The Origins of Folding One's Hands in the Prayer Position
Jun 1, 2015 1:53:26 GMT 1
Anne Terri and Colleen Etana like this
Post by Colleen Etana on Jun 1, 2015 1:53:26 GMT 1
"May 31, 2015
God's Living Bible - The Third Testament - God's New Revelations -
Working With God's Prayers -
The Origins of Folding One's Hands in the Prayer Position
God's Living Bible - The Third Testament - God's New Revelations -
Working With God's Prayers -
The Origins of Folding One's Hands in the Prayer Position
(God Working With Colleen Etana Through The Holy Spirit)
I had an interesting question asked of me earlier today on Facebook through messages:
"Why do we place our hands in the prayer position and where did it come from?"
I will present the answer I gave and then add a couple of brief quotes I found afterwards when researching the origins of the 'Praying Hands'. I, coming from a previous Christian background, never really gave it much thought either until now.
I said, "For me it symbolizes a respectful gesture to the Divine in Us. A reverence for the Self/God during prayer or communication with Spirit. Today there are literally hundreds of religious groupings that also practice this tradition.
The Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and others clasp their hands in front of their bosom when they pray, as well as the 'Namaste' greeting that has become so widespread over the last several years, especially in the Western part of the world.
Namaste in essence means, "The Divine in Me, Honors the Divine in You", though I have also found other varied definitions of this as well. It is a gesture of respect usually accompanied at the same time by formally bending at the waist and bowing to each other, much like several Eastern cultures like Japan or China do for example.
In many Pagan religions, dating long before Christianity, the arms are extended outward and down to the side of the body, palms flat and out, much like the posture in Christian worship services which instead are straight up, over the head with palms outstretched and open.
In Reiki many practitioners point the thumbs towards the heart chakra while touching the other fingertips together to connect with the heart space and invite Spirit to Assist in any Healings.
Dr. Usui asked that Reiki practitioners pray the Five Reiki Ideals twice daily to enrich their Reiki practice.
He said, “Every morning and evening join your hands in prayer, pray these words to your heart and chant these words with your mouth. Just for today, do not anger. Do not worry and be filled with gratitude. Devote yourself to your work, and be kind to people.” Dr. Usui practiced and taught Reiji Ho, which means “indication of spirit,” an intention to invite Spirit to our Reiki work.
Here is a quote I found online while researching, (from an anonymous source who gave this answer using a pseudo-name), which I particularly liked:
"Though this is a speculative response to the question of why hands are placed facing each other in prayer, it is not as a form of begging or humility, but instead represents the joining of "who we were born to become (true nature) - represented in the left hand" and "who we are actually becoming (fulfilled spirit of experiences) - represented by the right hand".
By praying with our hands placed against each other - the symbolism of this act is a reminder that when communicating with God, we are requesting that (as Jesus Christ fulfilled his purpose on Earth), we are also guided to fulfill our true purpose on Earth; to ensure that when our spirit leaves our physical body, that we bring "home" the experiences and learnedness that was expected of us during our time on Earth.
In the Lord's Prayer, this is also represented by the phrase "Thy Will Be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven". In Heaven (or our original home) we were missioned to fulfill a specific purpose on Earth (as was expected of Jesus Christ) - so the prayer states (rephrased slightly) let me be on Earth as it was planned for me in Heaven.
So - the praying hands are the reminder that we are to live every day on Earth (right hand) as our purpose was planned in Heaven (left hand)."
By praying with our hands placed against each other - the symbolism of this act is a reminder that when communicating with God, we are requesting that (as Jesus Christ fulfilled his purpose on Earth), we are also guided to fulfill our true purpose on Earth; to ensure that when our spirit leaves our physical body, that we bring "home" the experiences and learnedness that was expected of us during our time on Earth.
In the Lord's Prayer, this is also represented by the phrase "Thy Will Be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven". In Heaven (or our original home) we were missioned to fulfill a specific purpose on Earth (as was expected of Jesus Christ) - so the prayer states (rephrased slightly) let me be on Earth as it was planned for me in Heaven.
So - the praying hands are the reminder that we are to live every day on Earth (right hand) as our purpose was planned in Heaven (left hand)."
In my research this explanation was more common and I cite it in conclusion:
The Meaning of Praying Hands
There is a common prayer gesture among Christians which is called praying hands or the hands clasped or folded together before the heart. Such a prayer gesture is a symbol of obedience, submission, sincerity and repentance. There are others who raise their prayer hands as if pleading to God.
Nathan Ausubel, in his book "Book of Jewish Knowledge said that this prayer gesture is not exclusive to Christians alone. He said the Jews even before the time of Jesus Christ, practiced it: "It has also been commonly assumed that folding the hands in prayer is exclusively a Christian custom. This is not the historical fact at all. As early as the post-Exilic period, when Jews prayed, they folded their hands, and they observed this custom for several centuries even after it had been adopted by Christians."
Jesus, being a Jew, also prayed with clasped hands. You must have seen pictures or images of Him in the garden of Gethsemani in this prayer gesture. In other art works, you can also see the Virgin Mary and angels with their hands clasped as well.
The Hindus and Buddhists draw their palms together at the heart as a sign of veneration and respect. It is also a form of greeting. This is known as the "anjali mudra" which means offering (anjali) and seal (mudra). The people of India when doing this gesture would say the word "Namaste" which is some kind of a sacred hello. "Namaste" means "I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me." How beautiful the meaning of that word is!
In prayer, our body certainly has a role to play in prayer along with our heart, mind and soul. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his book "Spirit of the Liturgy" said: "The body has a place within the divine worship of the Word made flesh, and it is expressed liturgically in a certain discipline of the body, in gestures that have developed out of the liturgy's inner demands..."
The Pope mentioned the custom during feudal times of placing one's joined hands into the hands of his ruling lord as a sign of his fidelity and loyalty. So when we fold our hands in prayer, we are symbolically pledging to God our fidelity and loyalty and placing our hands in His.
What happens when we pray or meditate with clasped or folded hands? In the practice of yoga, it is said that bringing our hands together literally brings the left and right hemispheres of the brain together. Such a posture calms the mind.
I find that I am able to focus more on God and concentrate better when I pray using the praying hands gesture. It's as if folding or clasping or drawing my hands together sends a signal to my mind to calm down. It is much the same when I kneel to pray. I see it as a time when I am in God's presence so I do it to show my reverence to my Creator.
www.stjosephsite.com/SJS_Articles_prayinghands.htm
There is a common prayer gesture among Christians which is called praying hands or the hands clasped or folded together before the heart. Such a prayer gesture is a symbol of obedience, submission, sincerity and repentance. There are others who raise their prayer hands as if pleading to God.
Nathan Ausubel, in his book "Book of Jewish Knowledge said that this prayer gesture is not exclusive to Christians alone. He said the Jews even before the time of Jesus Christ, practiced it: "It has also been commonly assumed that folding the hands in prayer is exclusively a Christian custom. This is not the historical fact at all. As early as the post-Exilic period, when Jews prayed, they folded their hands, and they observed this custom for several centuries even after it had been adopted by Christians."
Jesus, being a Jew, also prayed with clasped hands. You must have seen pictures or images of Him in the garden of Gethsemani in this prayer gesture. In other art works, you can also see the Virgin Mary and angels with their hands clasped as well.
The Hindus and Buddhists draw their palms together at the heart as a sign of veneration and respect. It is also a form of greeting. This is known as the "anjali mudra" which means offering (anjali) and seal (mudra). The people of India when doing this gesture would say the word "Namaste" which is some kind of a sacred hello. "Namaste" means "I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me." How beautiful the meaning of that word is!
In prayer, our body certainly has a role to play in prayer along with our heart, mind and soul. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his book "Spirit of the Liturgy" said: "The body has a place within the divine worship of the Word made flesh, and it is expressed liturgically in a certain discipline of the body, in gestures that have developed out of the liturgy's inner demands..."
The Pope mentioned the custom during feudal times of placing one's joined hands into the hands of his ruling lord as a sign of his fidelity and loyalty. So when we fold our hands in prayer, we are symbolically pledging to God our fidelity and loyalty and placing our hands in His.
What happens when we pray or meditate with clasped or folded hands? In the practice of yoga, it is said that bringing our hands together literally brings the left and right hemispheres of the brain together. Such a posture calms the mind.
I find that I am able to focus more on God and concentrate better when I pray using the praying hands gesture. It's as if folding or clasping or drawing my hands together sends a signal to my mind to calm down. It is much the same when I kneel to pray. I see it as a time when I am in God's presence so I do it to show my reverence to my Creator.
www.stjosephsite.com/SJS_Articles_prayinghands.htm
"God Speaking Through Colleen Etana with The Holy Spirit:
We sincerely hope you enjoyed this brief but interesting study as much as We Did in Preparing it for you.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed this brief but interesting study as much as We Did in Preparing it for you.
AMEN"