When ChatGPT Tries to Replace the Voice of God

About a decade ago, I was working at a fancy private school in the heart of Chicago.

One afternoon during a break, I was chatting with my co-teacher when she mentioned a new app she'd heard about being developed. This app, she explained, could supposedly help students make difficult life decisions—like where to attend college—by analyzing their past choices, preferences, behaviors, and habits, then telling them exactly what decision to make.

We sat with that for a while.

Though she and I didn’t exactly share the same values or lifestyle, we both recoiled at the idea.

Something about it felt eerie.

Off.

As if it shouldn’t even be legal for a child to have access to something that could have that level of influence on a child and the decisions they ultimately make.

Fast forward to now: we are living fully in the age of AI.

Lately, I’ve been thinking more deeply about the role artificial intelligence may play in the parenting of our five children.

My husband and I are both Millennials—we were the guinea pigs of the Information Age. We grew up in a world of AOL dial-up, witnessed the sudden explosion of cell phones, the introduction of text messaging, and the rise of iPhones—all within a ten-year span.

Now, with the current technological revolution driven by artificial intelligence, I find myself watchful.

Not just because I’m homeschooling and leaning more and more into classical education, as screens subtly overtake many aspects of learning.

But I’m also watchful spiritually.

Here are some things I believe the Lord is impressing upon me as I raise the next generation during this time of profound and unseen shifts.

My Bot is the God I Worship?

In college, many of my friends had prayer requests that shared a common theme: wisdom for direction.

As we tried to chart our way into adulthood, what we lacked—and most desperately needed—was wisdom:

• Wisdom to know which internship to choose

• Wisdom to discern whether the Lord was confirming or disaffirming something

• Wisdom to know if “he’s” the one

• Wisdom to decide whether to rent or buy right out of college

• Wisdom on whether to choose a career based on passion, money, or future flexibility in motherhood

We grew up in the Information Age, with all knowledge at our fingertips. But what we really needed was wisdom—to know how to apply that knowledge rightly. And so, much of our prayer life revolved around that hunger for divine insight.

A growing concern I have now—for both the next generation and believers today—is the temptation to replace seeking the Lord with turning to artificial intelligence as our first source of counsel.

Already, people use ChatGPT to help them decide whether to get divorced. They use it to weigh major life choices. It has, for some, become the "god" they worship—trusted, obeyed, and submitted to. Some are even entering into relationships and marriages with AI companions. Yeah, it’s a thing.

The Age of Instant Wisdom

We’ve already seen how the culture of instant gratification has weakened the appetite for sermons that call us to crucify the flesh, deny ourselves, and endure suffering for Christ. These truths are increasingly unpopular.

Now imagine mixing that cultural craving for immediacy with a tool that offers instant wisdom—or at least the illusion of it. The need for God-ordained covering, spiritual authority, or even communal accountability suddenly seems... unnecessary.

That’s a dangerous shift!

In high school, even friends who didn’t walk with Christ would occasionally ask me to pray for them. They sensed they needed something higher—divine revelation—for the decisions they faced.

Now, people are just typing those same questions into a chatbot.

This Isn't New: Saul & the Medium

This temptation—to bypass God’s voice for a quicker answer—isn’t new.

In 1 Samuel 28, Saul was desperate. The Philistines were gathering for battle. Samuel had died. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, he heard nothing.

“He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.” (v.6)

So Saul said:

“Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” (v.7)

In other words: “If God won’t speak, I’ll find someone else who will.”

He disguised himself and visited a medium in Endor. When she brought up Samuel’s spirit, Saul confessed:

“I am in great distress... God has departed from me... So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” (v.15)

“So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
That line hits hard.

Saul chose a shortcut. Instead of waiting on the Lord—fasting, repenting, seeking God's face—he turned to a spiritual counterfeit.

A Warning for Us Today

I’m not saying ChatGPT is evil.

I’m using it right now to help edit this post.

But I am saying: many Christians and non-Christians alike are using AI to tell them what to do—in place of fasting, praying, and waiting on the Lord.

Here’s my warning to you, beloved:

Do not let ChatGPT become your place of worship—where you sacrifice your time, trust, and obedience in exchange for answers that were meant to come from the mouth of God.

I’m not saying, “Don’t use AI.” Far from it.

I’m saying: just like I’ve had to set up guardrails in a culture of scrolling and instant gratification, we must now guard against letting AI replace the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and Guide.

I’ll say it again in case your skimming this email.

We must now guard against letting AI replace the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and Guide.

Suggested Guardrails

• Read the Word Daily – Let Scripture be your foundation

• Pray, Journal, Meditate – Cultivate listening to God's voice

• Gather with Other Believers – Don’t isolate yourself

• Fast Regularly – Deny the flesh and strengthen your spirit

• Live an Integrated Life – Invite the Holy Spirit into every part of your day

And when you use tools like ChatGPT, submit the output to the Lord just as you would with advice from a mentor or friend. Let Him have the final say.

As a Millennial, I know what it’s like to constantly battle the ease of gratifying the flesh. You’ll have to do the same with AI—not by rejecting it entirely, but by rightly ordering it under the Lordship of Christ.

PonderedThought:
Technology is moving fast, but God is still speaking.

Let’s not lose our ability to hear Him just because the answers are easier to find elsewhere.

Let me know your thoughts.

I don’t think this will be my last email on my thoughts regarding AI.

Love ya,

- Pondered Thought