But to the new convert or non-Pentecostal just entering the Charismatic movement, the custom may be new and awkward. Most traditional Protestants have only seen the minister lift his hands to give the benediction or blessing upon the people. Lifting Hands in Supplication A gesture common to many cultures is stretching forth the hands to implore another person to help, to give something, or to come. In a similar way, hands are extended for prayer in the direction of God's dwelling. Most often, however, hands are lifted up to God in heaven.
Hands express the inner man.
Lifted hands must not mask sin. The lifting of the hands so characterizes prayer in the Bible that it becomes a metonymy, a symbol for supplication without the need to identify it as prayer. To lift the hand to God means invoking His help. Yet hands are not only lifted in supplication. They are also lifted to offer a blessing to God.