Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:2
The studies are in and here’s what they show: We humans are a lonely bunch. One out of every three adults globally say they’re struggling with loneliness, which leads to depression and anxiety.
We’re lonely—and technology wants to keep us company. Smartphone apps called AI companions have been tested and found to decrease loneliness by an average of 16 percent. In studies, people talked with a computer companion that was programmed to assist with various topics without offering emotional responses.[1] As long as people felt heard, whether it was by a real person in a human conversation, or a “conversation” with a computer, their loneliness levels dropped.
We were designed for relationship. God created us to have relationship with Him, first of all. He offers us a living, personal relationship with Himself through His Son, Jesus. When you say yes to that relationship, God gives you His Spirit who is with you forever. God knows that, in our humanity, we get lonely, and so the Bible says that “God places the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6a). But human families are made up of broken people. A man named David, the writer of the Bible book of Psalms, declared, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close” (Psalm 27:10).
Family, friends—all will fail us. Again, David wrote: “I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, ‘You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life'” (Psalm 142:4-5). The Bible also reminds us that “God leans down to listen” (Psalm 116:2).
Lonely today? He’s listening for you.
[1] De Freitas, Julian. “Can Ai Companions Help Cure the Loneliness Epidemic?” Wall Street Journal, 17 Sept. 2024, www.wsj.com/health/wellness/ai-companions-loneliness-f6b16e98.
