Praying Hands

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) — c. 1508 · Brush drawing in ink and gouache · Albertina, Vienna

“Pray without ceasing.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)

About

Dürer's brush drawing of 1508 — blue-grey paper, white heightening — is a study for an apostle's hands in an altarpiece, and has become perhaps the most reproduced drawing in the world. The beloved tale of the hands belonging to his brother the miner is a touching legend, not a documented fact.

The Meaning

Two empty hands, thin, worn, and lifted: in one drawing Dürer summed up the posture of faith — we bring nothing; we ask everything. It is fitting that the world's favourite picture of prayer was made not as a masterpiece but as a craftsman's preparation.

For Us Today

Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) — with working hands and a worn Bible. God honours the prayers of labourers as surely as scholars; the hands that fold in prayer should be hands that have served somebody.

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.