“Mom, I can’t figure out this math problem!” lamented my daughter. It was a very advanced math problem, and due to my limited right-brain function, though I tried, I was not of much help. Then, I remembered the man at the phone store said, “You can ask SIRI anything!” as he handed me my new iPhone.

“Let’s ask SIRI,” I responded. My daughter excitedly said, “Hey, SIRI! Can you help me with my homework?” SIRI replied in a firm, somewhat sarcastic tone, “No, I cannot, and I do not sign permission slips either!”

I have to admit it was one of those LOL moments, but at the end of the day we were at square one. We were left with the hopelessly unanswered math problem staring at both of us.

In doing a little research, I discovered the acronym SIRI stands for Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface. Wow, that sounds impressive, but underneath all the fancy rhetoric, SIRI does not have all the answers.

I thought, “Why didn’t we pray for help?” We looked to an electronic source to solve our problem. Although SIRI is entertaining, she does not provide us with real answers. We have a much more direct communication source, and it is the power of prayer.

In addition, to set up SIRI on my phone, I spoke a few lines repeatedly so SIRI could recognize and interpret my voice. Conversely, when we pray, God immediately recognizes our voice. There are no settings required. My voice is always recognizable to Him.

Eventually, my daughter did solve the math equation through trial and error. That parallel can also be drawn to situations when we try to solve our own problems before taking it to the Lord in prayer. Many times, we make a few mistakes before getting the right answer. Other times, we must wait before we get the right answer. That definitely is the appeal of using SIRI — an instant answer at our fingertips! Sounds great! Well, not exactly.

Many times, when we strategically pray, we must accept God’s answer. Sometimes the answer is immediately made known, and sometimes we must wait, and we see the answer as situations evolve. As Philippians 4:6 states, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

So the next time I need God’s help, I am not going to look to SIRI for the answers. I will sync up to the supreme power source. I think our communication source of prayer should be named Supplication Intercession Rescue Instrument. It doesn’t entertain us, but it rescues us throughout life with divine intercession precisely when we need it as we gratefully send our supplications to Him.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.