Guest column by Fr. Craig Doty
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20).
Jesus’s promise is comforting as we painfully endure the unforeseen challenges of life without public Masses and liturgies. Whatever the circumstances, Jesus desires to be with our families through family prayer together, and a powerful way to welcome His loving presence is through spontaneous intercessory prayer. If you have never prayed out loud with and for someone in a spontaneous, Spirit-led prayer, please give it a try. Though often awkward at first, the Holy Spirit Who dwells in you will guide you and make your prayer fruitful in amazing and surprising ways. (I have included some basic steps at the end of this article.)
I have been a Catholic priest for nearly 23 years and it wasn’t until three years ago that I began to feel more comfortable praying with people spontaneously, out loud, in any given moment. Since then, and especially now as director of the recently established Lincoln Equipping Team for Prayer and Healing, I have become more convinced than ever that God wants us to share His love with others through spontaneous intercessory prayer.
Our Equipping Team, which was established after a Day of Equipping led by Bart Schuchts from the John Paul II Healing Center in August 2017, has been determined ever since to simply encourage, practice, and teach spontaneous intercessory prayer in our diocese. The 170 participants left that Day of Equipping with greater confidence that Jesus was giving them words of encouragement, and even His healing power, to be shared with others through prayer. He promised us this when He said, “My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
Consequently, our Equipping Team seeks to empower Catholics to pray for and with one another and to discover the healing power of Christ in their lives. We embrace opportunities to serve on prayer teams for diocesan and parish events. We strive to be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, to grow and to help others grow in intentional discipleship, and to sponsor events that further the mission of prayer and healing in the Lincoln Diocese. We are currently meeting monthly for intercessory prayer and we are planning two more conferences to be led by the JPII Healing Center this coming fall: a women’s conference entitled “Undone: Freedom for the Feminine Heart” (Sept. 24-26), and a men’s conference entitled “Men on Fire” (Oct.16-17).
Catholics are always offering to pray compassionately and fervently for others. That often sounds something like this: “How are you doing? Is there anything you’d like me to pray for? I will pray my Rosary for you today.”
What about stopping to pray in that moment, wherever we are? It might go something like this: “May I just say a prayer for you right now? Is there anything you’d like me to pray for? I’m going to pray silently for about 30 seconds and ask the Holy Spirit how He wants me to pray. Come Holy Spirit, come. Heavenly Father, please bless your beloved son / daughter....”
The traditional form prayers we have learned (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, etc.) are invaluable gifts to be treasured, but we can also hear our Good Shepherd’s voice speaking directly and personally to us and to the people we pray with. We can open the ears of our hearts to His voice with a simple “Come Holy Spirit, come,” which the Catechism calls “the simplest and most direct prayer” (CCC 2671). We ask Him for words that are encouraging, consoling, and uplifting—anything else that comes to mind we simply exclude from our prayer.
Our Equipping Team believes that spontaneous intercessory prayer is extremely effective in the work of evangelization. Jesus desires for all of us to be missionary disciples, set on fire by His love: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing” (Luke 12:49).
Our Equipping Team has witnessed over and over the power of God’s love through spontaneous intercessory prayer. It changes lives, it builds faith, it brings joy, and it assures people that they are personally known and cherished by God.
The Equipping Team also loves to pray for healing, including physical healing. Again, our Lord’s words are the foundation for that desire:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). This striking statement gives us the confidence to pray that His divine healing power would be displayed and known for His glory alone.
Our loved ones and people everywhere need encouragement and strength from heaven. Your spontaneous, Spirit-led prayers will give them real experiences of God’s love. Ask them if you can pray with them—they may or may not ask you to pray for something specific. Be yourself and resist any inclination to look for eloquent, perfect pre-planned words. Instead, ask and trust the Holy Spirit to come and stir your heart for the person you’re praying with, then pause and give Him time. Trust the encouraging words that come to you, speak in your normal voice, begin by addressing the Heavenly Father or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and end with a traditional prayer.
If there is something we can do to help you or your parish, or if you desire more information about the Equipping Team, please contact the Office of Evangelization at 402-473-0615 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To view our webpage, please go to https://www.lincolndiocese.org/evangelization/equipping-team.
