Because of our pagan background, we Nigerians have an inbred insight into the authority that the spiritual has over the natural. The overwhelming influence of spiritual power is well understood in all aspects of life. Herein lies the need for Nigerians to seek spiritual intervention in virtually everything that we do. Win a battle in the spiritual, and you are sure to win it in the physical. The apostle Paul says, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
With this in mind, we can comprehend the story of David and Goliath. From a human perspective, the overwhelmingly stronger giant was better equipped and trained for war. However, he lost the battle to an untrained, poorly armed shepherd boy. The reason that this happened lies in the fact that David had spiritually prepared himself for the battle. If you pay close attention to the words of both Goliath and David, you will discover that the final anchor of each one consisted of their contact with the supernatural. Their war was fought first in the spiritual realm and then in the physical realm.
The giant drew strength from his gods: “And the Philistine cursed David by this gods” (1 Samuel 17:43). David responded by declaring that he fought “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45). Once these forces were engaged in the spiritual world, the outcome in the natural world became a foregone conclusion.
(From the book Out of Africa by C. Peter Wagner and Joseph Thompson in 2004, pg 104-105)