Ze Concept of Crab and other Z's

Today I was praying through some species whose names begin with Z and ran across what is probably one of my favorite species names so far: Ze Concept of Crab. It is indeed a crab (scientific name Geothelphusa takuan), and it is found in Taiwan.

Here are some other great names that begin with Z:

• Zelebor's Nicobar Rat
• Ziama Horseshoe Bat
• Zapata Bladderpod
• Zamboanga Bulbul

Having finished the Z's today, that means that I am halfway done with my list of endangered species!

Is Prayer Important?

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I have trouble praying sometimes. One of the big issues I've realized that I (and, I suspect, most people) struggle with sometimes is the desire to do something palpable, something concrete and thoroughly of-this-world and physical (such as reducing how much I drive or recycling more). Praying seems so... silly, almost, and so it gets pushed down my to-do list until it just doesn't happen.

It required (and requires) a huge shift in my worldview to combat such a view. Praying is something that God calls us to do (Matthew 6:5-8, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17), so He must think it's important. I think prayer attunes us to the true reality of this life and its spiritual aspects--which are so easy to forget or ignore due to our physical existence here on earth. 

Reality is spiritual. God and what happens in the spiritual world are more important than what happens here in the physical world: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). It may seem as if our physical actions are and should be the most important, but that just isn't true. We are fighting against "spiritual forces", and the only way to defeat them is through prayer and the grace of God.

Selfish Praying?

Western Christianity emphasizes personal prayer as a way to draw closer to God, especially personal prayer--prayers about your day, prayers for strength and forgiveness, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers about your doubts and thoughts and heart--prayers about yourself, in other words. Maybe even selfish prayers?

Please don't misunderstand me: prayers about ourselves are an important part of our prayer life and overall spiritual life. They provide us a way to draw closer to God and to have a healthy spiritual life in which we raise up our lives to Jesus.

Personal prayers, however, are not the only kinds of prayers we should be praying. We should also be praying for others, for governments and countries, for the issues of the world such as environmental destruction and degradation and social injustice. How can we bring change and the love of God to the world if we are only praying about ourselves?

My prayers life was pretty nonexistent when I tried to pray only for myself. It was boring to pray, and I had no passion for it. When I began praying for others, however, and praying about things I was truly passionate about (such as endangered species), my prayers life almost literally exploded.

Prayer for both self and others are necessary for a healthy prayer life.