Effective prayer—wherever you are

We arrived at the Samaria Gorge in Crete, Greece, just as the sun was rising. The sunbeams bathed the towering rocks in a warm light, and I was excited to begin our 11-mile descent down the gorge.

I was studying art and philosophy in Greece, Italy, and Turkey with 21 other students from my college, and today we were hiking down the gorge to a beach at the very bottom. Our assignment was to take pictures of different rock formations, and initially, as we descended, I had a wonderful time chatting and laughing with friends while trying to take artsy pictures of the rocks. But near the end of our hike, I started to get a severe headache, which got even worse by the time we reached the beach. I didn’t want anything to interfere with the beautiful day I was having, so I tried to just forget about how much my head was bothering me and enjoy swimming in the crystal-clear water.

By the time we were ready to begin the journey back to our hotel, though, it was getting hard to just ignore the headache. I also realized that we still had a rough, 45-minute ferry ride and then a two-hour bus ride down a winding mountain road before we would get back into town—neither of which sounded very appealing, given the way I was feeling. 

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

TeenConnect: Your Healings
On track with God
TeenConnect: Your Healings
Hypnotized? Not me.
TeenConnect: Your Healings
I didn’t buy that app
TeenConnect: Your Healings
A backpacking breakthrough
TeenConnect: Your Healings
Pain isn’t normal
TeenConnect: Your Healings
‘Now I trust God more than ever’
TeenConnect: Your Healings
After the storm
TeenConnect: Your Healings
If you want to stop hating someone
TeenConnect: Your Healings
When things don’t go the way you planned
TeenConnect: Your Healings
The message that saved my life
TeenConnect: Your Healings
A quick healing of a football injury
TeenConnect: Your Healings
A healing of celiac disease
TeenConnect: Your Healings
A healing at the end of the school year
TeenConnect: Your Healings
How I got rid of a grudge
TeenConnect: Your Healings
Turning to prayer first
TeenConnect: Your Healings
Immediate healing? It’s possible!
TeenConnect: Your Healings
Which thoughts are you listening to?

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit