A police officer has found faith after turning to virtual assistant Siri in his time of need. David*, a 20-year law enforcement veteran whose name has been changed to protect his identity, was at home feeling anxious and unwell before coming across a website operated by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). The webpage popped on his search engine after he asked Siri the simple question: "how can I get saved?"

Soon, the officer was talking with a volunteer at the "Search for Jesus" site, who immediately asked him some key questions about his life situation. "I'm struggling with faith, and with everything going on … even more so," David typed. His coach, Gloria, replied: "Where do you look for peace in uncertain times?" David said that he looked for it within himself. 

"I can understand that," Gloria replied. "The catch with that, though, is that our inner selves can be really disturbed by what we see and hear. That can lead to anxiety, as you know." She went on to suggest that he could find peace in a relationship with Jesus Christ. When David admitted that he was terrified of catching covid-19 and that he was petrified of dying, Gloria replied that he was "realising the truth of God's Word.. that 'the result of sin is death' (Romans 6:23)."

"That is why you are so scared," she said."Well thanks for pointing that out," David responded sarcastically. "Now I'm even more scared!"

But Gloria wasn't finished with her scriptural references. She continued: "That verse continues, 'But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' The really, really good news is that God knows that you cannot reach Him through your own efforts. So He provided the way for you to do that. He loves you that much, David."

Gloria went on to share John 3:16 with the officer, inviting him to put his trust in Jesus:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
She added: "God sent his own son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus lived a life without sin but died a terrible death. He took all of our sins upon himself, all of our punishment upon himself."

"But what am I supposed to do?" David asked.

"Believe," Gloria typed. "I can't give you a sales pitch on that. It has to come from your heart."

"Do you want to  know how I found your webpage?" David asked. "I went into Google, and I asked Siri, 'How can I get saved?' And your page popped up." David then confirmed that he had prayed the prayer of salvation found on the website.

Gloria expressed utter joy the news, before issuing a few nuggets of wisdom. "The words of the prayer are not magical," she said. "The important thing is the attitude of your heart."

BGEA added: "As David began a two-week quarantine, God had given him a gift he hadn't been looking for-the gift of time. The Lord had once again used a temporary crisis to lead one of His children to eternal life.
"In this time of uncertainty, it's one more reason to believe God's Word is always true."