Scripture

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. Psalm 47:1

Observation
Clapping. We do it at concerts and football games. Applause is the reward of performers. But there is more to clapping than two hands in rapid motion.

Think of clapping as a weapon and you will have a better idea of what it really means. In the Bible there are two reasons why people clap.

Clapping establishes rulership. When God’s people clapped kings were established and God took dominion over his land. So when we clap in worship we are extending the authority of the kingdom of God.

Clapping pronounces destruction over enemies. Applause sounds very different in the ears of the defeated than it does in the ears of the victors. Demoralization is the result of clapping over the victory of God. When we give a clap offering to the Lord, we also intimidate the enemy of our souls.

Application
A clapping church is a victorious church that reigns over the enemy. It is easy to make prayer and worship an internal intellectual process. Clapping makes worship a contact sport where enemies are tackled and brought down.

Prayer
Father, help my life to inspire others to applaud you and to tear down strong holds in that process. Amen.

Other verses on clapping in the Bible:

Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!” 2 Kings 11:12

All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?” Lamentations 2:14-16

For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel…Ezekiel 25:6

Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty? Nahum 3:19