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When I'm Weak Then I'm Strong

By Ray Watson

Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Cor. 12:10) Paul prayed in the Spirit more than anyone else. He knew the source of His strength – praying in the spirit.

When we are weak, we can draw strength from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and build ourselves up by praying in tongues. This song is not meant to be just listened to, it is an invitation to join with me in prayer, and experience together the empowering strength of His presence as we worship.

Discover The Secret Place - intimate songs of the heart. With an emphasis on intimacy and simplicity, these songs are sure to capture your heart, and leave you with an enduring sense of His presence, and a hunger for more.

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Song Lyrics

When I’m weak I’m strong (repeats) in You
When I’m poor I’m rich (repeats) in You

When I have no strength, when I have no might
Then I’m strong and bold in You

When I’ve come to the end of the things I can do
Then I have my strength in You

When I’ve run out of words, and I have no answer
Then I know my strength is in You
Then I know my answer is You

When I have no more words, when I have no answer
Then I know my answer is You

Then I know You’ll show me
I know You’ll be there
I know You’ll show me what to do

Then I know You’ll show me what to do
Cause the answer is in You
And my strength Lord lies in You
And my wealth Lord comes from You
And I know now what to do

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Song Notes

In 2 Corinthians 12:10 (KJV) Paul says,

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

This song podcast, totally spontaneous in conception and recorded live, is based on this confession of faith by Paul. The song builds on the theme of drawing strength from God in those areas of our lives where we perceive weakness.

The full version of the song goes for 16 minutes. The first 9 minutes of the song is a passage consisting entirely of singing in tongues. While not everyone may want to listen to someone singing in tongues for 9 minutes, the passage is beautiful in its simplicity of worship and in creating an atmosphere for waiting prayerfully on God. It may be too long for a podcast however, so I provided an alternate version which is only 7 minutes long, and without all the singing in tongues. There are two options of the song for people to choose from – the extended version and the short version.

Several “coincidences” prompted me to choose to release this “singing in tongues” podcast at this time. Just recently I received an email from David Garrett (of Scripture in Song) addressing the importance of singing in tongues. Around the same time I also received an email from a visitor to the website enquiring about the purpose of making such singing in tongues available to the public. The issue has already been addressed in several articles posted on my website (see recommended articles below) but the enquiry prompted further discussion, which I have recorded below.

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"When we are weak, we can draw strength from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit."

Enquiry

I recently found your website and got to spend some time in great worship with some of your free listening music. I noticed that there were a few songs that had tongues in them, recorded specifically, during the worship song. I went digging and found your explanation of why you do that, which I really liked, and I still have one question.

When Paul is writing about the gift of tongues, he specifically states that if there is no interpreter present, then the one speaking in tongues should be silent and speak to God (1 Cor.14:28). So, in light of this passage how is the recording of tongues on the cd, for use by others in the church, explained?

Response

There is an excellent reference in an article here regarding this issue.

"A believer operating the manifestation of the spirit called tongues will be edified spiritually, spiritually built-up. He can operate this manifestation in two situations: in public and in private. (1) The bulk of a believer's speaking in tongues is in his own private life. As such, speaking in tongues in private will be prayer or praise to the Father and, therefore is never interpreted. This prayer and praise is spoken of as "praying in the spirit."

For those who insist the passage of singing in tongues needs an interpretation, then the song of the Lord that follows (“When I’m weak”) is probably it.

But this recording did not actually take place in a public meeting. It was recorded during a music practice before the meeting took place, where the musicians were praying and worshiping together as part of their “heart preparation” before the service. So, it is private use – two individuals singing and praying together - and does not need to be interpreted. But why did we choose to make it available for the public to listen to? Because we thought someone else might like to join in and get blessed as well! It's actually a bit like a soliloquy... I'm praying from my spirit to God, and you can listen if you like, or join in and pray with us.

This is no different from praying corporately in a prayer meeting with everyone praying together at once, each individual offering up his own prayer in English. Others may or may not listen, or they may pray themselves. Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (1 Cor. 14:15) No one queries believers coming together to pray corporately in English, with everyone praying at the same time. Why would we struggle with the concept of people all praying together in tongues? There is nothing wrong with people listening to other people praying either, whether they do it in English or in any other language, including one that no one understands. Praying, prophesying or speaking in tongues – none of it is wrong – unless it creates confusion or disorder in a public meeting.

In Corinthians 14:28 Paul was simply trying to bring order to a church meeting. There is nothing disorderly about what is happening in the prayer meeting during the music practice, so there is no need to bring order to it.

None of us know what it is about, but it is beautiful music. The music simply provides a wonderful opportunity to get involved in a corporate expression of prayer and worship, especially if you find it hard sometimes to engage in prayer, or at times find you need some help to get you started. This song is not meant to be just listened to – it is not a performance. Sharing this song with you is an invitation to join with me in prayer, and experience together the empowering strength of His presence as we worship.