Last October, in the heat of a really heavy school semester, I fell into what I labeled one of the hardest points in my life to date. With a quarter of my senior year of college finished, I was under the most stress I had ever faced since I walked onto campus back in August of my freshman year.

I was at a point where I was so lost and low that I couldn’t even pray for myself. I remember posting on the Facebook page for my seminar group from GMBA camp, asking my friends to pray for me, and the support I got from everyone was unbelievable and incredible.

It’s amazing what power giving something a name has.

As soon as I put a name to what that rough patch was, it seemed to consume me in ways I didn’t know possible. Emotional breakdowns got worse. Relationships were tested. My schoolwork suffered. This was all because I gave that rough patch a name and labeled it as exactly that: a rough patch. Obviously, there was more to it than just a rough patch. There was more than just the stress and anxiety I was dealing with. But, things didn’t start to go downhill until I gave it a name.

Names have power. I didn’t realize that until I was sitting in the darkness of my room, alone, unwilling to leave my bed. The nice thing about names having power is … I know of a name that has so much power I can’t even comprehend it.

Even though I wasn’t able to pray for myself during this time, I know my church family was. They were calling on that powerful name on my behalf, and it made all the difference. Even through that hard time in my life, I had hope in my Savior Jesus Christ. With Him, I could get through everything. Things were difficult, and it was hard to move forward, but I knew if I just called on Jesus’ name, He would meet me at my lowest, weakest point and lift me up with His love, and peace, and comfort. Names have power, and I gave the wrong name power over me in this darkness.

The scriptures tell me that the lame have been made to walk from the power of Jesus’ name. Demons have been cast out because of the power of Jesus’ name. Dead have been raised, sick have been healed, blind have been given sight all because of the power of Jesus’ name. Even at my lowest points, the name of Jesus is still more powerful than anything in this world. If I have faith in Him, then He will carry me out of the darkness and into the light.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.