Laying On of Hands

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

Laying on of hands is prayer with touch. One or several people place a hand on the person being prayed for — shoulder, back, head — and pray aloud. It's used when praying for the sick, when sending people out (missionaries, new leaders), when ordaining pastors and priests, at confirmation, and simply when someone asks for prayer. In a small group, the person in the middle may end up with a dozen hands on them at once.

Why people say it

Touch says what words can't: you're not alone, we're with you, this is real. The Bible connects laying on of hands with blessing, healing, and the passing on of authority and the Spirit, and Christians have kept the practice from the first century on. It also gives prayer a shape — a beginning and end, a place to stand.

How to respond

If you go up for prayer and people begin laying hands on you, close your eyes if you like, listen, and say "thank you" when it ends. If you're asked to join in praying for someone, a hand on their shoulder is fine; you don't need to pray aloud. If you don't want to be touched, say "I'd rather not be touched, but I'd like prayer" — it's a normal request and will be honored.

If you hear it in different churches

Universal. Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches use it sacramentally — the bishop lays hands at confirmation and ordination, and priests in the Anointing of the Sick. Evangelical and Baptist churches use it at ordinations, commissionings, and for the sick. Pentecostal and charismatic churches use it constantly, often paired with anointing oil and sometimes with people falling; that's the most physically expressive form.

Where does “Laying On of Hands” come from?

Moses commissioned Joshua by laying hands on him (Numbers 27:18–23). Jesus laid hands on the sick and on children. The apostles appointed the first deacons (Acts 6:6) and sent Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:3) the same way, and Paul reminds Timothy of the gift given him "through the laying on of hands" (1 Timothy 4:14). Hebrews 6:2 lists it among the basics of the faith. Ordination by laying on of hands has been continuous since the early church, and the practice of praying for the sick with touch follows James 5 and Mark 16:18.

Good to know

You might also hear

Common questions