Psalm 63:4 - Lifting hands to bless God

Both Moses and Jesus raised their hands to bless groups of people. More accurately, it was to pass a blessing from God to the people. This practice is still seen today today when a minister pronounces a "benediction" at a worship service.

However, we ourselves are able to return the blessing to God--lifting our hands to do so. 

The Psalms are the hymnbook of the Bible and also give instructions on how to worship:
"So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." (Psalm 63:4, New American Standard, 1995)

When we bless God, we bless everything that is important to Him, revealed in His commandments:
"And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love; and I will meditate on Your statutes." (Psalm 119:48, NASB95)

Hands are lifted in God's direction. In the Old Testament, God met people in the temple, and so we read:
"Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord." (Psalm 134:2, New Living Translation, 2015)
Just like Daniel praying at an open window that faced toward the temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10), we lift our hands to heaven, the dwelling place of God.

When a person is blessed--by God, or by other people--something is being added to them. It may be a material blessing, but it may be that certain graces are added to their life, or virtues added to their character. So when we lift our hands to bless God, what are we possibly "adding" to Him?

The Bible says that we deserve death because of sin, but God isn't interested in killing us. (Romans 3:23; Ezekiel 18:23) So in the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices that stood in the place of people. (Hebrews 7:27) The animals sacrificed, the drink offerings poured out, the incense burned--it all represented what the people had to offer God.

Instead, we lift our hands as representative of our whole selves. We don't add anything to God, we return what is rightfully His.

Psalm 141:2 is a prayer that summarizes it well:
"Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering." (NLT)  Amen.

Illustration by Jan van 't Hoff: Abram, promised descendants, lifting his hands to God. It was an occasion of Abram receiving a blessing by faith and, in turn, Abram worshiping God.
https://www.gospelimages.com/paintings/51/offspring-promised-to-abram?thema=14