Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION:

My Big Idea

I’ve been to many many countries and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to see places, people and patterns of life

Heritage, Culture, Tradition and Relgion

I found several things common to different peoples

People Eat, Laugh, Love and Pray (that reminds me of the movie eat, pray, love featuring Julia Roberts back in 2010)

People prays to different idols and gods

But christians prays to the one and only living God

For christians, praying should be like breathing

Just as breathing is the response of physical life to the presence of air

So, prayer should be the response of spiritual life to the presence of God

Our biggest barriers to a prosperous prayer life is our tendency toward “independence”

I was just like some of you here today who have difficulty praying

Many years before, I was very dependent on myself that I don’t find the need to pray

The repetitive prayers that they thought me in my previous religion took the real value and meaning of prayer

The words was too impersonal because it was like some poem that we have to memorize and recite when prayer time comes

We were taught to do cycles of prayers with not just repetitive, but redundant words, contrary to what Jesus taught His disciples

”7-8

God precisely knows all your needs because He is an omniscient God (All knowing)

But, do not get confused by this passage

Don’t say that you need not to pray because God already knows your “needs” anyway

Prayer is God’s idea

Jesus is not going to teach His disciples to pray if was not

God wants to hear you say it… tap the person on your right and say, “God wants to hear you say it!”

while He already knows what you need, He wants you to tell Him what you desire

Prayer, Humorous

A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers with his mother: “Lord, bless Mommy and Daddy, and God, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!”

Mom: “God’s not deaf, son.”

Boy: “I know, Mom, but Grandma’s in the next room, and she’s hard of hearing!

Humorous Prayer

A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers with his mother: “Lord, bless Mommy and Daddy, and God, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!”

Mom: “God’s not deaf, son.”

Boy: “I know, Mom, but Grandma’s in the next room, and she has difficulty of hearing!

But seriously, God knows what you need, though He wants to hear what you want

If I am going to ask those who don’t have enough courage to pray to raise their hands, they might not raise their hands because if they don’t have the courage to pray, they will not have the courage to raise their hands... So, I’d rather not ask anyway…

Let me just ask the opposite…

How many of you pray at least once a day?… keep your hands raised, those who pray at least twice a day… at least 3 times a day?…

See all I need to do is to ask the opposite, to simply know who are those having difficulty praying .. those who did not raise their hands!

LOL

For the next 6 weeks, we will have our 40 Days of Prayer Campaign leading towards our celebration of Easter

OVERVIEW OF THE SERIES

The Purpose of Prayer

How to Pray with Confidence

The Pattern of Prayer ( Part 1 & 2)

Praying for a Breakthrough

How to Pray in Crisis

I will begin today with the....

The Purpose of Prayer

Brief Summary of My Points

Prayer is an Act of Dedication

Prayer is an Act of Communication

Prayer is an Act of Supplication

Prayer is an Act of Cooperation

My Scripture Text/Bible Reference

Open your Bible to Daniel chapter 6

Daniel, was also known as Belteshazzar when the chief official changed his name during his exile to Babylon

Daniel is one of the 6 Major prophets, you can find the book in the Old Testament, after Ezekiel, before Hosea

Daniel has the ability to interpret dreams, and that ability catapulted him to position and popularity

The same position and popularity that brought his faith to a great challenge when king Darius issued an edict prohibiting praying to other gods in the next 30 days

It was the administrators and satraps that talked the king into it… because they’re envious that the king planned to promote Daniel

Let’s take a look at the narrative… I’ll begin in verse 10..

Daniel

Background and Context from my Passage

After learning about the edict from the King, Daniel still went on to pray, 3 times a day as he usually did… And that’s “Dedication”

When the satraps (in other words governors) came to check on Daniel, they saw him praying… that’s “Communication”

Daniel was asking God for help… that’s “Supplication”

Early the next morning, when the king checked on Daniel, with an anguished voice he called on Daniel, “has your living God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the Lions?”

Daniel answered, “My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions, they have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight.”..

And that’s “Cooperation” from God

Very clearly…

PRAYER IS AN ACT OF DEDICATION

We saw the kind of dedication of Daniel that when his greatest weapon became his greatest challenge, he did not waver

He remain steadfast, he kept his resolved, he continued to be firm, he was not shaken by the threat

With an Act of Dedication, he prayed

He prayed before, and not during the calamity

To borrow some of words from Pastor Rick Warren he said, “Prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort.”

We saw the kind of dedication of Daniel that when his greatest weapon became his greatest challenge, he did not waver

He remain steadfast, he kept his resolved, he continued to be firm, he was not shaken by the threat

With an Act of Dedication, he prayed

He prayed before, and not during the calamity, unlike many of us… we wait until we’re in a storm before we call on God

To borrow some of words from Pastor Rick Warren he said, “Prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort.”

The biggest hindrance to “Prayer” is “Pride”

We overestimated our own abilities

We are fooled by the ads of our society… “Just do it!”…

pushing people to right away do it, without praying for it!

As long as you think that you are self sufficient, you will not pray

Unless you accept that fact that apart from Jesus, you can do nothing, you will not pray

Until you make that declaration of “dependence”, you will not pray

My Scripture Text/Bible Reference

PRAYER IS AN ACT OF COMMUNICATION

My Second Point

My Scripture Text/Bible Reference

They found Daniel praying… That’s an act of “Communication”

Daniel was communicating with God

Most of the problem in life are communication… lack, or poor, or no communication at all

You can’t know the right way to communicate unless you know the person you’re communicating with

We need to know the person you’re talking to, to be able to communicate with him effectively

We need to know God , to be able to pray effectively

When you communicate with God, you don’t have to pass through some bureaucrats in heaven

Paul said there is only one mediator between God and mankind, and that is the man Christ Jesus ()

bureaucrat