Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj describes his prayer before the Deity.
Student: What is the real vision of the Deity? How should we see the Deity?
Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj: At present through our mundane eyes, we cannot see the real Deity, but I can say what I do when I go to the Temple Lord Jagannāth. In front of Jagannāth, I pray, “O my Lord, I cannot see Your divine form, but You please see me and bestow Your mercy upon me. Through that, I will be able to see You.” In this way, I negotiate with Lord Jagannāth: “You can see me present in front of You. Please do the needful.”
parama-kāruṇiko na bhavat-paraḥ
parama-śochyatamo na cha mat-paraḥ
iti vichintya hare mayi pāmare
yad uchitaṁ yadu-nātha tad āchara
(Śrī Śrī Prapanna-jīvanāmṛta: 8.4)
This is my prayer to Lord Jagannāth: “I am fallen. I have no vision of You. I have nothing—no property, no divine service—but You are so merciful to conditioned souls like me. Everyone says You are Patita-pāvan [the saviour of the fallen], and I am patita [fallen]. Then, please do the needful. Please do what is necessary.”
I also pray in this way when worshipping the Deity: “You are not a doll. You are a real divine form of Kṛṣṇa. He is present before me, haven taken on this Deity form. So, I know Your form can do anything, Your form can show anything, and Your form can bestow mercy upon all the conditioned souls. I have received this consciousness from my Guru and the sādhus. So, I am presenting a small offering for Your satisfaction. Please take it. Please be satisfied with this offering. I have no qualities or qualifications, but You have all qualities and qualifications.” Someone who is engaged in worshipping the Deity will follow this process.
When your service becomes full with dedication, suddenly everything will be revealed to you. You will be surprised to see that and you will not believe it. You will always be suspicious: “Is it real or not?” You must always be suspicious. I am telling you all what is happening in my life. When I see the Deity, sometimes the Deity shows me something, but I do not think that it is real. It may be real, but I do not think that it is real. Why shall I buy anything in a cheap way? I do not want to buy anything for a cheap price.
Reference
parama-kāruṇiko na bhavat-paraḥ
parama-śochyatamo na cha mat-paraḥ
iti vichintya hare mayi pāmare
yad uchitaṁ yadu-nātha tad āchara
(Śrī Śrī Prapanna-jīvanāmṛta: 8.4)
“There is no one as merciful as You, and no one as pitiable at me. So, O Lord, considering this fallen soul, please do what ought to be.”