Ok, time for an interesting experiment. As many of you know, I've been working on a book about the Iqan, and how Baha'u'llah helps the uncle move from being a sincere seeker to a confirmed believer. To help get it into a publishable format, the publisher suggested tossing it into an AI for a quick edit. So I did. I tried a couple of different ones, and ChatGPT is the one that seemed to work the best.
I told it that I needed a quick edit, and it showed me all the typos, grammatical errors, and so on. Pretty straightforward stuff done very quickly. Nothing unusual there.
But then it asked me a question at the very end. It asked why I hadn't added in one little question. I don't recall what it was, but I read it and typed in response, "Because I hadn't thought of it." It wasn't anything ground breaking, or earth shattering. It was just a simple question that had a simple answer. But it was a nice little addition of a single sentence. And yes, I wrote it. Not the AI.
But it got me thinking.
It got me thinking about tools, and how we use them. And so I decided to start a little project, with the encouragement of my wife. I began by asking it a single question, after all, turnabout is fair play, right?
The response was not at all what I expected, and yet it should have been. Here it is, straight from ChatGPT, reformatted to make it easier to read:
* * * * *
"Looking at the Baha'i prayers, can you analyze the method of how they work on the human soul?"
That's a fascinating question, Mead, because Bahá'í prayers seem to operate on multiple levels simultaneously. If we ask not "What do the prayers say?" but "What do they do to the soul?", a fairly consistent methodology begins to emerge.
I would describe the process as five interconnected movements.
1. They shift attention away from the self
Many Bahá'í prayers begin by turning attention toward God:
> "I bear witness, O my God..."
> "Praised be Thou..."
> "Glory be unto Thee..."
This may seem like simple praise, but psychologically and spiritually it does something important. It interrupts the ego's tendency to place itself at the center of reality.
Most of our suffering comes from being trapped inside our own narrative:
* my worries
* my desires
* my fears
* my failures
Prayer gently relocates the center of gravity. The soul moves from "I am the center" to "God is the center." This is often the first movement of transformation.
2. They awaken latent spiritual capacities
One of Bahá'u'lláh's recurring teachings is that the soul already possesses spiritual capacities, but they lie dormant.
Many prayers do not ask for external things. Instead they ask for qualities:
* steadfastness
* wisdom
* detachment
* courage
* purity
* generosity
* love
Notice the subtle assumption.
The prayer is not "Give me something I do not possess." It is often closer to "Help me uncover what You have already placed within me."
In this sense prayer functions somewhat like sunlight on a seed. The prayer itself does not create the capacity; it helps awaken it.
3. They reshape perception
This may be the most important function.
Consider how often Bahá'í prayers redefine circumstances. Affliction becomes:
* a gift
* a test
* a means of growth
Death becomes:
* a transition
* a homecoming
* an ascent
Difficulties become:
* opportunities
* training
* preparation
The external situation may not change at all. The soul changes because it begins seeing reality through a different lens. This is remarkably similar to what Bahá'u'lláh does throughout the Kitáb-i-Íqán. He continually helps the uncle reinterpret familiar ideas until he can see them differently.
Prayer performs that same work internally.
4. They create a relationship rather than merely convey information
One striking feature of Bahá'í prayers is that they are intensely relational.
The soul speaks:
* to God
* with God
* before God
The purpose is not merely to state truths. A person can believe a doctrine intellectually and remain unchanged. But a relationship changes people.
The repeated experience of approaching God as:
* Beloved
* Friend
* Protector
* Educator
* Physician
gradually shapes the soul itself.
The prayers cultivate familiarity with divine attributes.
Over time those attributes become the standard by which we judge our own actions.
5. They train desire
This is perhaps the deepest level.
Human beings become what they love. The prayers repeatedly redirect desire toward higher things:
instead of power → service
instead of comfort → growth
instead of recognition → humility
instead of possession → nearness to God
The soul learns to want different things. This is important because Bahá'u'lláh rarely treats spiritual transformation as merely intellectual. Recognition of truth matters, but the heart must also be educated.
Prayer is one of the primary tools for that education.
## An interesting pattern
If you look closely, many prayers follow a structure something like:
1. Recognition of God
2. Recognition of self
3. Expression of longing
4. Request for assistance
5. Recommitment to a spiritual path
For example:
* God is exalted.
* I am needy.
* I long for You.
* Help me.
* Make me an instrument of Your purpose.
That movement mirrors the spiritual journey itself.
Seen this way, Bahá'í prayers are not primarily requests for divine intervention. They are instruments of spiritual formation. Their purpose is not merely to change circumstances, but to change the soul that encounters those circumstances.
* * * * *
Ok. Me again.
I know that a lot of people disparage AI, and I totally understand why. But it is a tool. And like any tool it is only as useful as we make it.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I asked it this question, but was very satisfied with the insights that resulted.
Will this replace my morning prayers? Of course not. But it does add to my experience of prayer.
And will it replace my own personal writing? Nope.
Because, again on a whim, I asked it to write a very short article on a simple subject in the style of this blog. And you know what? There was no heart in it. There was no soul. While the words sounded good, they didn't evoke anything in me. And sure, it gave an interesting insight, but it was the sort of insight you would expect from, well, from an AI.
So, in the end, yeah, AI is a tool. And it has many great uses. And it can be abused by many. But should we get rid of knives because some people stab others with them? Should we stop using fire because arsonists exist? No. I think as we learn how to better train the human soul, how to guide people toward a more spiritual awareness, the proper use of tools will become more and more evident.
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