Last week we talked about how we can use bribes to get our prayers answered. However, it’s good to have a backup strategy in case bribes don’t work. If God refuses to accept your generous offer, you’ll have to resort to some more direct means in order to get what you want.

In my experience, threats are an even more effective way of getting your prayers answered, since they force God to meet you on your terms. I’ll discuss the types of threats that you can use, but before that I would like to give you a word of caution. A threat will only be effective if it is sufficiently backed by intentions. Therefore, a threat should only be used if you actually intend to go through with it. If you’re just bluffing, God will call you on it, and then you’re in a worse position than before. Keep this in mind.

As a believer, the most important leverage you have over God is your faith itself. If you’re not getting what you want from God, you can apply some pressure by expressing your doubt about whether faith in God is still right for you. For example, last week when I needed to negotiate a promotion in the church, I prayed like this:

O God, how great and just and wise,
You lift the faithful to the skies.

I prayed, I worked, I walked straight,

So now, Lord, don’t tempt my faith.

If my paycheck were to stay the same,

I might go revere another name…

Two days later I got the promotion, along with a hefty raise. God knew that he couldn’t afford to lose me, so he gave me what I asked for. Using threats requires some discipline and mental fortitude. You mustn’t show any fear, otherwise you’ll just look ridiculous when you try to intimidate God. You need to make a plan in advance about how much you are willing to wager, and you must be determined to go through with your threat if God doesn’t respond cordially. That is why using threats is generally considered to be a more advanced technique of prayer fulfillment that is not recommended for beginners.

However, if you have a strong will and spiritual strength, threats can be an excellent way to leverage your faith for prayers that wouldn’t be granted under normal circumstances.

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