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.

You may think that this prayer gesture is common only to Christians. Actually, the Jews were doing it long before Christians did. Natahn Ausubel, in his book "Book of Jewish Knowledge said: "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."

This being so, Jesus who was a Jew, also prayed with his hands clasped. It is not uncommon to see pictures or images of Him in this prayer gesture. Even the Virgin Mary and angels are often depicted in art with their hands drawn together.

In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, this prayer gesture is a sign of veneration and respect as well as a greeting. Termed the "anjali mudra", this is done by the drawing together of one's palms at the heart. In Sanskrit, anjali means an offering and mudra means seal. In India particularly, this gesture goes hand in hand with the word "Namaste" which is something like a sacred Hello and translated as "I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me."

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.

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For some Bible-based tips on how to pray so that your prayers will be granted, go to www.how-to-pray-effectively.com and uncover the secrets to answered prayer. For more articles about prayer, visit our praying hands blog.