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Some people don't just pray for others — they are given a charism (spiritual gift) of intercession that makes their prayer a steady avenue of God's grace for the whole Church.
Every charism makes some aspect of God present in the world in a way we can see and experience. Intercession makes His steadfastness present. When someone with this gift keeps praying for your intention month after month — long after you've stopped thinking about it yourself — you are watching a picture of how God never stops attending to you.
This charism can coexist with any job or vocation. The accountant who keeps a prayer list in her desk drawer, the grandfather who prays through his parish's bulletin intentions every morning, the college student who genuinely lights up when you text her a prayer request — any of them might have this gift.
Yes — and this is the most important distinction to make with intercession. Every Christian is called to a life of prayer, including prayer for other people. You don't need a special gift to pray for your kids, your parish, or the stranger whose situation broke your heart on the news. God hears all of it.
The charism of intercession is something more: a supernaturally equipped orientation toward intercessory prayer. There is usually both a joy and a desire to pray for people in those who have this charism that is not the general experience of the Christian faithful. Think of it like the difference between everyone being called to feed their family and someone being gifted as a chef — the calling is universal, but the gift is particular, and it exists to serve everybody else.
People with this charism serve as an example to the whole Church of perseverance in prayer. Their steadfastness helps the rest of us keep going.
Charisms are usually already operating in your life before you ever put a name to them. Here is what intercession often looks like day to day:
And one of the most telling signs is what happens when prayer gets dismissed. If someone says "prayer is not enough" after a tragedy and you feel almost a sense of hurt — not defensiveness, but a pang, because you know what prayer does — that reaction is worth paying attention to.
Scripture is full of intercessors. Abraham bargaining with God for the people of Sodom (Genesis 18:22–32). The Church praying without ceasing while Peter sat in prison — and Peter walking free (Acts 12:5–17). Epaphras, whom St. Paul describes as "always striving for you in his prayers" (Colossians 4:12–13). Jesus Himself interceding for His disciples and for all of us in John 17.
Other key passages for this charism include 1 Timothy 2:1–2, 2 Corinthians 1:8–11, Luke 22:41–44, and 2 Maccabees 12:39–45. If you want to explore them, try reading one passage a day for a week and noticing which ones feel like a description of you.
If you answered yes to any of these, that is a decent indicator that intercession might be one of your charisms. It isn't proof — discernment takes prayer, feedback from people who know you, and testing the gift in real situations. But it's a strong starting point.
Having the charism of intercession does not mean every prayer you pray gets answered the way you asked. People with this gift are not magical, and they have no more sway with God than anyone else. God answers all prayers — sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes not yet — for every single one of His children.
What intercessors have is supernatural perseverance. They keep praying whether or not they see results, and a life of more prayer naturally becomes a life with more visibly answered prayers. If you have this gift and you're in a season where it feels like nothing you pray for is happening, that doesn't disqualify you. Keep going. St. Ignatius's counsel applies here: don't change course in the middle of desolation.
And if you've ever felt like intercession is a "lesser" charism compared to gifts that look more impressive from the outside — that's a lie worth renouncing by name. The whole Church runs on the prayers of people nobody sees.
The charism assessment gives you an objective, outside read on where the Holy Spirit is most likely at work in you — winnowing the list of 24 possible charisms down to your most likely few in about 20 minutes.
It's the charism that empowers a person to pray without ceasing for the intentions of others, with great faith that prayer changes things. It is one of the 24 charisms of the Holy Spirit recognized in the Catholic tradition.
Yes. The universal call to prayer belongs to everyone. The charism is a supernatural orientation toward intercessory prayer — unusual joy, desire, and perseverance in it — given to some for the good of all.
No. God answers all prayers, and intercessors have no special sway. What they have is perseverance — and a praying life that, over time, sees more of God's answers up close.
Start with the charism assessment for an objective read on your most likely charisms, then confirm through prayer, feedback from people who know you well, and testing the gift in real situations. The Catechism says this kind of discernment is always necessary (CCC 801) — no assessment replaces it, but a good one gives you a much better starting point.
Ep. 32 — The Charism of Intercession. Why intercessory prayer is so often underestimated — and the immense value this gift holds in the life of the Church.
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The Essential Handbook on Living Your Charisms has a full chapter on intercession — including ways to test the gift, a daily charism prayer, and what to do when it feels like your charism isn't working. For intercessors especially, we also recommend the saints who teach us to pray.