You'd see that in 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines defeated the Israelites because they forsook God and were serving other gods. This made me understand that most of our problems in life exist because we have forsaken God. The Israelites didn't lose because they were weak, they were defeated because they forsook the one who could give them victory to serve weak gods. We have forsaken God to serve man or what we have, which has become why we're faced with issues. When you serve money, for example, the money becomes your source of problems.
Whatever you leave God to serve becomes the source of the consequence of forsaken God.
The gods they served made the Israelites lose the battles against the Philistines. It made them afraid of the Philistines. The one you choose to serve determines if you'll become feared by others or fear others. The Israelites feared the Philistines because of the gods they chose to serve who were unable to give them victory.
A winning christian is one who serves God only. They aren't winners because of their strength but because of the strength of the one they serve.
You can't access the benefits of the one you don't serve. Most Christians aren't enjoying the benefits of God because they aren't truly serving only Him. You limit what you get by who you serve. If you serve money, you can only get what money can give you. This is why those who get money by serving money can't experience what money can't give like peace of mind and good health. The gods couldn't give them victory, but why did they still serve what couldn't make them victorious?
For the Israelites to emerge victorious in battle against the Philistines, they had to return to God with all their heart. Returning to God with all your heart means getting rid of anything that had all of your heart and serving God with all of your heart. When the Israelites did this in 1 Samuel 7: 4, then God gave them victory.
God won't deliver you if you aren't serving only Him. Some of us are crying to God for a way out, but we are yet to commit ourselves to serving only Him. God won't step into your situation until you get rid of other gods. So, therefore, one of the keys to having your prayers answered is genuinely committing yourself to God and serving Him only.
Are you truly serving God only?