If I were truly holy, then I would not need to raise my hands in worship of the God who loves me in spite of my imperfections. I raise my hands and give a sacrifice of praise to the God who has shown me mercy when I have deserved wrath, and grace that I have not earned.
If I were truly "spiritual" at all times, then I would not need to pray in the spirit. I pray in the spirit for edification, for greater sensitivity to the spirit, for building up that connection to the spirit. When I pray in the spirit, I am feeding my spirit instead of the flesh. I am drawing closer to and in greater communion with the Spirit of God.
If I knew what to pray at all times, then I would not need to pray in the spirit. When I pray in the spirit, the spirit gives me utterance and I give thanks well, I pray as I ought. I will pray in the spirit and with understanding.
So many people have it backwards. Raising hands, singing spiritual songs, praying, and excercising spiritual gifts are NOT badges of spirituality or a measure of how "good" a christian I am. They are a means of drawing closer to God. I do these things because I am not as near to God as I want and need to be -- NOT because I want to show off I am somehow closer to God than other people.
I bring in the sacrifice of praise. I enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise. I do these things whether I feel like doing it or not. I do these things the same whether I am alone or in a group of people. I do these things because God has prescribed them in His Word as means to draw closer to Him.
Granted, there are people who do these things as an act of trying to show off in front of other people. They do it for the admiration of those around them. Verily, they have their reward. The praises of men are temporary, fleeting, and quickly forgotten.
Praising and worshiping God brings a reward that is both immediate and everlasting. I draw closer to God, I build a stronger sensitivity of the spirit. Even if I don't feel like praising and worshiping, I do it anyway and eventually my feelings catch up.
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Grace is never given to the proud, because the proud refuse to acknowledge need of God. The proud, in fact, worship theirselves. I have found that self-worship is not just dead; it is a dark cloud of deception which walls one off from everything else.
But humility is pride's opposite, and when one realizes the truth of his position as a man in need of God, then he is in a position to receive grace and to worship in truth.
I find that raising my hands in worship further executes my desire to open myself up before God in humility.
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