My dear friend, I am so glad to hear that you are saved, and I join you in praising the Lord for the miracle of salvation, and the new life in Christ which you do have since you were saved (II Corinthians 5:17)! The quick answer to your question is to make an effort to be diligent to pray and read each day, even if you don’t feel like it. I believe that the Holy Spirit will, over time, develop in you an ever-growing hunger and thirst for communion with God including prayer and Bible reading. Now, if you find that you are having trouble wanting to read and pray, you might consider shorter sessions at the beginning, especially asking for the Lord’s will to be done in your life, and asking specifically for a stronger urge to be in prayer.

A dedicated time for prayer is important (Psalms 5:3; Mark 1:35; Daniel 6:10). The time of day is not so important, but it is the consistency that is needed. Sometimes, you’ll pray on the run, so to speak, but do your best to make prayer and reading a daily practice. If you are angry at someone, learn to pray for a forgiving spirit, pray for those who are sick or in trouble, and always be praying for the unsaved.  I believe that even if you read a small amount of the Bible each day and pray even shorter prayers, in your own words and from the heart, you will be able to notice an actual growth in your desire for time with our Lord.

But, there are things that can stunt our spiritual growth and can lessen our desire to pray. For example, when we sin, our fellowship with God is temporarily broken. Our prayers are hindered by unconfessed sin. The way to re-establish that fellowship is found in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Please always remember that prayer is talking with God and can and should be done anytime of the day or night as we read in Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” It should be done in any circumstance as we read in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Again, praying is how we talk to God, and reading God’s Word is how God talks to us. These two go together to complete the communication and fellowship that we have with the God of the universe. He always hears us and will respond according to His perfect will (1 John 5:14,15; Psalms 34:15).

Now, let me expand a bit on this spiritual growth that I am talking about. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts; then through the washing of God’s Word, and the action of the Holy Spirit, we grow more and more over our lifespan to the “likeness” of our Lord Jesus (John 3:3-5; Romans 8:29, 6:4; 2 Corinthians 3:18.) But this spiritual growth will only happen if we make it a daily practice to read the Bible and pray. Don’t be discouraged if you find that your progress is not as complete as you had hoped. We will not ever be perfectly mature Christians while on this earth, but we can strive for the mark as did the Apostle Paul of old in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

Finally, what a glorious privilege and blessing it is to be able to pray to the God of the universe, and certainly we are encouraged to do so often (Hebrews 4:15,16; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Moreover, we have the help of the Holy Spirit when we pray as we read in Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” But, do we have a longing in our souls for fellowship with our Lord? David said in Psalm 63:1, “O God, Thou art my God, early will I seek Thee…”  Think of this…our Lord Jesus desires us to seek His presence and His counsel—communion with Himself, and that early and often.   Just like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24: 29-35, if we will but ask the Lord Jesus into our homes and daily lives, He will be there. It has been said that Christ will not force Himself upon anyone—but I promise you that if you dedicate time for prayer and for Bible study, He will be there. You may have as much time with Christ as you want! Just think of it dear friends, this is food and drink that we can never get enough of, and that our hunger and thirst for only grows as we avail ourselves of this heavenly sustenance; and we are never denied.  (SF)  (554.4)