When Priscilla Shirer’s Heart Broke, God Did This…

Published: April 21, 2026

By Kayla DeKraker

When heartbreak struck, Priscilla Shirer heard from God.

“This was years ago, before I was married, and I had been dating a guy that I thought I was going to marry,” she told TBN. “He broke that relationship off. It, I mean, it tore my heart apart. And I was weeping so uncontrollably that I had to pull off to the side of the road because I could not even see to drive. That’s how hard I was crying.”

In such a gut-wrenching moment of pain and rejection, Shirer had an encounter with God.

“I pulled off to the side of the road. I was just thinking, ‘I just don’t know why he doesn’t want to be with me.’ And there have been a handful of times in my life where I’ve heard the Holy Spirit speak so clearly to me, it’s almost like he was in the passenger seat. This is one of those,” she explained.

Shirer continued, “The Holy Spirit said to me, ‘He doesn’t want you, but you still want to be with him. Well, I want you. Why won’t you just be with me?’”

“I’ll never forget it. In that despair, just hearing the Holy Spirit say, ‘Here I am,’ like, ‘I am here, even through the tears. If you’ll just look, you’ll see the silver thread of my grace is even in this difficult situation.’ He’s like, ‘I know that it’s a difficult season, or I know that this is not what you prefer. I know that singleness has lasted longer than you would like, or you’ve been on this job longer than you prefer. You thought you would be further along in some other area, but if you’ll just look, it might not be here I am.’”

Isaiah 61:3 shares God’s desire to help those suffering from a broken heart. It says, “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”

Despite Shirer’s intense heartbreak, God had a plan and brought her husband, Jerry Shirer, into her life. They met when she was 23 at an event she was speaking at.

“It is interesting when Jerry and I are at the 25-year mark now, and…it was so far in the future when we first got married, and then all of a sudden you’re there, and you’re not exactly sure how that happened,” said Shirer in 2024. “And then you’re grateful that you do still kind of like each other, and, you know, you want to spend time together.”

They celebrated their 26th anniversary last summer and their 27th Valentine’s Day earlier this year.