There are certain men who come along in life that can give one the proverbial "kick in the pants" we need to draw us to what is truly important. Most of them are "dead guys" for me, meaning they served Christ's Church in years gone by and have since been called home by their blessed Lord.
E.M.Bounds was one such man. His books on prayer sit on my shelves, reminding me of several things: how much good they did to me when I read them, how much this man was a pray-er himself (you do not write about prayer the way in which he did and not be thoroughly involved in it), and how much I need to take them down again. I am often rebuked by men like this. I think God gave them to us to do just that––and to greatly encourage us by way of example.
Two quotes, from Power Through Prayer, might give you the boost you need to pray, and to pray earlier!
We need a generation of preachers who seek God and seek him early, who give the freshness and dew of effort to God, and secure in return the freshness and fullness of his power that he may be as the dew to them, full of gladness and strength, through all the heat and labor of the day. Our laziness after God is our crying sin. The children of this world are far wiser than we. They are at it early and late. We do not seek God with ardor and diligence. No man gets God who does not follow hard after him, and no soul follows hard after God who is not after him in early morn.
More time and early hours for prayer would act like magic to revive and invigorate many a decayed spiritual life. More time and early hours for prayer would be manifest in holy living. A holy life would not be so rare or so difficult a thing if our devotions were not so short and hurried.
So, off with you. And with me. Let's pray.