Hosea 6:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:3 New Living Translation (NLT)

3 Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
or the coming of rains in early spring.”

I have begun my week with a struggle...a struggle for significance, a struggle for strength, as struggle for courage. I have asked the Lord some tough questions in my prayer time: Lord, why me? Lord, why now? Lord, how?

Maybe you are in the same place. Really, Lord, do our prayers make any difference? Really, Lord, will anything ever change?

I can tell you that in my struggle, I hear the Lord saying one thing to me over and over again: "Gina, DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP GOING!" This one "word" from the Lord is the thing that keeps me pressing toward the blessing. Even when the things that the Lord asks of me don't make any sense, the words "DON'T GIVE UP!" press me forward.

The Lord led me to Hosea 6:3 in my prayer time this morning. The word "press" in the Hebrew is "radaph" which can be translated "chase" or "run after." Am I willing to "press" towards the blessing even on these bleak days? Oh, Lord, may it be so!

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep pressing towards the blessing. When life is difficult, we know that our spiritual muscles are being strengthened. Thank You for the difficult times that teach us to persevere. May we give praise to You even in the hard places...

Blessings, Gina