Prowling Like a Roaring Lion

First of all, I have to insist that all of you (men especially, but women too) read a fantastic book called, Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge. He articulates so well some of the things that I have felt over the years and has helped me to understand myself and my role better. Anyhow, I say all of this because I am going to include an excerpt from the book to illustrate what I want to say.
It goes like this:

The invasion of France and the end of WWII actually began the night before the Allies hit the beaches of Normany, when the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dropped behind enemy lines to cut off Hitler’s reinforcements. If you’ve seen The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan, you remember the dangers those paratroopers were facing. Alone or in small groups, they moved through the dead of night across a country they had never been to in order to fight an enemy they couldn’t see or predict. It was a moment of unparalleled bravery … and cowardice. For not every trooper played the man that fateful night. Sure, they jumped; but afterward, many hid. One group took cowardice to a new level.
Too many had hunkered down in hedgerows to await the dawn; a few had even gone to sleep. Pvt. Francis Palys of the 506th saw what was perhaps the worst dereliction of duty. He had gathered a squad near Vierville. Hearing “all kinds of noise and singing from a distance,” he and his men sneaked up on a farmhouse. In it was a mixed group from both American divisions. The paratroopers had found [liquor] in the cellar … and they were drunker than a bunch of hillbillies on a Saturday night wingding. Unbelievable. (D-Day)
Unbelievable indeed. These men knew they were at war, yet they refused to act like it. They lived in a dangerous denial – a denial that not only endangered them but countless others who depended on them to do their part. It is a perfect picture of the church in the West when it comes to spiritual warfare. During a recent church staff meeting, a friend of mine raised the suggestion that some of the difficulties they were facing might be the work of the Enemy. “What do you think?” he asked. “Well, I suppose that sort of thing does happen,” one of the other pastors replied. “In the Third World, perhaps, or maybe to thwart a major crusade. You know … places where cutting-edge ministry is going on.”
Incredible. What a self-indictment.

I think that this excerpt says it so well. The western church is asleep. We have swallowed the lie that the enemy is not really active. It is time that we wake up and start practicing some serious spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and the cosmic powers of this dark age.