A ChatBot Prays

It’s time to see how spiritual the Bing ChatBot can be. I told it, “Write an
original prayer that includes the sentences, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
This was the result:

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
You are the source of all truth and grace,
The giver of every good and perfect gift.
Forgive me for doubting your promises and power,
For letting fear and worry cloud my vision of you.
 
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
You are the healer of all wounds and sickness,
The restorer of every broken and lost soul.
Forgive me for seeking other remedies and comforts,
For ignoring your presence and your peace.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
You are the king of all glory and majesty,
The ruler of every nation and authority.
Forgive me for following other lords and idols,
For compromising your will and your ways.
 
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
You are the savior of all sinners and rebels,
The redeemer of every cross and grave.
Forgive me for trusting in my own works and merits,
For neglecting your grace and your love.
 
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
Increase my faith and strengthen my hope,
Fill me with your Spirit and your joy.
Amen.
 
Well, the ChatBot prayer is quite good. I can imagine a Catholic priest, hard-pressed for time, requesting a ChatBot prayer on his smartphone and immediately using it in some situation where he was supposed to offer a public prayer. But is the ChatBot prayer really prayer?

While prayer may be expressed in words, words are not the essence of prayer. Prayer, in its deepest form, is simply drawing close to God and feeling God’s presence. Clearly the ChatBot cannot do this. Artificial Intelligence is incapable of praying “with groans that cannot be expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26) Prayer requires a real person and a real God, together in real time.

~ Richard Russell