Bryan & Katie Torwalt – When You Walk Into The Room

The song When You Walk Into The Room was originally requested by the artist William McDowell; However, the original artist (and writers) are Bryan & Katie Torwalt.  McDowell’s version is a partial cover.

Meeting for the first time at a 2006 Bethel Ministry event in Redding, California, songwriters Bryan and Katie Torwalt started to date and gave their wedding vows in 2009.  Two years later, alongside Jesus Culture Music and Kingsway Music, they released their first album Here On Earth in 2011.  This, along with their 2013 release of Kingdom Come, were both a commercial success.  They released three other albums under both labels, including the Billboard-unranked self-titled album Bryan & Katie Torwalt (2015), the more successful Champion (2016), and their most recent release EP Praise Before My Breakthrough (2018).

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

It describes the various phenomena that occur when Jesus spiritually (though in some cases, literally) walks into the room.  His Presence causes:

• darkness to be defeated
• hearts to yearn for Him, to the point of eternal praise
• sickness to heal
• hopeless scenarios to vanish
• spiritual (and in some cases, physical) resurrection
• a burning desire for Him

In response, we as believers worship Him and will do so for all eternity, post-physical death.

We must be careful not to read these statements as absolute.  They are not put that way, although some might get the false sense that God will guarantee healings based on how they word it.  That is the heart of the Word of Faith movement to which Scripture contradicts.

Also, the idea that we give God permission has the connotation that we have authority over God.  I think Bryan & Katie Torwalt intended it to mean that we yield to God and give Him control; However, it sounds like putting God in a box, as though He cannot act unless we permit it.  He doesn’t need our permission to do anything.

Score: 7/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

I found all the lyrics to agree with Scripture, except for Verse 2, line 2 and Bridge, line 2.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

When You walk into the room, everything changes

The next line is a good example of this.  The Chorus identifies “You” as Jesus.

Darkness starts to tremble at the light that You bring

His light drives out darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).

And when You walk into the room, every heart starts burning

Our hearts yearn for Him rather than our past, dark, wicked self (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

And nothing matters more than just to sit here at Your feet and worship You
We worship You, oh

As believers, we prioritize God, with everything else treated as hatred by comparison (Luke 14:26).

[Chorus]

We love You and we’ll never stop

For all eternity, we will worship the King of Kings (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13).

We can’t live without You, Jesus

Literally, we cannot (John 15:5).  After all, He created us (Job 3:16, Psalm 51:5, Psalm 139:13–16, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 49:1, Isaiah 49:5, Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 20:15–18, Luke 1:36, and Luke 1:44).

We love You and we can’t get enough
All this is for You, Jesus

See commentary in Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 2]

When You walk into the room, sickness starts to vanish

Jesus in Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31 describes Himself as a physician who heals those who know they are sinners. Those who think they are righteous will not seek Him out. He will heal spiritually those who cast their anxieties on Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

Every hopeless situation ceases to exist

In Acts 7:54-60, God did not rescue Stephen from his hopeless scenario.  He was stoned to death and died.  Therefore, Stephen was not rescued from his hopeless situation.

One could argue that Stephen’s death is a rescue of sorts.  But then again, anyone who is captured and tortured for years will eventually die.  Were they rescued too, though it took God longer?  Using this argument, we will all die eventually and rescued from hopelessness.  If that is what the Torwalts had in mind, I suppose we could say it’s a true statement.  However, if they mean immediately, then Stephen’s case still stands against it.

I’ll be charitable and only deduct one point since it’s not clear from the lyrics which they meant.

And when You walk into the room, the dead begin to rise
‘Cause there is resurrection life in all You do

Jesus did not just physically raise people from the dead, though He did on numerous occasions (Mark 5:41-43, Luke 7:11-17, and John 11:1-44).  He revives spiritually the deadness that is within our hearts (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

[Bridge]

Come and consume, God, all we are

See commentary on Verse 1, line 3.

We give You permission, our hearts are Yours

The trouble with this line is that the word “permission” carries with it the notion that we have authority and permit it to God, as though He requires consent from us to act.  This is not true.  It would be better to say something like “we give you control”.

We want You, we want You

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 4 and 5.

Come and consume, God, all we are
We give You permission, our hearts are Yours
We want You, we want You
Come and consume, God, all we are
We give You permission, our hearts are Yours
We want You, we want You
Come and consume, God, all we are
We give You permission, our hearts are Yours
We want You, we want You

Repeats lines 1-3, three more times.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Remember how I talked about guaranteed healings in section 1?  This becomes more a serious issue with unbelievers, whom many have experienced unanswered prayers, which drives them away from their false sense of Christianity.  This is not at the fault of the Torwalts, with the exception of Verse 2, line 2.  This is an absolute statement that should have been more relative.  Also, giving God permission may for some instill the idea that they are in control of God, only allowing Him to come on their terms.

The core message communicated will not be lost on them.  They will know that Jesus changes things.  That is what Christians believe.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through their description of Jesus’ effects on the world, but is veiled due to the unfortunate absolute statement in Verse 2, alongside implication of “giving God permission”.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Bryan & Katie Torwalt’s When You Walk Into The Room is decent, but not flawless.  It covers the basics of Christ’s interactions with the world, causing healings and resurrections with those whom He encounters, bringing Him glory.   However, the concept of giving God permission must go.  Unbelievers will find interpretation easy to come by.

Though (mostly) not at the fault of the artist, some might walk away thinking that God will heal if we ask for it, much like a cosmic slot machine.  There is one statement that is absolute, adding fuel to this notion.  Worship pastors should proceed with caution if they choose to add this to their worship sets, especially seeker-sensitive churches.  Also, I strongly recommend changing the word “permission” to “control”.

Final Score: 7/10

Artist Info

Track: When You Walk Into The Room (listen to the song)

Artist: Bryan & Katie Torwalt

Album: Kingdom Come

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2013

Duration: 4:48

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2013 Jesus Culture Music (ASCAP) Capitol CMG Genesis (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

09/14/2022 – An email exchange with Kate Brumback caused me to change my mind about giving God permission.  This lowered this song’s rating, from 9/10 to 7/10.

05/05/2021 – Removed commentary on “consuming fire” in sections 1 and 2.

03/19/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.