Yancey: Yearning for Fluency (cont.)

So how do we keep company with God? How do we develop that close relationship? Yancey argues that it is through prayer that we stay close to God. But how do we learn to pray?

"If I want fluency in a foreign language, I must set aside time, no doubt giving up something else in the process. I must keep working at it, persisting despite the awkward feelings of a beginner. I persevere only because I value the final result. Nearly everything worthwhile--learning a sport, mastering the guitar, improving computer skills--involves the same process."

"Prayer remains a struggle for me. On the other hand, so does forgiving someone who has wronged me. So does loving my neighbor. So does caring for the needy. I persist because I am fulfilling God's command, and also because I believe I am doing what is best for me whether or not I feel like it at the time. Moreover, I believe that my perseverance, in some unfathomable way, brings pleasure to God. We should always pray and not give up, Jesus taught."

How do we learn to pray? Yancey quotes Mother Teresa, "By praying. . . . If you want to pray better, you must pray more."