Well, prayer is like a standard practice in the process of Krishna consciousness. We should pray to the Lord. This means in general that we can offer our own prayers. It is a standard activity we are meant to do, having said that, if we pray through Srila Prabhupada, it is MUCH MORE LIKELY that Krishna will hear us and take note of our prayer because Prabhupada is much more than we are. Krishna listens to Prabhupada. Krishna will probably listen to us but not the same way. Just not the same way. Therefore, it is always recommended to approach Krishna through the spiritual master, in our case it is particularly through Srila Prabhupada. (Mahebourg Festival, Mauritius, Dec 16th 2016)