Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.08UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.06UNLIKELY
Fear
0.12UNLIKELY
Joy
0.63LIKELY
Sadness
0.53LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.72LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.48UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.88LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.93LIKELY
Extraversion
0.17UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.86LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.82LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
I remember how our kids used to pray when they were young.
They learned a pattern of praying from their preschool, and they carried that with them for a while.
After thanking God and asking Him for requests, they would say, “Amen, bushmerica”.
At school, their teacher would lead lunch prayer and end it by saying, “We pray for President Bush and America”.
That was a good thing to remind the kids to pray for our leaders and our nation.
But as time passed, Bush was no longer president, but they kept the phrase bushmerica because it was part of their repertoire of prayer words.
They needed to mature in their prayer.
So often, we too may remain in prayer that needs to mature.
The prayers we first prayed when we came to Christ reflect a limited understanding of prayer.
They are often me-centered and function like a to-do list for God.
So how may we move into mature prayer that is God-centered, addressing the present needs of life and recognizing God’s desires and will?
We can look at the example of Daniel, who submitted his heart to the Word of God and prayed what he learned in it.
Insert Verse
Jerusalem and the Exiles
Because we are reading an English translation, we will not have noticed that Daniel was written in two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic.
Chapter 1 began in Hebrew but changed to Aramaic, the language of Babylon, in chapters 2-7.
And the remainder of the book uses Hebrew.
While we are not directly told why this is, we should appreciate how it points us to the emphasis of location.
Daniel and some early exiles came from Jerusalem and endured in Babylon by God’s grace.
But Babylon is now history, and the focus shifts back to Jerusalem and the exiles scattered over the empire.
We see that Daniel’s prayer here is for his people, the Jews in exile.
Daniel and the Word of God
We do not know if Daniel owned a copy of the Hebrew scriptures, but the text states that he had “books” and knew the words and writing of the prophet Jeremiah.
Daniel spent time reading the Word of God, and in his time, he became aware of the current events and the promises of God.
The two texts in Jeremiah that are the best candidates for what he read are Jeremiah 25 and Jeremiah 29.
Chapter 29 seems to fit the story perfectly.
Let’s read part of the words that Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon..
You may be familiar with verse 11.
It is a verse that comforts and encourages any believer in any time period.
But the context is specific for Daniel.
When he looked at the timeline of history, he recognized that Babylon had fallen and it was now the era of the Medes.
With excitement he must have reread the text and concluded that God was faithful to His promise.
But he recognized that this promise required a response from the people.
They needed to call, pray, and seek God with all their heart.
And this is the motivation for Daniel’s prayer.
The Word of God directed Daniel how to pray.
Daniel’s Prayer: A Model of Gospel Repentance
While praying, Daniel fasted with sackcloth and ashes.
Sackcloth was an uncomfortable material to wear, for it was made from low-quality cloth from goat or camel hair.
It was also a material used for sacks that held various items.
We would compare it to the modern sackcloth used in farming.
Daniel also put ash on his head, which was the ancient sign of humility and extreme grief.
Daniel entered his time of prayer with deep humility.
And this theme of humility continues through his prayer.
Daniel’s prayer has four main sections.
Invocation - Daniel called upon God by recognizing God’s greatness.
He knew that there was only One True God.
By properly recognizing God as above himself, he readied himself to be humble throughout his prayer.
When you pray, do you treat God as one of your childhood friends, or do you give him the proper place?
May we never let our prayers be filled with any exalting of ourselves, recognizing our goodness.
For if we do, we will miss the privilege of humbling ourselves before God.
We enter God’s holy presence by his grace and invitation.
Confession - Daniel has read and agreed with God’s word that the end of exile does not come automatically; it requires confession and repentance.
God's covenant calls for the repentant return of hearts back to God.
Daniel identifies himself with the sinful community in his prayer even though we have seen him act righteously in Babylon.
Although he is not a priest, he takes up the sin of his people and places himself among them in declaring their sin and asking for mercy.
He correctly recalls the covenant faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of the covenant people.
God.
Daniel acts like a lawyer who knows his client is guilty and makes no excuses or distractions from the undeniable guilt.
When we confess our sins to God, are we sorry for our sins and actions or got caught?
May we be honest in our confession admitting our guilt before God.
May our hearts and actions show that we are repentant.
Crocodile Tears
Can we not somehow think we can fool God through crocodile tears.
Reflection - Daniel recognized that they deserve all that they are experiencing.
It is because of God’s covenant that the people have gone into exile.
God foretold them the warning and then gave the people the consequences of their sin, proving He is holy and righteous.
God is fair in His judgment.
God is vindicated from any negligent action or unfair terms.
Petition - Daniel recognized that the only hope that they have is if the Lord turns his wrath away and gives mercy.
He asks God to make turn toward his people with grace.
He does not make the request because the people can appeal to their innate goodness.
No, they must appeal to God’s righteousness and great mercy.
The Gospel in Daniel’s Prayer
Daniel’s prayer of confession lays the groundwork for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
God is the great creator of humanity.
We are born with a sin nature, and we affirm that we are sinners with our earliest acts of sin.
We may not be “bad” in our own eyes, but we are not the standard of righteousness; God is.
If we understand the gospel correctly, we will admit that we are sinful people who do not deserve God’s goodness and mercy.
We must recognize that we do not have any grounds on which to make any demands from God.
If we fail to acknowledge this, we will miss our need for God’s grace and mercy.
But Daniel looks forward to God's mercy which is fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
God deals with the sin of the people through a new covenant in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the one who intercedes on our behalf by becoming the one who takes up our sin upon himself.
His sacrifice on the cross gives us freedom from the wrath that is due upon us.
And the new covenant assures us that if we are in Him, we enjoy a righteousness that comes from God through faith.
Daniel may not have known the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but he knew how to surrender himself and the hope of his people upon the mercy of God.
We find the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.
Growing in Mature Prayer
When we look at the life of Jesus, we will see that Jesus lived the habit of praying.
We may find it a challenge to connect how the second person of the Trinity prayed to God the Father, but we should appreciate that Jesus led by example.
If the Son of God lived a life of prayer, then we too, ought to pray.
Jesus showed how his humanity required Him to submit and depend upon the Father.
In His prayers, He reflected complete unity and dependence on the godhead of the Trinity.
Therefore, we must not neglect the privilege and pattern of prayer that we have with God.
But we also realize that when we do make prayer a priority, we may find that we don’t know how to pray and make prayer just a time to inform God of our most pressing issues.
While this is often normal, it is not the goal we should have in prayer, for there is so much more that God intends for us in prayer.
If we consider Daniel’s prayer, we find a model for praying for confession and restoration of people separated from God.
Daniel prayed this way, not accidentally, but deliberately because he had spent time in God’s Word.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9