Artificial Intelligence Must Never Replace the Secret Place

A devotional counsel to the Body of Christ
By Shirley A. Amanfo

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles…”
— Isaiah 40:31 KJV

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
— Psalm 27:14 KJV

As I meditated on waiting upon the Lord—being patient, relying upon Him, and resisting the pressure to rush—I sensed the Holy Spirit cautioning me about the age in which we live.

Let me say this plainly: this is not a call to fear technology. It is a call to guard our dependence.

Earlier this year, the Lord impressed upon me that the best time to meet with Him is early in the morning, when the world is still quiet and its demands have not yet begun pulling on me. Do not touch the phone first. Go straight to meditating, studying the Word, and speaking with Him, so that you can receive the bread of life for the day. When the phone is the first thing our hand lands on, we get distracted.

Then it happened to me. I had planned to wake up, study Scripture, and meditate. But my hand landed on my phone. I only meant to set the alarm, or check what my schedule looked like for the day. Before I knew it, there were notifications, text messages, a phone call, and tasks pulling at me. I moved from one search to another, even on Google and ChatGPT, and by the time I returned to pray, my mind was already racing through who to call and what I needed to do. Soon it was time to leave for work, and I rushed through my prayers. I deeply regretted it that day, because I knew the Lord wanted to share something with me, and I missed it.

We live in a time when information is available almost instantly. With a few words and the touch of a button, artificial intelligence can generate answers, explanations, messages, and even prayers. Although this technology can be useful, we must be careful that convenience does not weaken our commitment to study, think, remember, pray, and wait upon the Lord.

The instruction impressed upon my heart was this:
Do not relinquish the power of knowing truth by heart.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God…”
— 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

There are truths we should not merely know how to retrieve; they should live within us. The Word of God must be studied, meditated upon, memorized, and hidden in our hearts.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
— Psalm 119:11 KJV

When Compassion Becomes Artificial

If we become dependent upon artificial intelligence to produce every answer, compose every message, and tell us what to say, we may eventually learn how to sound compassionate without genuinely developing compassion. We may speak the correct words of empathy and love while remaining disconnected from the condition of another person’s heart.

Our words may sound polished but lack spiritual weight because they were not born through prayer, experience, meditation, compassion, or communion with God. We may speak from information stored outside of us rather than from truth planted deeply within us.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
— Matthew 24:12 KJV

Jesus warned that love can grow cold, and that warning deserves our attention today. The Church must be careful not to develop an artificial expression of love—one that knows the appropriate language but lacks patience, presence, sacrifice, and real concern. Biblical love is more than finding the right words. It requires us to slow down, listen, discern, and allow ourselves to feel the burdens of others.

The Spirit of Rush

Rushing has become one of the defining habits of this age. We want instant information, instant answers, instant success, and instant solutions. We have grown accustomed to receiving responses immediately.

But God will not be rushed. Waiting upon God is not wasted time. It is often where He develops our discernment, strengthens our character, corrects our motives, and teaches us to recognize His voice.

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me…”
— Habakkuk 2:1 KJV

Waiting upon the Lord requires us to enter the secret place and remain there long enough to hear Him. It requires us to take our questions to God instead of automatically reaching for the quickest available answer.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
— Psalm 91:1 KJV

Artificial intelligence can provide information, but it cannot replace revelation from the Holy Spirit. It can organize words, but it cannot produce an authentic relationship with God. It can explain Scripture, but it cannot obey Scripture for us. It can imitate the language of compassion, but it cannot form the love of Christ within the human heart. Only God can do that.

Remember the Source of Our Help

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
— Psalm 121:1–2 KJV

Our help ultimately comes from the Lord—not from technology, information systems, machines, programs, or human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence may assist us, but it must never become our source, master, teacher, or counterfeit place of dependence. It must not replace prayer, biblical study, wise human counsel, spiritual discernment, or the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We should be able to close every device, sit quietly before God, open His Word, and say, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9 KJV).

A Word to Christian Writers and Teachers

Those of us called to write, teach, preach, counsel, or encourage others must be especially watchful.

Artificial intelligence may help us correct grammar, organize material, format a manuscript, or improve clarity. But it should not become the source of the message God has entrusted to us.

If we allow a machine to supply the substance of everything we produce, our work may sound impressive while no longer carrying our authentic testimony, spiritual labor, or personal encounter with God.

Writing from the heart is not always easy. It requires prayer, patience, vulnerability, remembrance, discipline, and time. Yet the struggle is often part of the formation. God does not only care about the finished message; He also cares about what He is producing within the messenger.

The message must first be written upon our hearts before it is written upon a page.

A Call to the Body of Christ

As I said at the beginning, this is not a call to fear technology. Let us use it with wisdom, boundaries, and discernment, and let us remain in authority over the tool rather than allowing it to govern our thinking or replace our spiritual disciplines.

• ✅ Study the Word diligently.
• ✅ Memorize and meditate upon Scripture.
• ✅ Wait patiently in God’s presence.
• ✅ Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and revelation.
• ✅ Listen carefully to people before responding.
• ✅ Speak from real compassion rather than borrowed language.
• ✅ Develop the gifts and intelligence God has placed within us.
• ✅ Use artificial intelligence as an assistant—not as a substitute for God, spiritual discernment, personal study, or the human heart.

Artificial intelligence may assist our hands, but it must never replace our hearts.

It may help refine the presentation, but it must not become the source of the revelation.

It may help organize our words, but the message must first be written within us by God.

Reflection Questions

• Have I begun reaching for immediate information before seeking the Lord?
• Am I still studying and committing God’s Word to my heart?
• Are my words of compassion flowing from real love or merely from learned expressions?
• Has the pressure to move quickly weakened my ability to wait upon God?
• Is technology serving me as a tool, or am I becoming dependent upon it?
• What spiritual discipline is the Lord calling me to restore?

Prayer

A note from the author: The message, revelation, and spiritual counsel in this devotional are mine. I used technology only to help organize and polish the presentation.

What spiritual discipline is the Lord calling you to restore today? I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below and let’s encourage one another to guard the secret place in this digital age.