Prayer is actually a synonym for surrender. This act of surrender is completed only after the expression of gratitude. Gratitude is a means of offering the doership of an act to God / the Guru; hence it helps in reducing the ego.
The temple at home is made with the intention that the worshipper gets maximum Chaitanya from the worship of the Deities.
We will read about substances used in puja and arrangement of implements (like naivedya, conch, bell, samai etc) and advantages of arranging the implements and other constituents of puja according to Panchatattva levels.
The various acts to be performed during Arti such as blowing the conch, clapping, lighting the lamp, etc. are given in this article.
Arati means calling out to God with intense yearning. If a human being calls out to a Deity through the Arati then the Deity grants him a vision in their own form or in the form of light.