“What do you think I do with all those bottles of tears in heaven?” The Lord asked me this question during a time of teaching. Romans 12:15 reads, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” There’s a time that we pause, we move out of our own sphere. A time we step into another’s, and we weep with those who weep. Now, why am I calling this, “Try Tears: A Key to the Next Outpouring”? It comes from a testimony from the life of William Booth. Booth and his wife, Katherine, were the founders of the Salvation Army in England. The Salvation Army in its origins, was a very powerful ministry.

Several young Salvation Army officers ask their leader, General William Booth, “How can we save the lost?” They had felt like they had exhausted everything that they knew to do. So Booth tore off a piece of brown paper sack and wrote two words. He handed it to these young zealous leaders and the note read, “Try tears.” Booth was attempting to convey our desperate need to collaborate with our Savior by sharing in His compassionate heart. 

Tears in His Bottles

Psalms 56:8 states that God stores our tears in His bottle or bottles in heaven, right? And we all believe that, right? What does the Bible say that He does with our tears? We know that ultimately, God turns our mourning into joy and gladness. Weeping might last for a night and there is normally a process.  Some of our nights definitely seem long, don’t they? But scriptures say that joy comes in the morning. 

One particular time when I was ministering in Nashville, the Holy Spirit interrupted me. He asked me, “What do you think I do with all of those bottles that get filled with the tears of my people? You know, I collect every tear and I put them in my bottles in heaven. What do you think I do with them?“ 

The Holy Spirit was having a question and discussion session with me right in the middle on my teaching. I didn’t know what He was even talking about. I honestly didn’t have a clue. It’s really amazing. When this happens, a download occurs and the burden of the Lord will be deposited for a situation, or a person. 

He’s a persistent God. He asked me, “Do you know what I do with all those tears that I collect in those bottles?” And finally, I slowed myself down to listen in front of everybody. I became a statue for a few seconds, and I just stood there. The Holy Spirit said, “Do you know what I do with all those bottles when they get filled in heaven? I turn them up aside down and they become the next latter rain, and they become a part of the next outpouring of my Holy Spirit.”

Let Your Tears Run Down Like A River

Lamentations 2:18-19 is a very overlooked verse. “Their hearts cried out to the Lord. “O wall of the Daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.” Let your tears run down like a river. Day and night. Give yourself no relief and let your eyes have no rest. So we come back to our theme verse, Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” 

Just like General William Booth charged his men with – “Try tears”. We collaborate with our savior by sharing His compassionate heart. “What do you think I do with all those bottles of tears in heaven? I turned them upside down and I pour them out and they become a part of the next outpouring of My Spirit.” 

That’s the powerful part of the redemptive purposes of God.

Partnering with the Heart of God!

James W. Goll

To read more on this subject, check out my book Praying with God’s Heart, Chapter 2: Prayer Passion.

Praying with God's Heart BookWhat if there was a key that made every prayer more effective—something that would bring all prayers into agreement with the heart of God every single time? This type of praying does exist and it’s called prophetic intercession. God wants you to align your heart with his. Learn to pray more effectively in these turbulent times and usher in the fullness of God’s purposes on the earth.