected to receive something from the Lord. “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place,” prayed David in Psalm 28:2, and we find similar expressions in Psalms 63:4, 134:2, and 141:2. That’s the way the godly scribe Ezra prayed (Ezra 9:5; Neh. 8:6), and it’s what Paul told believers to do in their local assemblies (1 Tim. 2:8). In the Bible, folded hands usually describe lazy people who sit around doing nothing (Prov. 6:9–11; 24:30–34; Eccles. 4:5).
As for bowed heads, we do find people in Scripture bowing their heads in reverence to the Lord, but the practice isn’t always associated with prayer (Gen. 24:26; Exod. 4:31). God’s people usually lifted up their eyes to heaven when they prayed (Ps. 123:1), a practice that Jesus followed (Matt. 14:19; John 11:41; 17:1). Furthermore, we’re commanded to watch and pray, or to pray with our eyes open. The phrase means “Stay awake—be alert,” and probably originated from Nehemiah 4:9: “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch” (KJV).
We must be wide awake and alert in our praying because of the pressures and distractions of the world around us (Mark 13:32–37), the weakness of the flesh (Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:32–38), and the attacks of the Devil (Eph. 6:11–18). We must also be alert so we can see opportunities that the Lord opens up for us (Col. 4:2). While some praying is quiet and restful (like being a child in a parent’s arms), most of our praying is more like being a soldier at attention, awaiting orders or out on the battlefield calling for help.
All believers need to cultivate the practice of communing with the Lord while the noisy world goes on around them. Medieval spiritual directors called this practice “mental prayer.” You close your eyes to help block out the distractions, thank God for His mercies, meditate on a biblical truth, and then talk to the Lord silently from your heart. I’ve done this in hospital waiting rooms, airports, supermarket checkout lines, and a host of other places, and I can testify that it has a marvelous way of calming my spirit and refreshing me for the tasks ahead. I call it “taking a blessing break,” and it’s been especially helpful when my wife and I have been traveling in ministry. John Bunyan said, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without heart,” and he was right. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).
This and the previous chapters have mentioned only a few of the prayer practices that can hinder us from experiencing the enrichment and encouragement God gives to those who are serious about meeting Him at the throne of grace.
Now the time has come for us to enroll in the school of prayer.
"Let's Fold Our Hands …"