Origins of the Praying Hands
The act of one clasping their hands while praying is not at all exclusive to Christianity, in fact, nearly all major religions, including pagans, clasp their hands, in like fashion, while praying to their God(s). In this article we learn to pray as our Father intended.
Introduction
The Jewish Talmud states that “Raba removed his cloak, clasped his hands and prayed,”, so we know at one time, even the Jewish people may have occasionally prayed with clasped hands; however, the written Torah does not command them to do so. Today, Jewish people do not pray with their hands clasped, in fact, they are unlike the entire world.
As you will see in subsequent sections within this article, nearly every major religion prays with their hands clasped, except for one -the Jewish people. In this article we will explore the pagan origins of the Praying Hands, starting in ancient Sumeria (ca. 888-885 BC) and ending in the Holy Bible where we discover how our Father intended us to pray.
Sumeria (ca. 888-885 BC)
In 8th century BC, the people of Sumeria (i.e. Modern Day Iraq) were worshiping the sun god Shamash. Here in the image below we have a stone relief, discovered in Iraq (ca. 1881 AD), of pagan priests performing religious worship of the sun god, Shamash.
Notice the man clasping his hands. Here we have possibly one of the earliest known records of hand clasping for religious purposes, roughly 800 years before the birth of Christ being used in the pagan worship of elemental deities, such as the sun and moon.
Therefore, if the Jews had ever learned to clasp their hands in prayer, then they are likely to have learned this from the Babylonians while they were in captivity during the time of Daniel, toward the end of the 5th century BC (i.e. 500 years before Christ). They likely stopped folding their hands as a result of Roman persecution in 1st century AD when they noticed that they too also clasped their hands in prayer to their elemental deities.
World Religions
Today, there are literally hundreds of religious groupings, but our focus is on the foundational groups. Browse through the images below to see how Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists pray and notice how all of them clasp their hands, except for one group.
Interestingly, as we drift further away from the major groups of religion into paganism, we find a different kind of hand gesture -one that is all too familiar to the modern Christian, which is the arms out, palms up or out position -apparently a classic pagan stance.
So, our question is, out of all these groups, which one has got it right? Which one of these groups are praying the way the Father, the true creator of this world intended?
Bible
In Exodus 4:31, it reads, “and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” The Jewish bow is one of complete submission, where the hands are out, palms down, and the whole body is folded upon itself. Jacob made this pose to Esau in Genesis 33:3.
Jehu bowing to Assyrian king, Shalmanesar. (2 Kings 17:3)
In 2 Chronicles 20:18, we read how all of Israel made this same pose, as we see above, in worship of God, “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.”
In Matthew 26:39, we read where Jesus made this same pose the night of his arrest, “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
In Philippians 2:9-11, it states, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In Revelation 5:14, it states, “And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”
Conclusion
In summation, nowhere in the entire Holy Bible does it ever mention anyone clasping their hands to pray, so where did we get the idea that we as Christians should clasp our hands to pray? The obvious answer is from paganism, so just as Christmas, Easter, and Halloween are all rooted in paganism we find that we have also incorporated paganism into our fellowship with God.
DIVINECODERS
DIVINECODERS 
may the Sovereign Lord bless this author as he or she continues to stand in God’s truth! Amen
1Tim:2-8
Paul the greatest Christian and preacher to whom the Gospel of the GRACE of God was revealed stated” I would therefore men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Interesting…I find some of the wizards/demons/players/masons(?) who possess homeless people to make me pray for them mock me with the clasping hands with the rosary symbol. I hope I am wrong about this…
Hi Wreath,
You can see when Hollywood attacks Christian values it almost always depicts them as being Catholic. Perhaps they use the symbolism because of their idols representing heavenly things; therefore, it’s a way of mocking God directly. Foolish things, indeed.
DIVINECODERS
Muslims do not clasp their hands they pray like how it us in the Bible only when du’a is being made is when we do this and it is NOT clasping 🤲 even in the previous photos their hands were not clasped! Get your facts right
Hi Elysian,
During the Salat prayer the first position is to raise your hands to your ears, then you clasp them in front of you. Therefore, if you look again at the Sumerian relief, then you will notice that Muslims do two of the same poses as depicted in similar fashion. You raise your hands to the side of your head and clasp them in front of you. Only then do you bow as is described in the Holy Bible.
DIVINECODERS
Thanks, informative. I was wondering if clasping hands together was just an instinctive human action like you know, crying when sad and smiling when happy.
I mean, if folding hands together would automatically mean worshiping the sun god, does bowing down with the face to the ground automatically make us worship the true God?
Hi niamrahs,
You must ask yourself the more important question: How does God see it? Yes, He can hear your words and see in you a good intentioned heart but if you come to Him in ways that may offend Him; for He knows the ways of transgressors, will He even want to hear you at all?
Remember the lesson of the wedding. Come dressed appropriately for the occasion for many are invited but only a few are able to enter. Those who are rejected are those who offend.
DIVINECODERS
I’ve been curious about this topic but nowhere have I found anything remotely responsive to what I was looking for. I can’t remember where I read this but I recall that the ancient Jews tied one end of a leather thong around their forehead and the other end around their hand, as a way of symbolically connecting the two. The hands represent the outermost extension of the body, or works, and the center of the forehead is where input is gleaned. Holding ones hands together is the most effective way to feel the sensation of blood tingling in one’s hands, and by alternating attention between the hands and the heart, one is effectively able to increase that sensation which should be the whole object of the exercise of prayer. ‘Not my will, but Thy will!’ I’ve heard of certain monks who practice this exercise and are able to perform seemingly miraculous works because of this practice. It makes sense because prayer shouldn’t always be more “gimme, gimme, gimme” but rather listening to the still voice within us and encourage and cultivate it as much as we can so we can more effectively discern His will.
I also know that the FHU organization teaches this practice but only with one hand. And my curiosity stems from the practice of holding one’s hands together while praying.
Hi Walt,
Above all, prayer is a gesture of faith. When done properly prayer should begin with worship, as one acknowledges who they are speaking to and one should only pray to the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Jesus the Christ, of course; therefore, one would acknowledge God in this way before anything else. Confessing such things is actually saying quite a lot, indeed. For, one is denying the adversary and confessing that Jesus was anointed all at once -things the enemy has been trying to falsely claim for himself and deny.
After this, what you ask for will change dependent upon your spiritual growth, whether that be for good health, wisdom and discernment, safety, courage and endurance, to be lead to salvation and righteousness, or to be forgiven, but we will tell you that all of these are good things to ask for. Where wisdom and discernment are among the most readily provisioned to all who ask and are quite possibly the most important of all, besides perhaps forgiveness and mercy.
Finally, prayer should end with worship where one prays that the glory and power be God’s alone and that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven -again denying the adversary his false and unworthy claim to such things, which also establishes your allegiance to God alone and that His will be done over all others, including your own.
The position should be as we have described above -in prostration as all else is vanity. Your mind should be sober, not looking inward, not observing your breathing or heart beats. All that should be observed is your heart and mind and what they speak, ensuring they do not wonder or betray you. Do not mock God, do not blaspheme, deny or lecture Him. Concentrate the mind and tame your wicked heart. Approach God honestly and ask for what you lack.
If you are angry, then confess it to Him, be honest. If you lack discernment or understanding, ask Him for these things. Prayer is your chance to grow spiritually, to ultimately become the multitude and avoid judgement. Your goal as a child of God is to be righteous.
For example:
Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ. Please have mercy and forgive me of my sins for I am a sinner. Like you, give me a heart of compassion and forgiveness, soften my heart, Lord, make me righteous and worthy. Please increase in me wisdom and discernment, heal and preserve me, Lord, give to me the courage to endure tribulations and lead me to salvation. May the glory and power be yours forever and ever. And may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
God be with you all.
DIVINECODERS
Unfortunately you are mistaken that the Muslims pray with clasped hands as the pagans do, the Muslims do not pray with clasped hands as you have mentioned and are totally free from Paganism. The practice of the Muslims is to place the hands (right hand over left) between chest and the navel during prayer. The Salah of the Muslims has no pagan origin and is actually in line with the references you have provided from the Bible as we Muslims believe in the original texts of the Torah, Injeel and Zaboor (in unaltered untranslated form).
Qur’an,
13:15 – “And unto Allah (Alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and in the afternoons.”
17:107 – “Say (O Muhammad): Believe in it (the Quran) or do not believe. Verily! Those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.”
22:77 – “Oh you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord and do good that you may be successful.”
Qur’an 41:37 – “And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Him Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.”
As you can see, just as you have referenced, the true worship is that which is in a position of prostration with faces on the ground. The Muslims are the only ones in the world who pray as Jesus, Muhammad and the other prophets (peace and blessings be upon them all) originally did. In prostration to God.
*with reference to the image of the Muslim sister praying with hands clasped, that is not advisable for a Muslims to pray that way as it is in imitation of the pagans/polytheists. Clasping hands in such a way is not part of the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) or in the Qur’an. Likewise as your article rightly states also is not mentioned in the Bible. Just as Christian’s adopt wrong practices not found in the Bible likewise do some Muslims, this does not make it a correct teaching of Islam or practice of the pious Muslim.
if you look on the image of jehu bowing to assyrian king, that’s how muslims pray, they bow that low with knees on the ground, not sure if they’re kissing the ground though. but i actually stumbled on your article because clasping of hands is relative to asking for a favor. I was trying to find out why is it universally accepted/understood, that when you clasps your hands, you’re asking for a favor. It’s not just for praying but to communicate with people around us that we need something from them. That bugs me up to now.
Interesting article though.
Hi jmamespiritu,
Actually that is how ancient Israel prayed. Probably the first time we saw this was when Jacob fell prostrated in the presence of Esau (Genesis 33:3). Moving forward we find that Jesus, Christ also prayed in like manner (Matthew 26:39). And, finally, we will all; including His enemies, worship God prostrated in this same manner (Philippians 2:9-11) in the near future.
The Muslim prayer style is likely derived from the ancient Jewish prayer style, but with some obvious pagan influences mixed in. For example, chanting the same phrases over and over (repetition) as we see in Buddhism, for example. Such a prayer style is forbidden in the Holy Bible (Matthew 6:7). Using prayer beads called Misbaha, like the Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Bahai (New Age), and many more pagans do. Hand-Centric prayer styles like we see at the start of the Salah prayer where we in fact see this exact same hand gesture in the Sumerian image above where the palms of the hands are parallel to the side of the head. None of this is what Jehu was doing, nor should you as a follower of the LORD, Jesus.
DIVINECODERS
I enjoyed your article, but I got a bit confused at the end. Unless I totally missed something, you mentioned that pagans pray with hands lifted, but then in the end of your article you say that we get clasping hands from the pagans.
Hi Craig,
Please take another look at the Sumerian image where you will notice that the act of both lifting and clasping of hands are represented in the worship of the sun.
Fast forward to now and you will find that many Christians continue this practice of both lifting and clasping of hands in the worship of the Son -or so we assume.
Is it Jesus Christ they worship or is it Apollo? All signs appear to point to the latter option.
We urge you to pray and worship not as the world does, but as God has intended.
Thanks for reading!
DIVINECODERS
Very eye opening thank you!
Thanks for the insight !
Great job!
Hi,
I found this article quite interesting. The contemporary expression among Christians of traditional persuasion, with the hands clasped together in prayer, like the famous wood carving of Albrecht Durer’s “hands,” or “praying hands,” as it is also known, is based, as far as I understand, on the medieval act of fealty. This is when a vassal of a king or lord places both hands together, kneeling in front of them. The king, or lord, then places their hands over the vassal’s as an acknowledgment of their submission. In a similar way the person praying with clasped hands demonstrates an an “act of fealty” (act of faith) towards God, hoping that God accepts their submission and will in some way cover their own hands, as a medieval king would do, and, as it were, enter into covenant with them, since this is part of the act of fealty also. It is not that much different than the Biblical covenants expressed in the Bible, though some of these, such as circumcision, are less appealing for sure.
Here endeth my penny’s worth to the discussion. 🙂
Jim McGregor.
Will not celebrate pagan holidays anymore now that knowing the truth….Have to always go back to the FIRST COMMANDMENT!!!!!!!!
I’d like to give another word here. Look guys, know this. Anytime you get confused or afraid of being mislead lean on the bible. The word god has ordained and set apart from all else (holy) has all answers in it. It’s all inclusive. I know some of you must dis agree with that. There was a time when I would have too. But that’s because I did not read the bible. And I mean really read, study, research and question. Now that I have it has truly been……..not even a word to describe it. Perhaps it takes experience along with it. But just know that our father has prepared a place for his word in your hearts. It is not about religious tradition, a best selling book, How great the music is at church, the balls of light you saw in the sky at night, deep thoughts in a meditative trance, the amazing feeling of an experience, FOX or CNN or anything else other than his unchanging and powerful word. One only has to stop for a moment, shut off the outside world and influences for a few days and with no preconception of mans wisdom, dive into his word. All of us are accountable for ourselves regardless. Romans 1:20;For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. There are many other examples in the bible. Men take hold to their own wisdom, perceptions, guesses and fabrications and stake their own claims on an eternal destiny. Listen to no one but Elohim himself. The GREAT DECEPTION is upon us. lead yourself not into Satans claim but set your self upon the reliable word of our living God. This is why he put it there. For our guidance. So let no more excuses befall you saying, ” Why has anyone not given us an instruction book on life.” It is right in front of you. The modern form of christianity is not what it professes. Roman Catholicism was the seed of much toil. Greater yet were so many religions and denominations claiming Christianity as their home. Jesus (Yahushua) warned of these things. It is nothing new. Ever since the beginning of time traditions have been the main cast for leading many astray. These days especially many will claim of there relationship to the great Elohim. Matthew 12:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Do not take this lightly. When you debate or argue a point, let it be for truth only. Nothing more. I see a lot of opinion battering going on here. Some of which is shut down with some solid scripture. But before you launch out make certain you know what your talking about rather than simply regurgitating lines from a best seller or your own opinion. Search the scripture and you will find that we have to separate our selves from the ways of the followers of those doctrines of demons. It is strategically put there by Satan to lead you away. This is and always will be his agenda. Peace to you all and soldier on!
Your logic allows for cathedrals, church buildings, suits & ties, offering plates–anything not mentioned or prescribed in the Bible–all to be examples of paganism seeping in to the Church. You’ve drawn your circle a bit small…and you’ve deftly neglected all of the examples of praying while standing–the presumption that Jesus makes when he speaks of prayer (Mark 11:20-26; Luke 18:9-14, etc…)
Even in Scripture, we find that the Jews adopted customs and practices from other cultures…but that does not mean they denied their faith or rejected their faith. There are no synagogues in the Old Testament…but they’re all over the New Testament. And, As Christianity spread from Judea into the Greco-Roman world, I’m sure there were practices they adopted–without rejecting the faith or buying into paganism–that simply came along as folks crossed cultural lines…things like suits and ties, and church buildings, etc….
While Christmas, Easter and Halloween may have pagan roots (actually, only Christmas and Easter have truly pagan roots), Christianity has simply redeemed those days and made them Christian holy days. I love Christmas and Easter…and I don’t see any real reason to “give them up” just because they started out pagan. I started out pagan, and now I’m redeemed by Christ. Why do so many people want to give up and give back what has been redeemed?
But, I got way off topic. Prayer–prostrate and kneeling in O.T.; standing in the N.T. And God will be happy any way we pray…. Cheers
Hi Jon,
Here is the issue, let’s take a look at Matthew 6:7:
The keyword here is heathen. What is a “heathen” exactly, well according to the Greek manuscripts, it is ethnikos meaning ones-of-the-nations or in other words, ones belonging to the nations, ones like the nations, and so on. The word pagan simply doesn’t exist in the Holy Bible, at least not in the KJV, but where many of the new modern bibles translate the word pagan, behind it we find the Greek transliteration ethnikos, so we call this pagan.
Therefore, if it is “pagan” to belong to the nations, to be like the nations, and if Matthew condemns/warns us to not be like the nations, then clearly it must be wrong! But, what does Jesus Christ have to say about the world and our love of it (1 John 2:15):
So, shall we pray and worship as the heathens/pagans? We think not.
In the end, it is up to you to worship and pray as you see fit, but it is also up to the one you worship and pray to accept and hear you. Do you really want to take the risk of offending Him? For us, as servants of Jesus Christ; our only hope for salvation, it simply doesn’t seem very wise to take that risk, especially in these last days.
DIVINECODERS
Quite right. I was simply using the term you had used in your article.
Offend God? Ha. I offend Him daily…and you do to. It’s by grace we come before him at all. The posture of our hearts is way more important than the posture of our bodies.
Jon Herrin…….I have to say, as a one time initiate of Ancient Mystery Religions ,Sorcery-Majik and Occult Practices (ceremonial magician) I should say that over the time of my transformation I have gleamed a lot. I grew up a protestant and later pentecostal. But later through much hardship sought answers outside of christianity. One thing in particular that concerns me is this. The Occult community as a whole, more specifically theosophy and Luciferian-Satanism, has a mission in these last days. And I will tell you first hand, ridding this world of true Christian thought is foremost. Removing Christians from this planet is also on the bucket list. During my time with in the occult community it was very common to send in men or women with in churches around the community (nation wide) and divide, corrupt and subjugate as much as possible. One of the many ways they do this either on a church level or national media level is to disinform and misinform. Anything we do as christians, and I mean anything, we should separate our selves from pagan practices. In Majik and ceremonial practice we were taught through ancient tradition that is rooted prior to babylon to fold our hands with fingers pointed upwards or to put palms on our knees. Why is this? For the direction of power or chi. It unifies the body to stimulate the chakras. Once that is perfected than communion with elemental spirits is more effective (Obviously I do not hold that belief anymore). Where did such a belief come from. Mans own wisdom is preface. But the doctrine of demons is more accurate. Read your bible. And study occult traditions or new age wisdom currently. It’s all the same. In Majik we’d communicate with Ascended masters, who in all practicality are merely demonic entities masquerading as friendly hosts. Do you not know the days of Babylon the great harlot. One which they wish to bring back and are at the present moment. Not only is this biblical but purely reasonable given the circumstances. One, what you do is seen by others. It sent an example. Should no you be a reason to allow others to stumble? Do not take Elohim’s grace for granted. Is your intention to offend him daily? I think not. So why should your words advocate such? IT is true the posture of your heart is important. But where is scripture to back up your claim? Not the wisdom of men I presume. Jon perhaps your intentions are not one of deceit. But you must know the truth. Pray about it please! Consider your self warned and instructed. Peace brother!
Are you saying that the witches, goblins, vampires, etc., obviously among the hallmarks of the rituals, is not pagan in origin?
I love your comment sir, well-done
Salaam,
Interesting article however to say that all faiths pray with hands together except modern Jews isn’t correct- research how Muslims pray and you won’t find anything about putting hands together, I’m not sure if this picture was the first to come across when searching for pictures of Muslims praying.. But thanks for the article 🙂
Hi Nd1992,
Muslim prayer is very hand-centric. A quick search for “Muslims praying clasped hands” shows us many types of Muslim prayer styles. We have the common pagan hands up and to the side of the head, like we see in the Sumerian picture above. We have the hands cupped in front of the body, most times holding prayer beads which is extremely pagan and no different than the Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Catholic, Bahá’í (New Age) and more. And, finally we have hands clasped as we showed in the images above, although the primary pose is the cupping of hands.
Nevertheless, none of these poses are the correct pose to be in while praying according to the Old and New Testament (i.e. Holy Bible).
DIVINECODERS
In Jesus’ story of the Pharisee and sinner praying, He showed the humility of the sinner by saying that he did not even lift up his head to heaven. So much for bowing your head as representing humility. It is recorded in the apocryphal gospel of Thomas that the early church prayed with their arms outstretched (imitating crucifixion), which makes some sense. The bottom line is that positions don’t matter and claiming something is pagan, Satanic, Sumerian, Jewish or Christian only impresses us; God says we look on the outer man, He looks on the heart.
Hi Diane,
If you are referring to Luke 18:13, then you clearly have not read the next verse, here it is in context:
Therefore, the fact that the man would NOT lift his eyes to heaven made him more justified!
Arms outstretched is pagan, hands clasped is pagan; there is no way around it. If you want to pray like Jesus, then you will do so on your hands and knees with your face pointed to the ground with a sense of contrition. Don’t be fooled to think that you are not judged by your WORKS, because you most certainly will be, see Revelation 20:12:
Quite possibly another part of the Holy Bible that you disagree with, yet there it is staring right at you, telling you that you’ve been wrong this entire time. Shouldn’t we point this out, the stumbling blocks? Apparently no one sees them, so we are helping you to see.
We say, cast away the world, go to Christ and do it properly.
DIVINECODERS
Great article,though not completely accurate. Lifting the hands is for praise and bowing is for worship.
Nehemiah 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Psalms 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Psalms 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Luke 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
1 Timothy 2:7-8 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Hi Shalom,
This article is about praying which is the vehicle for both worship and praising. The point of the article is to inform our audience that the clasping of hands is non-biblical and in fact has its origins in paganism, which we don’t feel anyone is debating; however it is interesting to see how some have struggled with the information.
On a side note, we’d like to turn your attention back to the Sumerian image where we see a man clasping his hands. Notice also the man behind him with hands raised in the same manner as the pagans in the images below it. Does this not concern you also? Does it not make you question if you are indeed praising as the pagans do? And, how do you plan to justify it?
DIVINECODERS
Insightful article on habits and traditions we blindly assume are from the Bible.
I’m aware of Christmas and Easter having its origin in paganism, but can’t let go celebrating Christmas yet.
Hi Tirzah,
Thanks for the comment. Indeed, it is difficult to dislike Christmas.
DIVINECODERS