Prayer Verse MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides relevant Bible verses for prayer requests using semantic similarity matching and fetches verses directly from bible.com.

Overview

This project provides a prayer assistant that:

• Takes prayer requests as input
• Finds the most relevant Bible topic using semantic similarity
• Fetches matching Bible verses directly from bible.com
• Supports multiple Bible versions (ESV, NIV, KJV, NLT, etc.)
• Uses verse of the day as fallback when no specific verses are found
• Retrieves verse images from bible.com
• Can be used as both a standalone script and an MCP server

Features

• Semantic Matching: Uses SHA256-based embeddings to find relevant topics
• Live Bible Fetching: Fetches verses directly from bible.com in real-time
• Multiple Bible Versions: Supports ESV, NIV, KJV, NLT, NASB, NKJV, MSG, AMP, CSB, NRSV
• Verse of the Day: Automatically fetches daily verses from bible.com/verse-of-the-day
• Smart Fallbacks: Uses verse of the day when no specific verses match or user requests generic verses
• Image Integration: Retrieves verse images from bible.com Open Graph metadata
• MCP Compatible: Can be used as a Model Context Protocol server
• Standalone Mode: Can be run directly from command line

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• SQLite3
• Required Python packages (see Installation section)

Installation

1. Clone or download the project:

   cd /path/to/prayer
   

2. Install required Python packages:

   pip3 install requests beautifulsoup4 Pillow
   

3. Initialize the databases:

   python3 create_verses_db.py
   python3 process_topics.py
   

Usage

Standalone Mode

Run the prayer assistant directly with a prayer request:

python3 my_verse_of_the_day.py "help me with anxiety and worry"

This will:

1. Find the most relevant topic for your prayer request
2. Ask for confirmation of the topic
3. Find the most relevant Bible verse
4. Generate two images with the verse text
5. Display the results

MCP Server Mode

The MCP server can be used with MCP-compatible clients:

python3 mcp_tool.py

The server provides a tool called get_verse_of_the_day that takes a prayer request and optional Bible version, returning relevant verses with URLs and images.

MCP Configuration

For Claude Desktop

1. Locate your Claude Desktop config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the prayer verse server to your config:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "prayer-verse-server": {
         "command": "python3",
         "args": ["/Users/john/repos/prayer/mcp_server.py"],
         "cwd": "/Users/john/repos/prayer",
         "env": {
           "PYTHONPATH": "/Users/john/repos/prayer"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Restart Claude Desktop to load the new MCP server.

Quick Setup (Automated)

Option 1: Standard MCP Setup

python3 setup_claude.py

Option 2: Enhanced MCP Setup with .mcp.json

python3 setup_claude_mcp.py

Both scripts will:

• Test the MCP server functionality
• Automatically add the server to your Claude Desktop config
• Provide next steps for usage

See CLAUDE_MCP_GUIDE.md for detailed Claude Desktop integration instructions.

For Other MCP Clients

Option 1: Standard MCP Server

python3 mcp_server.py

Option 2: FastMCP with HTTP Transport

# Requires Python 3.10+ and uv
uv run fastmcp run fastmcp_server.py --transport http

See FASTMCP_GUIDE.md for detailed FastMCP setup instructions.

MCP Server Features

• Proper MCP Protocol: Full implementation of MCP 2024-11-05 specification
• Tool Discovery: Automatically lists available tools
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error responses
• Async Support: Non-blocking request processing

Configuration Files

The project includes several configuration files for different MCP clients:

• .mcp.json: Comprehensive MCP server metadata and configuration
• mcp_config.json: Standard MCP configuration format
• claude_desktop_config.json: Claude Desktop specific configuration
• mcp_manifest.json: MCP manifest with tool definitions

For most users: Use the automated setup script (python3 setup_claude.py) For advanced users: Copy the relevant config to your MCP client's configuration directory

Using with Claude

Once configured, you can use the prayer verse server directly in Claude:

Example Claude prompts:

• "Find me a Bible verse for anxiety using the prayer verse tool"
• "Get the verse of the day in NIV version"
• "I'm struggling with fear, can you find a relevant Bible verse?"

Claude will automatically:

• Use the get_verse_of_the_day tool
• Pass your request as the prayer_request parameter
• Optionally specify a Bible version
• Return formatted verse information with links to bible.com

Project Structure

prayer/
├── README.md                      # This file
├── mcp_server.py                  # Proper MCP server implementation
├── fastmcp_server.py             # FastMCP server with HTTP transport
├── mcp_tool.py                    # Legacy MCP server (simplified)
├── my_verse_of_the_day.py         # Standalone prayer assistant
├── create_verses_db.py            # Script to create verses database
├── process_topics.py              # Script to process topics database
├── test_bible_fetching.py         # Test script for bible.com integration
├── setup_claude.py                # Automated Claude Desktop setup script
├── run_fastmcp.py                 # FastMCP server runner script
├── pyproject.toml                 # Python project configuration
├── FASTMCP_GUIDE.md               # FastMCP setup and usage guide
├── claude_desktop_config.json     # Claude Desktop configuration
├── mcp_manifest.json              # MCP manifest file
├── .mcp.json                      # MCP server metadata and configuration
├── claude_mcp_config.json        # Claude Desktop specific configuration
├── mcp_config.json               # Standard MCP configuration file
├── topics.db                      # SQLite database of Bible topics
├── topic-scores.txt               # Topic quality scores
├── topic-votes.txt                # Topic voting data
└── prayer/                        # Sub-project directory
    ├── main.py
    ├── pyproject.toml
    └── README.md

Database Schema

Topics Database (topics.db)

• id: Primary key
• topic: Topic name
• osis: OSIS reference
• quality_score: Quality rating
• start_verse_id: Starting verse ID
• end_verse_id: Ending verse ID
• votes: Number of votes
• embedding: SHA256 embedding for similarity matching

Verses Database (verses.db)

• id: Primary key
• book: Bible book name
• chapter: Chapter number
• verse: Verse number
• text: Verse text
• embedding: SHA256 embedding for similarity matching

How It Works

1. Input Processing: Takes a prayer request and optional Bible version as input
2. Topic Matching: Uses SHA256 hash-based embeddings to find the most relevant topic from local database
3. Verse Fetching: Maps topics to Bible references and fetches verses directly from bible.com
4. Fallback Logic: If no specific verse is found, automatically fetches the verse of the day from bible.com/verse-of-the-day
5. Image Retrieval: Extracts verse images from bible.com Open Graph metadata
6. Output: Returns topic, verse text, reference, URL, and image URL

API Reference

MCP Tool: get_verse_of_the_day

Parameters:

• prayer_request (string): Your prayer request or concern
• bible_version (string, optional): Bible version (default: "ESV")

Returns:

• topic: The most relevant Bible topic
• reference: Bible verse reference (e.g., "John 3:16")
• verse_text: The verse text
• bible_version: The Bible version used
• url: Direct link to the verse on bible.com
• image_url: URL of the verse image (if available)

Example MCP Request:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_verse_of_the_day",
    "arguments": {
      "prayer_request": "I'm struggling with fear and anxiety",
      "bible_version": "NIV"
    }
  }
}

Customization

Adding More Verses

Edit create_verses_db.py to add more Bible verses:

verses = [
    ("John", 3, 16, "For God so loved the world..."),
    ("Psalm", 23, 1, "The LORD is my shepherd..."),
    # Add your verses here
]

Adding More Topics

Add topics to topic-scores.txt and topic-votes.txt, then run:

python3 process_topics.py

Customizing Images

Modify the create_image_with_text function in both scripts to:

• Change image dimensions
• Modify font size and type
• Adjust background colors
• Change text positioning

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "No module named 'PIL'": Install Pillow with pip3 install Pillow
2. Database not found: Run create_verses_db.py and process_topics.py first
3. Permission errors: Ensure the script has write permissions in the directory
4. Font issues: The script will fall back to default font if Arial.ttf is not available

Debug Mode

Add debug prints to see the similarity scores:

print(f"Similarity for topic '{topic}': {similarity}")

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source. Please check the license file for details.

Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check the troubleshooting section
2. Review the project structure
3. Ensure all dependencies are installed
4. Verify database files are properly initialized

Version History

• v2.0.0: Major update with bible.com integration

  • Live verse fetching from bible.com
  • Multiple Bible version support (ESV, NIV, KJV, NLT, etc.)
  • Verse of the day fallback functionality
  • Image retrieval from bible.com metadata
  • Enhanced error handling and fallbacks

• v1.0.0: Initial release with MCP server and standalone functionality

  • Basic semantic matching using SHA256 embeddings
  • Local image generation with PIL
  • SQLite database integration