Houston, we have divine providence.
Worship leader Brooke Ligertwood, known for songs like “A Thousand Hallelujahs” and “Bless God,” opened up on social media Sunday about an incredible encounter she had, meeting, on a campus in Texas, a woman from Ukraine who came across a video of Ligertwood years earlier saying she would like to one day study theology.
After the Ukrainian woman, Ksusha, saw the clip, she began praying earnestly for Ligertwood to have the opportunity to do just that, and God answered her prayer.
Ksusha has been studying remotely for her doctorate, periodically traveling to the U.S. to attend classes. It just so happened Ligertwood, thanks to a few favors from friends, was on the campus of Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center to audit a doctoral intensive taught by Dr. Lynn Cohick, a New Testament scholar.
“I am – to be blunt – poorly educated,” wrote Ligertwood. “I just like reading. I’ve loved Scripture since the moment I was saved within its pages. I was mentored by the copious amounts of mostly lay theology (C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Tozer, St. Augustine, etc.) I gorged on as a young studio/touring musician on the road and since, but, formal study has not yet been part of my path.”
That was until she was invited to Lanier.
“My feet clip-clopped on the stone and my heart giddy upped – one of those moments where one becomes hyper-aware of experiencing said moment by sheer grace,” she continued. “Just then, I noticed two women walking toward the same entrance, whom I surmised were (unlike me) legitimate students.
The women introduced themselves to one another and then it came to Ksusha, who first, before telling Ligertwood her name, simply said, “I’m shocked.”
“‘Your name is ‘Shocked’?’ I jested,” wrote the singer-songwriter. “She shook her head. ‘No, my name is Ksusha, but I am shocked.’ Her shock quickly became my awe as she explained.”
Ligertwood continued, “Ksusha lives in the Ukraine, where she has been studying for her PhD in theology remotely, traveling periodically to the U.S. for the in-person weeks. She told me that a couple of years ago, she came across a clip of me being asked if there was something in my life I hadn’t had the opportunity to do yet that I would like to. I answered that one day I hoped to study theology.”
Ksusha told her about her fervent prayers for the recording artist. And, two years later, Ligertwood explained, not only did God answer Ksusha’s prayers, but He orchestrated her walking into the exact same class Ksusha was attending.
“God saw fit not only to give me a sublime taste of an answer to a prayer I hadn’t dared pray myself, but made sure that she who had faith to pray it for me saw with her own eyes a beginning come to pass,” Ligertwood wrote. “So, when you pray, know this: God is a loving Father with a glint in His eye.”
