I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.
Paul’s instruction on how they should pray follows with emphasis on the inner holiness and outward righteous behavior of those who lead. Paul did not command the men to pray with upraised hands. He simply described public praying as the Christians practiced it commonly in his day (cf. 1 Kings 8:22; 1 Kings 8:54; 2 Chronicles 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Psalms 28:2; Psalms 63:4; Psalms 134:2; Psalms 141:2; Lamentations 2:19; Lamentations 3:41; Isaiah 1:15). This posture was also common in the pagan mystery religions of the first century. [Note: Litfin, p. 735.] Pictures on the walls of the catacombs and in other early Christian art show believers praying this way. Commonly they raised their palms upward and open to heaven evidently to symbolize their inner openness to God and their desire to offer praise to God and to obtain a gift from Him. If Paul had meant the men were to lift up their physical hands when they prayed he probably would not have described the hands as holy. "Holy," "wrath," and "dissension" all point to a metaphorical use of "hands." Our hands symbolize what we do. Paul wanted the men to pray as they practiced holiness in their everyday lives. [Note: See Knight, p. 129.] Posture in prayer does not render the prayer more or less effective, but it often reflects the inner attitude of the person praying.