Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In the passage today we come to a lengthy prayer of Daniel’s.

All through the book of Daniel we have learned that Daniel is a man of prayer.

But we’ve never really heard what his prayers sounded like.

Today we read his prayer.

Chapter 9 begins

Daniel 9:1 “1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—”

This means it was right around the time Daniel was thrown in the Lion’s Den.

He’s in his 80’s at this point.

He has lived nearly 70 years in captivity in Babylon away from his home.

For 70 years nearly he has longed to return to Jerusalem his homeland.

Then we read in verse 2:

Daniel 9:2 “2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

This is fascinating.

Daniel was reading the scroll of the prophet Jeremiah (that’s the two books back in your Bible).

And as he’s studying his Bible he realizes that Jeremiah had prophesied what was going to happen.

Jeremiah had seen all the sins of Israel and had warned that Babylong was going to come and conquer them.

The people didn’t listen to Jeremiah.

But then Daniel read this verse:

Jeremiah 25:11 “11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

70 years!

That 70 years was nearly over.

Suddenly Daniel begins to get hope that he and his people might return to Jerusalem just as Jeremiah had promised.

And he gets down on his knees and he prays this prayer.

Today, as we look at Daniel’s prayer I want us to reflect on our own prayer lives.

I want us to ask if the qualities that made Daniel’s prayer so powerful are true of our own prayers.

What is interesting about this prayer of Daniel’s is that this prayer is the only place in the book of Daniel where God’s name ‘yahweh’ is used in the entire book of Daniel.

Yahwheh is the personal name of God that was given to Moses in the Old Testament.

In this prayer it is used seven times.

This is a personal prayer of a man who loves God to that God.

I would like to look at three aspects of Daniel’s prayer

Daniel 9:3-19 “3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.

6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.

8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned agains…”

Daniel’s Prayer is Covenantal

First, let’s look at the Covenantal Nature of Daniel’s Prayer.

Daniel actually brings this up at the start of his prayer.

He says:

Daniel 9:4 “4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,”

He’s going back in his prayer, and he’s saying, “God — I know this quality about you.

You have revealed it to us.

You keep your covenants.

And so on that basis, I’m now going to pray.”

Before we go much further, it might help to have a very brief sketch of what I mean by Covenant.

All through Scripture God relates to people, and when He relates to people He does so on the terms of a Covenant.

A covenant is like a Holy Contrac that God makes that stipulates the responsibilities of both parties in the contract.

God says, “God says — this is who I will be to you and what I expect from you.”

And in the covenant is always the penalties if the people of God break the covenant.

So, for example when God made a covenant with Moses.

He gave the people His law, the Old Testament law, and he said

Deuteronomy 28:1 “1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.”

Deuteronomy 28:15 “15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”

These were the conditions of the covenant that the people of God in the Old Testament made with God.

How Was Daniel’s Prayer Covenantal

How is Daniel’s prayer covental?

All through the prayer Daniel is appealing to the terms of the covenant and to the promises that God had made them.

Daniel 9:11 “11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice.

And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.”

Here Daniel is acknowledging that the reason they are in exile is because of the rules of the covenant.

He says, “We broke the covenant, and then you upheld the punishment for breaking the covenenant.”

In other words — nothing unjust is happening to the people of Israel as they have been taken captive in Babylon and suffered as they have.

Their suffering is proper penalty for breaking the covenant.

And so, in prayer Daniel is acknowledging that reality.

Calls on God’s Character

Did you notice all through this passage, Daniel continues to come back and remind himself of the character of God.

These are not just any old statements about God, they are descriptions of God’s character that has been revealed to God’s people through the Scriptures.

Daniel 9:4 “4… “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love...”

Daniel 9:7 “7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousnes...

Daniel 9:9 “9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness...”

This too is covenantal because God has promised who He will be to His people.

That’s part of the beauty of being in relationship with God is knowing God’s character, what he’s like.

So Daniel prays, “God — you are righteous.”

“God — you are merciful, I know this about you.”

This is covenantal prayer.

We Are Under Different Covenants

Christian, just like Daniel, you too are in a Covenant with God.

And that covenant, and the terms of that covenant ought to shape your prayer life.

The covenant you are in is the New Covenant made by the blood of Christ.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the day when God’s messiah would make this new covenant.

He said:

Jeremiah 31:31 “31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,”

Jesus then claimed to initiate that new covenant.What are the terms of this relationship with God, this covenant with God?

The terms are a bit different than the terms of Daniel’s covenant.

Daniel’s covenant was one of works.

Their exile was the just penalty for the breaking of their covenant they had made with God.

But this new covenant is utterly unique, because under the terms of the new covenant, we don’t pay the debt for our sin (like Daniel had to).

Rather Christ pays our debt for us.

God’s messiah enters under the judgment of God on our behalf, and we receive grace upon grace when we receive it by faith in God’s Christ.

This covenant is so strong that it can never broken.

Romans 8:35-39 “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Application

Christian — learn to pray covenantally.

Call upon the terms of the covenant in your prayers.

“God — I’m doubting my faith right now, but yous said that “He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion!” Learn to call upon the character of God.