As a person of faith raised in a religious household, Amy Galliford has a clear picture of what prayer means to her. Prayer is the practice by which she draws closer to God, petitions for needs and desires, requests guidance, and asks forgiveness. The deal has always been that in times of trouble, she casts her anxieties and questions and emerges with either answers or a sustaining sense of peace. 'Take it to the Lord in prayer,' the song goes.
When Questions Become Prayers
It is unclear to Galliford when a question becomes a prayer, but she suspects it may have less to do with the content of the question and more to do with her expectations in asking it. She has never thought of ChatGPT as a god—nor has she ever asked its forgiveness. However, in moments of confusion, she has watched herself call upon its name for answers almost compulsively. At first, this was limited to recipes and poetry. Then, ironically and playfully, she began asking for its read on her relational dynamics, habits, and occasionally her future.
While rationally aware of its hallucinations and lack of moral obligation, Galliford seems to believe ChatGPT has something real to offer. Whatever she claims to believe about it, she finds herself soothed by the tidiness of a five-bullet-point plan and the imitation of a reassuring voice. It offers guidance that at least sounds certain, even if this certainty is synthetic.
The Temptation of Instant Answers
'Why would a Christian—in theory, on speaking terms with God—turn to a robot with her questions?' Galliford asks. Because at least this god answers, you might think. But saints and mystics would smile at that response. The Christians of history most celebrated for their wisdom and understanding have often been those most familiar with God's silence, not his chatter. His silence became another form of communion, his perceived absence another kind of presence.
Simone Weil, a 20th-century mystic and philosopher, famously defined prayer as attention. In a letter included in Waiting for God, Weil speaks of prayer as the 'orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable towards God.' Her original French makes plain a secret: the French word for attention, spelt the same as in English, is closely linked to the word for waiting, attendre. The collection's title, Attente de Dieu (Waiting for God), bears the same secret: decent prayer is mostly just waiting.
No wonder there is a temptation to turn to ChatGPT. The unbearable wait is exactly the burden that its instantaneous answers promise to lift. So anxious is Galliford to rid herself of this burden that even a false certainty would be preferable to the discomfort of not understanding.
The Holy Ground Between Question and Answer
Another piece of etymology is illuminating. The lives of mystics like Weil were marked by a practice of contemplation, as is the prayer life of many Christians. To contemplate is not to conclude, but rather to deeply consider, reflect, observe. At the Latin root of 'contemplation' is literally the word 'temple.' It is as if the gap between a question and its answer is a place made sacred by exactly the unknowing that produces discomfort.
When ChatGPT unhesitatingly grants answers to questions of faith, this is the space it is invading. Not only does it satisfy with a false sense of security, but the satisfaction it offers is its own kind of deprivation. The machine relieves Galliford of her discomfort, but in doing so, deprives her of her waiting. Its bullet points assault her silence. It robs her of contemplation, of the holy ground between question and answer.
For the mystic, this space of contemplation had much more to do with seeking than finding. Lingering in this gap yielded its own treasures: a character marked by patience and wisdom; a deeper capacity for compassion; a familiarity with the mysteries that resist simple answers; a contentment insulated from the storms of circumstance.
Choosing Prayer Over AI
Whether or not we call it holy or sacred, the gap between our questions and answers is charged with potential. To allow—even to plead with—a bot to hustle us from it prematurely is to forgo its treasures. Where answers may evade us, we are poised for deeper discovery; it is here that we find ourselves further from certainty and, hopefully, closer to truth.
Coded for certainty rather than mystery, ChatGPT is ill-equipped to aid Galliford's search for truth. Perhaps instead she will do as the song says, and take it to the Lord in prayer. Amy Galliford is an associate of the Centre for Public Christianity. She holds a master's of philosophy in Christian theology from the University of Cambridge.
