Today on the 2nd Sunday of Lent the Gospel lesson comes to us from Mark 2:1-12. In this pericope we encounter the love of four men who struggle but succeed in bringing their friend before Christ. Father Micah shares with us both a warning and practical message about prayer. Prayer is perhaps the most difficult thing we will ever attempt and if we truly wish to live a life of prayer we will struggle. Our eyes will be opened to the suffering around us but at the same time we will experience a joy and nearness to God as we remember Him. Orthodox Christians pray out of an abundance of gratitude fulfilling the purpose of lives. We should pray at all times and in all places with humility. We should know to whom we speak because He makes Himself present in the Mysteries and scripture. May we emulate the four friends in today’s Gospel by bringing others before Christ, not through the roof of a house, but in prayer.