22 Gulf Pine Catholic • July 11, 2025 Evening of Intercessory Prayer BY TONI GUNKEL In all things I give all the glory, honor, praise and thanksgiving to Our Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirt! Intercessory Prayer is sometimes called “standing in the gap” and is basically lifting up the needs and concerns of others to God; it is an expression of selfless love. Some believe that this kind of prayer is only for a select few who are specially anointed. But all believers are called to intercede as part of a strong prayer and faith life. “Prayer” and “intercession” both have things in common, but they are not exactly the same thing. Prayer is talking to God. We can give Him praise, we can cry out to Him, we can ask Him questions and lift up our cares. Praying to our Heavenly Father grows our understanding of and strengthens our relationship with Him. Intercession happens when we reach beyond ourselves and our needs in prayer. When we feel a burden for someone else, we can be encouraged or compelled to bring that to the Lord, stand on their behalf, and seek His Will for their lives.* I have been intimately connected with Our Blessed Mother for years. She has helped me intercede for people numerous times. Here is an experience where She interceded for a prisoner while I was assisting at the Kairos prison ministry in Leakesville. Being my first time at Kairos ministry, there was a group of about 18 women working in the kitchen and praying for the Kairos prison ministry team members and inmates which was about 42 of them. Each woman was given a team member’s name and two inmate’s names to pray for throughout the week. Each day a Kairos team member would come from the prison bringing a can to the women containing prayer requests from the inmates. This can was given to the women who would pass it around, we would take a prayer request out, read it, and would pray for the inmate and their prayer intentions. The first day I was given the can, I drew out the name Samuel and read his prayer request and prayed for him. Each day the women were assigned a holy hour to pray for their Kairos team member and inmate’s names given them and the names and intentions they drew from the can. The second day the can with prayer intentions from the inmates was brought again for the women. I picked a name out of the can and went to read the prayer intention and was again from Samuel; though puzzled, I assumed maybe it was a different Samuel I was praying for. Again, spending a holy hour praying the rosary and speaking to Our Lady and Our Lord for his and others intentions. That afternoon the can was brought in again and the next day too. I drew Samuel’s name once again during this process but it did not phase me at the time because there were many prayers being prayed throughout those days as each of the women read their prayer requests received and then spending an hour or more praying the rosary and other devotions with Our Lady and Our Lord for their intentions. It wasn’t until the night of our initiation when new team members were inducted into Kairos prison ministry. After the induction, a man named Lee came up to me and said he was compelled to tell me something that had happened at his table during his ministering in the prison. He proceeded to say that there was a man at his table who had received a vision of a beautiful lady coming to him and showing him an image of a woman who was praying for him here; he could describe her “to a T” and even her personality. I then asked Lee what his name was so I could pray for him. Lee responded his name was Samuel. Lee began to express that there was no one there that fit this description except you. Lee said, “He described you physically, your demeanor and even your personality.” I was, of course, elated and thought it was awesome but still did not put it all together at that point. The next day everyone was to go to the closing in the prison to hear the inmate’s testimonies. The women were told to stay in their seats and not to talk to the inmates but can wave to them at the end. There were tables dividing the Kairos team members and women from the inmates. Each inmate came in with name tags hanging around their necks across their chests. I watched in anticipation to see where Samuel was and hopefully to hear his testimony; disappointed, he did not get up to give one. This is an emotional moment to hear these testimonies that were given. A lot of the time these men were in the wrong place at the wrong time and there were many domestic problems leading to criminal reactions and many asking for forgiveness and many converted believing and accepting our Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. At the end of the testimonies, the women stood up and waved. My attention was caught of a man waving his hand profusely back and forth trying to get my attention; it was Samuel! I waved back at him. Then I saw Lee, the Kairos team member, and went to tell him about Samuel waving at me. Lee was excited for me and then during all this excitement, Lee turned his head to someone calling his name out. I turned to look and it was Samuel saying and speaking out to Lee, “She is the one! She is the one!” Lee was excited as well as myself who was enlightened by what all had just transpired. What does this all mean? Obviously, intercessory prayer! The Holy Spirit’s promptings were active and moving through those that were open to receive, intercede, pray and persevere. We are all children of God. God does work in our hearts; the Spirit knows our desires and timing plays a big part in having prayers answered. A person’s heart must be genuinely receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is apparent that the vision of the beautiful lady that Samuel saw was Our Blessed Mother, though he may not have realized who She was. The spiritual realm is always there, our prayers are so important and we never know how God will use them and persevering through those prayers is crucial for prayers to be answered. Prayer takes time. It requires energy. Often it is simply the spiritual discipline of persistence that makes the difference. We in America have developed a “now” mentality. We have been wonderfully spoiled to the conveniences of our culture; be they microwaves or fast food. There are situations, however, when the only solution is to slow down, take our time and determine that we are going to go the distance. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of the time, so is intercession. Please be a persistent avid intercessor; a warrior who perseveres in prayer through Mary to Jesus for others! Join us for our Evening of Intercessory Prayer every third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs. Everyone is invited to come and join your petitions and prayers up to the Lord. We look forward to your joining us! *(Intercessory prayer definitions were derived from the Bible Study Tool). Gunkel Prayer for Protection against Storms and Hurricanes Our Father in Heaven through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, spare us during this Hurricane season from all harm. Protect us and our homes from all disasters of nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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