PANGOLIN FACINATION!!!

‘Pangolin’ photo by John Singh A.J.T. WWF India and CC BY-SA 4.0.                              

(See photo above!)  I’d never seen anything like this prehistoric critter!
It has a lot of tricks up its sleeve!  It has muscles that can turn each scale separately, pointing the sharp edge of the scale toward a would-be predator.  It can roll into a ball to protect its vital organs when being attacked.  It has a sticky tongue that is as long as its body, less the tail.                                              

It uses it to consume more than 70 million insects annually, mostly ants and termites.  The effect of its voracious appetite is pest control, which serves an important role in their ecosystem, the protection of their habitat.  Catch this, they can seal their nostrils and ears shut, protecting them from attacking insects.  And they have special muscles in their mouths which prevent ants and termites from escaping once captured.  Their babies are born with scales!  Ouch! Thank God they are soft at birth!  They ride on the back of their mama for 3 months and then they are on their own.
You can find them in the rain forests and grasslands of Africa and Asia. 

As I read about this fascinating critter, I thought about The Apostle Paul’s admonition for us to be ‘strong in the Lord and in His mighty power by putting on the ‘full armor of God’ so that we, like the pangolin can protect ourselves and our habitat.  Can you imagine what would happen if every believer prayed daily for their habitat, their neighborhood and family!             

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.’  Ephesians 6:10-18.

Wow!  That’s powerful and assuring!  With the armor of God, we can pray for the protection of our neighbors and family….protection from our enemy, ‘the devil and his schemes’.  He has come to ‘steal, kill and destroy’.  John 10:10.  ‘Steal’.  We can pray against thieves coming into our neighborhood, sickness that steals our neighbor’s health or worse yet, ‘kills’ them.  We can pray for protection from storms that produce large hail and tornadoes that ‘destroy’ property!  Ultimately, we can pray that they become Christians so that ‘God can meet all their needs according to His riches in glory!’

With ‘The Armor of God’ you are powerful!!!  Never forget that!    
James 5:16 makes this clear!  ‘The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’

         PUT ON THAT ARMOR!!!