A Passionate Hope by Jill Eileen Smith
Book Description:
Hannah and her husband, Elkanah, share a deep and abiding love, for each other, for their God, and for his tabernacle at Shiloh. Greatly disturbed by the corruption of the priests, they long for restoration and pray for a deliverer. But nothing changes as the years pass. Years that also reveal Hannah to be barren.
Pressured by his family to take another wife, Elkanah marries Peninnah, who quickly begins to bear children. Disgraced and taunted by her husband’s new wife, Hannah turns again to prayers that seem doomed to go unanswered. Do her devotion and kindness in the face of Peninnah’s cruelty count for nothing? Why does God remain silent and indifferent to her pleas?
Travel back to the dusty streets of Shiloh with an expert guide as Jill Eileen Smith brings to life a beloved story of hope, patience, and deliverance that shows that even the most broken of relationships can be restored.
Click the button below for your chance to win a copy of A Passionate Hope by Jill Eileen Smith.
- No purchase necessary to enter or win.
- Contest is open to US and international participants.
- Contest begins when the Rafflecopter goes live on Monday, February 19th and ends at midnight (EST) on Monday, February 26th.
- Winner will be contacted through email. You have 24 hours to respond with your mailing address. If we don’t receive your confirmation email within twenty-four hours, we’ll need to choose another winner.
- Confirmed winner will be announced on March 1st in the newsletter sent to your inboxes!
Comments 19
Her ability to be so selfless as to be able to physically relinquish her only child into God’s service, the son she had waited and hoped so long for, to let go of what her heart longed to hold onto forever and never let go.
I admire Hannah’s patience. That’s something I have a hard time with myself.
I do so love the sincerity of Hannah’s prayer, it came from her heart, the desire in her for a child caused the most wonderful prayer to spring forth, and God heard it, even though no audible words came out of her lips. O to pray like that!
The most intriguing part is how she remained faithful, even though she prayed for a child and remained barren.
Most intriguing is Hannah’s faith. I can’t imagine suffering as much as Hannah did and bearing it with patience, pouring out her grief only to the Lord – and then, after finally receiving the long-desired answer to her prayers, having to give up her only child to be dedicated to the Lord as she had promised Him. Yet her suffering was not in vain – she was blessed to have a son grow up to become a revered prophet of the Lord.
Hannah’s patience.
Her fervent prayer for the desire of her heart, and her open hands; willing to give that desire back to the Lord.
That they prayed for a deliverer
Hannah’s incredible patience and faithfulness as she waited on God to answer her prayer for a child. Her story is such an inspiration!
I would love to know what she prayed in her desperate plea to God.
Her prayer life intrigues me
I think the most amazing thing in her story is how her husband loved her even though she didn’t have children yet, when culturally it was important. He showed her God’s unconditional love, and God blessed their love and prayers .
Hannah’s story impacts me because of her faith. She lived in a time when very few people followed God the way they should have and she could have lived like everyone else and gave up, but instead, she trusted in the Lord. Hannah sets an amazing example for us today!
Her patience and strength to keep praying even when it seemed like God didn’t hear.
Her ability to endure humiliation over and over!!!
I admire her faith and her keeping a promise.
I find it intriguing that Elkanah’s mother had so much influence over her son.
That she remained faithful even when her prayers weren’t answered.
Her prayer and her song demonstrated an impressive knowledge about God and the Law, which makes me think that her father or her husband (or both!) must have taught her well – which may not have been common during that time.