War, who... hah.... what is it good for....

I've been thinking about the war analogy pertaining to Christianity. How much of it applies to life. I think that we are definitely at odds with Satan. He is our enemy and intends to destroy each and every one of us using various tactics. He is out to seek, kill and destroy and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish this... and lies are his native tongue. But do we ever really make direct attacks on Satan? I've heard people say that when we come together to pray it is like we are making a direct assault on the gates of hell... but it doesn't seem like that is what prayer really is about. It seems like prayer is more of seeking God to be in our lives and displaying faith, and humbly place ourselves under God and His will. This pisses Satan off I'm sure, but it doesn't seem like we ever attack Satan. Also, I don't think that Christianity can be reduced to an army infrastructure. God is our commander and Lord, but he doesn't want us to be men and women who are robots that do what their told for no other reason than because He said so and you must follow orders. God wants us to do what He is telling us but in the end, I think that He wants us to make a choice to choose obedience. He wants so much more than a master/slave/servant relationship. He wants to be our friend, brother, father, and lover.

I'm not sure what to do with these thoughts exactly. I still like lots of war analogies and how they can be applied to life following God, but it is good to examine things further and not let life be reduced to a single metaphor.